The assault rifle test

Thanks to the SAFE Act passed by the legislature in New York and signed by Governor Cuomo, it is illegal to purchase an assault rifle like the one used in the Orlando massacre.  Many other states have enacted similar laws and an entire nation, Australia, has outlawed the weapons entirely.  Not so amazingly, the frequency of mass shootings in that country has dropped to zero.  I read in the NYT that the families of the victims of the New Town shooting in Connecticut have advanced a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the AR-15 rifle used in the shooting based on the theory that it is a weapon of war and should never have been advertised and sold to civilians.  Thanks to the spineless reaction of republicans in congress to the NRA, this lawsuit may have more impact on the problem than legislation.  If gun manufacturers are on the hook for potentially billions of dollars in punitive damages for the conduct of those who buy their weapons, those weapons will not be sold.  Whether by legislation or judicial sanctions, it is time to restrict these weapons of mass destruction.  Their only function is to kill human beings.  How can our society not ban the sale and eventually confiscate these weapons in the name of common humanity?  The 2nd amendment is open to interpretation, and common sense gun control is easily deduced from the language of the framers.  We need to go there.