Regarding donations: Change.org asks for donations to promote this petition to additional viewers. PLEASE DO NOT FEEL OBLIGATED TO DONATE MONEY TO THIS PETITION- I THINK MONEY CAN BE BETTER SPENT ELSEWHERE TO DIRECTLY SUPPORT THIS CAUSE. This money goes toward promoting this petition and the Change.org Foundation —it does not go toward semi-automatic limitation measures or non-profits. I WOULD PREFER IF YOU DONATED MONEY TO NON-PROFITS SUPPORTING THIS EFFORT. If you feel inclined to donate money, take a look at Giffords.org.

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Today, March 22nd, 2021, marks yet another mass shooting event. This occurred in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. The assailant used an AR-15 during the attack. While Americans have the rights detailed in the 2nd amendment, continuing to allow civilians access to semi-automatic rifles with such ease poses a grave danger to our society.

Many hunters reading this post may not agree with the idea that we should limit the ability for all civilians to easily obtain semi-automatic rifles, specifically because many states allow the use of them when hunting. However, with enhanced and safer permitting practices, hunters could keep these guns if they feel strongly about their benefits when hunting. It would benefit our society greatly if we modeled some of our gun licensing practices after the U.K, for example: Certain civilians who are deemed as not a danger to society could acquire guns after interviews and review by a government entity. Hunters and other special groups can apply for more dangerous guns, like semi-automatic rifles, and go through the same process. 

The U.S. House of Representatives, Senate and Executive Branch need to take even the smallest steps and, at a minimum, implement a ban on selling semi-automatic rifles to civilians with no background check or approval processes. In addition, for those who currently own semi-automatic rifles, develop a plan to confirm their permits are active and all relevant protective measures have been performed (interviews, background checks, etc.) For those who are safely using guns, this petition should not challenge your protections under the 2nd amendment. Instead, this will ensure that your responsible use of guns is the one remembered by our society, rather than the use by the assailant who shot your friend’s cousin during his trip to the grocery store.

NOTE: on March 12th, 2021, a week before this massacre. Boulder lawmakers blocked a policy of this nature. Read more here.