Lawmakers should raise age limit for assault rifle purchase

Assault weapon age limit

Legislature must act on SB 5444

As a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, I know the extensive training that soldiers have when it comes to operating a gun. I learned how to safely handle, store and shoot a gun. It is a skill that requires time, practice and respect for the weapon you are holding.

Yet anyone can walk into a store and purchase a deadly assault weapon. They don’t even have to demonstrate that they know how to safely handle a gun. These dangerous guns have been used in too many recent shootings, including the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last week, one that was narrowly avoided in Everett, and the Mukilteo high school party shooting a few years ago. I have many good friends who live in Mukilteo, so I saw how that tragic shooting devastated their community. It should not be so easy for a teenager in crisis to walk into a store and buy a deadly weapon.

The Legislature can and should change this. They can vote and pass SB 5444, which would raise the age of purchase to 21 on all assault weapons. We can’t keep letting our kids die. I say a prayer each morning as I think about my 13 grandkids going off to school. But we need more than prayers. We need action!

Let’s safe some lives!

Raymond Miller

Everett