Rancho Tehama Gunman Proved Gun Bans Cannot Stop Determined Attacker

The Rancho Tehama gunman who killed five people and opened fire on a school proved anew that gun bans cannot stop a determined attacker.

After all, guns are banned from California K-12 campuses, but that did not stop Kevin Neal from transporting a gun to the school and opening fire.

Moreover, Neal was prohibited from firearm possession, yet that did not stop him from possessing guns with which to kill innocents.

According to KTAR, Neal had two rifles that authorities “believe” were assembled at home. Such weapons are often called “ghost guns” and they are legal to make if you are not a prohibited gun owner. Neal was prohibited from gun ownership, having “been ordered to give up all his guns this year under a restraining order issued against him after he was charged with assaulting two women who lived nearby.”

But that order was just a piece of paper and proved again that determined attackers are not deterred by gun bans, gun control, or judicial rulings.

KTAR reports that “ghost guns” are turning up more and more at crime scenes around the country, yet they only cite two examples of such firearms being used with criminal intent. Those two examples are Neal’s attack on Rancho Tehama Elementary School and a 2016 attack in which a man opened fire on Baltimore police officers. Neal was killed by police after opening fire and the man in Baltimore was killed as well.

There is a considerable amount of errant reporting on “ghost guns.” Prices for “ghost gun” kits are frequently reported, giving the impression that a box of parts comes in, and an individual can just snap together a gun. In reality, the central part of a “ghost gun” is the 80 percent lower receiver that has to be completed before assembly can even begin. This takes knowledge and equipment and is one of the main reasons that “ghost guns” are popular with true gun enthusiasts — with people who have a solid understanding of the mechanics of a firearm.

KTAR points out that Cody Wilson’s Defense Distributed (DD) sells CNC machines that allow Americans to finish their 80 percent receivers in their homes. But DD’s machines cost $1,700, which is well above the price a criminal could pay to simply buy stolen guns from other criminals and/or gang members.

Can a “ghost gun” be used criminally? Certainly. And so can a steak knife, a hammer, and a rental truck traveling down the bicycle lane.

Should we begin a conversation aimed at prohibited steak knives, hammers, and rental trucks?

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com