In recent days, weeks, months and years, the United States has always come to the great question of Gun Control. Just this past week, the LAX Airport in California was a place of gun violence that rages the country every year and not even a month earlier the news and media was reporting about the Washington Navy Yard being under attack by someone wielding a 12 gauge shot gun. Many news and media sources have opinions about what we as a people should do about gun violence.
For example, Sanjay Sanghoee, The Huffington Post, believes that "gun control, for sure, is going nowhere fast — if at all." From his statement, I get the sense of pacifism that the issues of gun control will never be resolved, but he does continue stating that we as people need to come to understanding of how guns actually create violence rather than just being the convenient instruments of it. Another writer by the name of Rebecca Leber, Think Progress believes that "the NRA will likely argue that this shooting (LAX shooting) is more proof gun restrictions should be weakened, not strengthened in public areas, since a bystander could intervene in a shooting. All the best research points to this being even more dangerous." Leber's statement seems to be going the route of saying that we need stricter gun laws. The usual topic is that we should either make stricter gun control policies or that we should lessen the restrictions on gun control. Government officials are given the pros and cons of each side of the argument and it is from the evidence produced that they are able to come up with rational gun control policies, but the question is...Are these Government Officials really making the proper and necessary laws to keep gun violence to a minimum?
In my personal opinion, I do not believe that the U.S. Government does enough to keep guns off the hands of bad people and that the simple state and federal background checks need to be re-worked and revised to keep guns from falling into the criminally minded people. It is too easy to go into a firearms dealer and purchase a gun in the United States. From my own personal experience, it took less than ten to fifteen minutes for the whole process in acquiring a firearm. There is something to be said about that process in that there are not enough safeguards in place within the system to keep loopholes or rather exploitations from occurring. It is too easy to pass those backgrounds checks and as long as people have the money, there is no stopping them from purchasing a firearm.
Statistics show that 65% of Americans and 59% of gun owners in America support the limiting of handgun sales to one per person per month. Another statistic shows that 79% of Americans, 69% of police chiefs, 61% of gun owners, 59% of NRA members have support for registration of handguns. Through these figures and studies, it definitely shows that the people of the U.S. do agree in having stricter gun laws. Some other statistics show that “No background check” sales account for an estimated 40% of gun sales in the U.S. and that in one year, at least 30,000 guns are “lost” out of gun dealers inventories. These statistics scare me into thinking we need stricter gun laws. Its hard to believe that these things really happen in our country and what its says about our country is that we are too relaxed. I'm all about having the "right to bear arms", but if that right would eventual lead to early death...than to hell with it, we need stricter gun laws to keep events like LAX shootings or the Washington Navy Yard from hitting us to close to home.
Mr. Corpus' take on gun control is one I can relate with quite well. Gun control in the United States is poor, and as acts of gun related violence increases this also increases the amount of guns sold. I'm certain that everyone could agree that guns should not be sold to felons, and the mentally ill. The question Mr. Corpus' asks is, "...are these government officials really making the proper and necessary laws to keep gun violence to a minimum?" In the aftermath of a tragic event involving gun violence, gun sales are greatly affected ( Sandy Hook ), however, gun sales do not directly correlate with gun violence. The background checks that we go through are very efficient at doing what they are designed to do, and that's to ensure guns do not find themselves in the hands of documented non-law abiding citizens. Criminals however, do not always have a criminal record. In the case of the Navy Yard shooting, a man who is well versed in weapons would pass any background check and with the military ID would have been trusted to purchase/handle any firearm of his choosing.
ReplyDeleteI think to say "Gun laws are too lax, we need to make them stricter" is an easy thing to say. What more can possibly be done to make them stricter? Should a person have to be mentally evaluated and interviewed by a licensed therapist in order to purchase a firearm? Or perhaps be evaluated in order to receive a CHL or other type of license to purchase a firearm which in turn would be required to purchase a gun? But even hypothetically speaking if all of these stipulations were in place you could still name instances of tragic gun violence in the past that would have occurred regardless. The fact of the matter is, criminals ( documented or not ) will act upon any intent they have regardless of a law. Because that's what criminals do. It is the task of law enforcement and only in certain contexts the task of the citizens to handle these types of people. The thought of using violence to curb violence is obviously not a popular one. However, it is our founding fathers who agreed to this, and even used in the past.
Personally I feel the gun laws are fine where they are and they do not need to be made more strict or more relaxed. Making it one way or another would either turn us into a gun violence ridden country or turned into one giant police state(which nobody wants). But whether you like it or not, gun violence is enforced by law enforcement and YOU. Unless of course someone is willing and able to revise the Constitution of the United States. When it comes to gun control, knowledge and preparation is key.
Nice one, Mr Ernst! =)....I do agree with several points in your argument and you do bring more to the subject matter. Gun control will,always and forever, be an issue that has many sides to take into account. Only time will tell what will happen with gun laws....
ReplyDeleteI just hope that nothing like the LAX and Navy Yard shootings will come anywhere near us and that those said "law enforcement and only in certain contexts the task of the citizens" will be there for us, when and if that event ever comes knocking at our door.
-Mr. Corpus