BY DIANE LILLI

COMMENTARY

As I read the local and national news, I can't help but be stunned.

Are we all so jaded that the massacre of 6 and 7 year olds and their teachers is just another day in our country?

So let me introduce you to the most popular killing tool in the United States, one used in the Newtown massacre, the AR-15 rifle.

The killer in Newtown, Ct. on Friday (no name published in this paper) used it easily as he shot small children and helpless adults numerous times, over and over.

All it takes to do this, you see, is a tiny flick of your trigger finger.

This same rifle it turns out was used to slaughter 12 people in the movie theatre in Colorado last summer. It was also used by a killer to murder people in the mall in Portland, Oregon last week.

It is readily available to the public and is a slaughter-machine.

It is a semiautomatic weapon.

There are other weapons that this killer in Connecticut and other spots favor of course, but I felt it would be timely to show you what this rifle looks like.

Semiautomatic weapons are also now a popular weapon used against our police officers and other law enforcement officers.

Wearing a vest just doesn't cut it when you are shot with these bullets.

The rifles can shoot off 40 or more rounds instantly.

The F.B.I., in their annual Crime Report, states that 323 Americans were killed by these rifles in 2011.

My point?

If you are in favor of keeping guns legal for citizens in our country, perhaps it is time to consider the sheer reality of these rifles. They are not for defense. They are for the slaughter of the innocents.

Gun laws must be tightened. We must also change our laws so families have the right to commit or force medication upon very mentally ill family members. Today, the law states that if you are 18 years old - unless you show you are a violent threat and have done violent deeds - no one can force you to get help.

I'm sick of writing about these senseless killings.

If no one in Congress will change things, how about this: Imagine every mother and father in the United States signs a petition to change our gun laws and our mental health laws.

There are 82.5 million mothers in the United States.

That's a lot of power - even more than an assault rifle.

Something to think about.

And something to act on, I would say.

I am drafting a petition - and getting some legal help before I send it out to the world. Will you help? I know we cannot stop all guns but we must start somewhere.

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Diane Lilli is the publisher of The Jersey Tomato Press