58 people dead in Las Vegas, 50 people dead in a New Zealand Mosque, 17 teenagers killed in their school, 49 people killed in a nightclub, 20 children and 7 adults killed in an elementary school. All within the last seven years, four of these were in the last two years. When is enough, enough? How many more innocent people by the masses are going to get killed? When will our government draft laws stop these horrid attacks from happening?  Gun control has been one of the most heated topics circling throughout our society. The topic has become so prevalent that some people define themselves by it. We hear stories about how students from the Parkland Shooting are committing suicide due to the trauma, hear stories of people being in multiple shootings, and more about the lives of loved ones lost. In this country, it is legal to own heavy weapons that have caused such shootings and the ability for someone to kill a larger amount of people. This does not only affect the people who have been in the shootings with the trauma but also affects the whole country. A lot of people defend the second amendment and the other half are wishing that no one could own any weapon like that used to kill. The same people who defend the second amendment usually look at the power/ economic side of things, while the other side usually looks at the moral and social side of it. This itself is a problem as the nation could be seen as divided just from people’s political point of views. Making our country look foolish, we see the shootings and heavy weapon owning is still present all over the country. Going into a new year we see more and more shootings happening as it is increasing at an alarming and exponential rate. As we continue hearing about all the fatality and the trauma, it is affecting people all over, even those not involved. Everyone seems to have an opinion, but no one seems to have the power to do anything about it on both political party sides, as the controversy continues. 

What This Fight is Causing

It is unethical and childish for two parties to debate over a topic which takes the lives of so many men, women, and children. It is normal to have different views on topics such as this, especially because of the second amendment, but arguing whether or not we need change should never be an argument. In a way, it is almost a sense of privilege arguing over whether or not we need change. The fact of the matter is people are dying, families are losing loved ones, life is getting stripped of people who woke up and didn’t know today would be their last. We get to argue back and forth on the laws but we get to shrug off the conversation. We get to go to sleep that night. We will always have that tomorrow to finish the topic. The people who succumb to gun violence do not. The Left and the Right participate in this never-ending debate discussing rights this and rights that but the right to life, the right to feel safe in your school, the right to walk outside and know tomorrow will come.

Our Country Looks Foolish

 Our country looks foolish. There is a joking saying that gets told in circles that is “‘there is nothing we can do to fix this’ says the only country where it is repeatedly happening.” This is not just a saying either. Most notably, it was Australia in 1996 who made guns a privilege and not a right after a gunman killed 35 people in the town of Port Arthur. Following this, Australia required gun owners to have a valid reason for owning a gun, licensing rules were tightened, and they introduced a 28 day grace period before purchasing a gun.  On top of this, they placed a ban on shotguns and all semiautomatic and automatic rifles. When this was done the country bought back more than 650,000 guns (Ny times) . Since the banning in Australia, the country has yet to have a mass shooting. It has been more than 20 years. In more recent news, 50 people were shot and killed in a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. The day they were laid to rest – 10 days later – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country will see gun reform. All the while Americans are in their homes bickering at their television blaming the other side for ruining the country. We look lousy and our government fails to accomplish anything.

Getting Guns is Hard …Right?

 
The reason change is needed is because are still dying no matter where they are. Even if it is not a mass murder or a school shooting, people still lose their lives to guns every day. According to the New York Times, there were 39,773 deaths related to guns in 2017, which is an unfathomable amount. So where do all these guns come from? Believe it or not, guns are not that hard to get. In fact, only 13 states require a background check. Crazy right?

In this video, a 13-year-old boy, who gets rejected to buy lottery tickets at a gas station, walks into a gun fair and purchases the weapon for proof that there was no law to not let him. If people keep constantly putting these gun fairs on acting like they are toys, people are going to start treating them that way. Let’s put it into a different perspective. If this boy was mentally unstable, wanted to kill a classmate, a family member, a friend, he easily could now that he has a gun in his possession. Think about it before it is too late.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, there are more than 55,000 licensed gun dealers along with 8,000 licensed pawn shops allowed to sell guns. Both are federally required to provide background checks when selling guns, however, the real kicker is one does not need to go the officially licensed gun retailer route if they seek a firearm. The main loophole is that background checks are not required when doing private purchase, such as through a friend or family member, or at gun shows. It can be seen why this is such a major loophole, because these massive events that have nothing but guns, actually have the lenient views on selling them.  

One thing leading into who wants what, there is a common ground surprisingly. Both parties seem to want there to be more background checks on the gun owners. Say you have a person go in and buy a gun and they do not ask for any type of information. Would you rather have a highly trained police officer carry a gun in his belt, or someone who had walked into a gun fair handed someone some cash, and is now a legal rightful gun owner? Who would you feel safer around? The problem here is that everyone would feel safer around the highly trained officer; yet, there has been nothing done in the states that allow just anyone a gun. As the Republican party has stated, all American citizens are allowed to own a gun because of the second amendment. “Polls show that overwhelming majorities of Americans – Republicans, Democrats and gun owners of both parties – support expanded background checks on gun sales, as well as laws to prevent people with mental illnesses from buying guns.  But Republican legislators have continued to refuse to support any gun new control measures, swayed by the influence of pro-gun Republican primary voters and by the political clout of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its organized and vocal membership” (The Guardian). There is a sudden proof that the people of America fear their lives many times, yet the NRA and the republican party are rejecting the safety of the people.  

