Gun Violence
It is a heartbreaking reality that we have to live with. This topic has been controversial for years, everyone is decidedly split on how to (if at all) deal with it. Many people are pushing for stricter laws around getting and keeping a firearm, while many people are saying it is their constitutional right to acquire and keep as many guns as they want. The first thing to do when addressing this conflict is to look at instances where lives have been taken or put in danger, and then look to see if the 2nd Amendment actually protects the perpetrator from having their firearms, and ability to acquire them, taken away (along with facing court for proceeding with their actions).
Our 2nd Amendment Rights
First, let’s outline our 2nd Amendment rights and look at some points in history where it was used in court. The 2nd Amendment reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. To break it down, it speaks of having a militia. In colonial times, when the constitution was first written the states weren’t 100% sure if they were going to unite. Thus this part of the amendment ensured that the states would be able to properly protect themselves from attack. The army that defeated the British was essentially just multiple militias joining forces to defeat a common enemy. The difference today is that the United States has an army, and multiple federal bodies in place to ensure everyone’s freedom and security. It may be an outdated way to word it, but it is still important for Americans to be able to protect themselves if anything were to happen to these systems that have been put in place. Of course, that situation is much different than those that we will be talking about today. Most of the questions about gun violence stem from public shootings, enacted by individuals who wanted to harm innocent people. The weapons they typically use are designed to take out as many people as possible in as little time as possible.
Parkland
Starting with a more recent incident, a little over a year ago Nikolas Cruz took an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida. He then proceeded to shoot students and teachers, inside and out of the school, injuring 14 of them and killing 17. It has very recently been found that this entire incident could have been avoided due to teacher reports about his behavior almost a year before he was expelled and then slaughtered 17 innocent people. It is worth acknowledging that like many people out there he had a pretty rough life, his father was essentially non-existent and his mother had a few abusive incidents with him although they were on good terms (him saying he loved his mother) before she died of phenomena. These may be some of the worst circumstances to be growing up in (I can’t really say much since I am lucky and have an amazing home life) but that doesn’t necessarily justify his actions. The fact is that there are lots of kids that are sad but they don’t go and shoot up their school because of it, they are hopefully getting the help and care that they need. The truth is that he didn’t get the help he needed and in turn he decided the best way to cope was to go to school and try to kill as many people as possible (again he used a semi-automatic rifle, those are made to shoot more rounds more quickly and is thus a more efficient killer) and that is an inexcusable action.
Columbine
This is a much older, but one of the most ‘famous’ school shootings to have happened in the US. Columbine High School. In 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold planned years in advance to attack their high school with propane bombs and when that didn’t work they switched to plan B. Both teens took semi-automatic rifles and shotguns in the school and slaughtered 13 people and wounding more than 20 others before committing suicide via the weapons they used to kill those innocent students and teacher. It is widely thought that these teens turned to this because of bullying but it isn’t entirely clear. All we really know is that this was an inspired action that was planned months to years in advance and was originally meant to kill hundreds of people (if the bombs had gone off). Not to mention it inspired many deadly copycats like the Virginia Tech massacre.
The Charleston Church Shooting
Now, this next one I must warn you is possibly the most hate-filled disgusting crime I have ever read about. Dylann Roof. On January 17, 2015, this 21-year-old white man opened fire in the oldest black church in Charleston. He took the lives of 9 innocent people during their prayer time and allegedly fled the church and was heading to another. It resulted in an overnight manhunt and he is the first man to be sentenced to death for a federal hate crime. He has said, “There’s nothing wrong with me psychologically,” and “I still feel like I had to do it”. He does not feel remorse for what he’s done. This is an example of a crime that would have happened whether or not he had easy access to guns. It was a deliberate decision to kill innocent people out of hate.
Why is this Important?
This issue is very split. There is a huge chunk of people who are calling for more gun control laws and an equally huge chunk of people who don’t want you to take away their guns and both sides have valid arguments.
The people who want more gun laws (Pro-Lifers) have multiple approaches to this idea. There are extremists who want to ban guns altogether, while some simply want a more strict tracking system and a test to take going over gun safety along with the required background check.
It is worth pointing out that you can buy an AR-15 rifle^ at the age of 18, while you have to be 21 to buy a handgun. And there is a reason for this, given that only a small percentage (about 3%) of gun-related crimes/violence is connected to rifles while handguns, most commonly used in the streets have a higher age limit because they are much more easier to conceal. But it would be beneficial to raise the age limit (for rifles) because when it comes to public shootings/school shootings it would be more difficult for a teen, like Nikolas Cruz, to carry out the crimes he committed and take as many lives as he did.
Of course, an issue with this logic comes from Dylann Roof and the Charleston Church shooting. He was 21 so as I stated above he would have still taken those lives. His crime is a unique one in the fact that he did it purely out of malicious hate and would probably do it again given the chance.
So What Now?
The people who own guns and are against extra laws do have good reasons for owning guns in the first place. They may be a collector, or they may just want a means of self-defense. Not to mention lots of them hunt.
Although if you were the owner of a gun, wouldn’t it make sense to just proceed with any new laws? Especially if it made our nation safer. Besides if you're genuinely using them for the listed reasons above then you have no bad intentions to hide.
The last thing that is important to point out is simply the fact that people who want to do harm and use a gun to do so, are going to get their hands on them no matter how legal or illegal it is. All we can really do is add extra precautions to try and keep the people of our country safe.
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Sources:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment
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