When I was a kid I was fascinated by the M4 Sherman, more commonly known as the Sherman Tank. That powerhouse military tank, topped off by a 75mm gun on a fully rotating turret, was used very effectively by the U.S. in World War II.
Those things were pretty much invulnerable, and were awesome if your goal was to ride into town and utterly destroy everything in sight. In a Sherman Tank, you could knock down or blow out entire buildings without missing a beat.
But I don’t think I would want one in my local neighborhood. A Sherman Tank would tear up the road, roll over and destroy cars, knock down traffic lights, and pretty much make any place unlivable.
And if some enthusiastic tank owner ever decided to shoot off a round or two, you might find your entire house reduced to rubble. Hopefully you and your kids would be lucky enough not to be home at the time, because otherwise you would all be dead.
Basically, if there is a Sherman Tank in your neighborhood, you are constantly under siege. You have essentially been reduced to being a helpless prisoner in a war zone — not a great quality of life.
Recently the NRA met in Texas, and various famous people got up and essentially claimed that there is no difference between a car and a Sherman Tank. Conveniently, nobody talked about Aaron Salter.
If I understand their reasoning correctly, I have a suggestion for the next NRA slogan: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a Sherman Tank is a good guy with a Honda Civic.”