So What Are the Views of Both Sides?

Democrat View

“We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms” The democratic party is nowhere near to wanting to ban every firearm in the nation. But their views are plenty different than the Republican view. The Democrats believe that life is fragile enough to want to keep it safe within our country. It is more of a social aspect, as they care more about the morality in choices over logical reason at times. They respect the second amendment but think that the people come first before any type of weapon. And, if that means to defend themselves, regulations will be required. It varies in different states as to who can own a gun and who cannot. There is a common theme to the democratic wanting and that is that the United States should keep the guns out of the hands of suspicious people and the mentally unstable. It makes sense as to why they would regulate that, as anyone who could potentially be a threat should not be able to own a weapon powerful enough to kill with one move of a muscle on a trigger. The democratic party socially also does not condone the owning of any type of gun strong enough to kill mass amounts of people in a shooting. The big assault rifles and heavy machinery weapons are not to be allowed in the States, yet every state has its laws. The biggest problem is with this aspect as said before, people from both parties have the view of the hope for deeper background checks of gun owners, yet no one is willing to make the change (thanks to the Republican Senate).

Republican View

The republican standpoint on guns in for the most part uniform. It is fair to say most all conservatives have a pro-second-amendment, pro-gun mindset. It is also a known fact for these people there is a good chance that internet browsing is mostly done on Fox News. I did a quick google search of “Fox News gun control” and clicked the first link I saw. A quick read shows that opinions are stated as facts and there is an ever so clear bias. In John R. Lott’s article Media portrayal of gun ownership is inaccurate and biased, he has a specific paragraph I would like to point out. He says, “NBC might be the worst network, but it’s a tight race. It seems to have given marching orders to its TV writers to churn out scripts demonizing law-abiding gun owners and lionizing those who want to slap strict new controls on gun ownership, even if that means disregarding the Second Amendment to the Constitution.” This article has a lot of interesting twists and choice of word choice, but it is not what I want to delve into. What I would like to point out is that the author establishes a hatred-like opinion towards anyone who is anti-gun and acts like a victim saying pro-gun owners are demonized. These are not facts, and nowhere does it show sources to these claims, they are pure opinion based. The problem is that the thousands of people who view these articles take them as facts and get an uncomfortable feeling when it comes to pro-gun. They hunker down their beliefs and go out and buy another gun in case the government decides to take away their guns. This, unfortunately, leads to a reserved view and the ability to make change will not come easily.  

Let’s Ignore Politics

Dealing with the loss of a loved one is a horrifying time in life as it is. A lot of the more admirable easier cases are mostly the loss of a grandparent or the loss of someone who is sick. That only is for the reason that there is a type of warning. If someone knows their grandparent is 102 years old or knows that someone had been in a long fight with a deathly illness, them passing would put them in a grieving state, but would not necessarily be a surprise overall. In fact, it would be easier to know their soul is at rest. But instead, say you get a call that your family member was involved in a deadly shooting as you are on your way into Walmart. What do you do? 

It is hard to be in someone’s perspective when it comes to this if you have never dealt with it first-hand. In fact, no one ever wants to deal with something like this, gun-owner/pro-gun or not. Putting the politics aside,

In Conclusion,

Over 100 people on average are injured or killed by guns in the US every day. It doesn’t matter if it is a homicide, suicide, or accidental, people continue to die. Overall, taking a weapon of such harm will not only make it harder for them to get it with more regulations, but it will also increase the chances of people making it out alive in a harmful situation. As the video from Vox said before, “depression with a gun is more harmful than depression without one.” Which this can also relate to how if not only the person is planning a suicide, but also a homicide could be prevented. People should not be afraid to walk outside into a mall, or a school, or a concert, or a restaurant just because they are fearing their life could be in the hands of a gunman. Doing the good for the American people and supporting the putting of regulations on weapons with the proof of most countries that it WILL be effective, might just save an innocent life or two. 

Sources

Beckett, Lois, and Ben Jacobs. “Gun Control: House Democrats Pledge to Use Majority to Pass Legislation.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Nov. 2018, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/09/house-democrats-gun-control-legislation-pledge.

Fieldstadt, Elisha. “Buying a Gun Is So Easy ‘It Doesn’t Make Sense’.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 5 Jan. 2016, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/doesn-t-make-sense-how-easy-it-buy-gun-n490756.

Holcombe, Madeline. “New Zealand Prime Minister Confirms Gun Law Reform after Mosque Massacre.” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Mar. 2019, http://www.cnn.com/2019/03/18/asia/new-zealand-mosque-shooting-monday-intl/index.html.

Lott, John R. “Media Portrayal of Gun Ownership Is Inaccurate and Biased.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 10AD, http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/media-portrayal-of-gun-ownership-is-inaccurate-and-biased.

Mervosh, Sarah. “Nearly 40,000 People Died From Guns in U.S. Last Year, Highest in 50 Years.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Dec. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/us/gun-deaths.html.

Mervosh, Sarah. “New Zealand Took 6 Days to Plan New Gun Laws. Here’s How Other Countries Reacted to Shootings.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Mar. 2019, http://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/world/gun-laws-australia-uk-germany-canada.html.