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Valley community split on gun debate
Posted: 12.21.2012 at 6:41 PM
Daisy Barrera

Daisy is a reporter for Action 4 News.

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San Benito resident Rene Garcia has printed dozens of these flyers to collect signatures from community members in support of banning assault rifles.

He's in favor of allowing people to have small caliber guns, but not mass destruction weapons.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, he said, is more than enough proof that it's time the government steps in to implement this ban to help protect innocent lives.

"Assault rifles are for war,” said Garcia. “Our school systems do a tremendous job of protecting our children every day, but they can only do so much how do you stop somebody from doing what happened in Newtown, Connecticut from happening here in San Benito"

But Jeremy Reiley is one second amendment supporter that wont be signing this petition.

He's the owner of Rio Gun Club Shooting Range in La Feria, and says these tragic events are not due to people having access to high powered weapons.

He adds there are over 300 million guns across the country, and claims most gun owners are not misusing their weapons.

"If they were really a problem you would have shootings like this all over the country every day,” said Reiley. “It's 47 percent of Americans' households have guns in them, so if it were really that big of a problem it would be much more widespread."

Reiley said it's up to parents to do a better job of talking to their children early on, about the dangers and proper use of guns.

"People educating children on the proper use of guns and that they are not like video games," said Reiley. "When you really shoot people you don’t get to do a do-over"

But Garcia argues it's going to take more than just words.

"Our country is faced with a situation right now that can only get worse,” said Garcia. “I think it's time that we think about each other and protect each other.”

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