Too Immature and Impulsive to Buy Assault Rifles?

Every time a mass shooting happens, the politicians begin, anew, the struggle over gun control. It's a political hot button, but it sort of sits in the background until a tragedy forces it to the forefront. Of course, one reason it stays in the background until forced into the open is because of the massive amounts of lobbyist dollars that are spent to keep legislation stalled. 

The recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, and the many, many shootings since then, has again ignited political debates over gun control laws. One giant question, of course, is how can an 18 year old kid legally purchase a military style assault rifle? It's true that we let 18 year old kids sign up for the military and train them in how to kill with a gun, but that's different, isn't it? 

Personally, I'm a big proponent of protecting Constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms. But I'm also a pragmatist who sees the value of limits on some rights. I'm also keenly aware that the politicians who scream "Protect the Second Amendment!" are the same politicians who readily sold out Americans' right to privacy under the George W. Bush administration. The Patriot Act stripped Americans of many privacy rights (which we've never recovered), but these politicians didn't balk. Apparently there's a big difference between protecting America from foreign and domestic terrorism aimed at our financial institutions and protecting children from deeply disturbed 18 year olds who would kill them in their classrooms. 

Americans ought to have the right to bear arms. The Founding Fathers put that in the Constitution because they recognized the need for citizens to protect themselves from the tyranny of the government. But that tyranny, the kind that requires bearing arms anyway, has not (yet) materialized in 246 years. Mass shootings, though, happen with disturbing regularity in our country. Clearly, something has to change. 

I support some of the limitations being tossed around, but I especially support raising the age of legality for purchasing assault rifles to 21. I'd even consider raising the age for hand guns to 21. Science has demonstrated that brains are not fully developed until 21 to 25 years of age, so I support raising the age limit for those in Michigan who can be sentenced to non-parolable life to at least 21 years old. A legal decision (still pending) may soon raise that age. So, if science supports that decision, certainly it supports raising the age of maturity for purchasing assault rifles.

We can't have it both ways. Kids should simply not be able to buy weapons like these. Their impulsive, immature brains can't handle the responsibility. Trust me. I should know. I'm surrounded every day by such immature impulsivity in prison.