BY BRANDON SLOANE
A very troubling statistic was brought to light recently that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. According to MSN.com, half of the United States’ deadliest mass shootings have occurred in the past six years. This is an incredible and truly frightening fact when you consider the history of the United States spans over two centuries. Just this past year, there were several deadly incidents that caught the nation completely off-guard. The shootings in an Aurora, Colorado Movie Theater, a Portland, Oregon mall, and a Connecticut elementary school left dozens dead and millions of Americans in disgusted shock. What do all of these horrific events have in common? They were all the work of armed and dangerous men who had access to weapons that they should not have been able to acquire. Gun control needs to be addressed before countless others fall victim to similar catastrophes.
Gun control is not something that can be achieved over night. It has no easy solution or simple fixes. Having said that, there is a lot that I feel can be done in order to begin to address this problem. For starters, I firmly believe that people who are mentally ill should be barred from purchasing firearms. Many of the culprits who commit mass shootings like the ones in Colorado and Connecticut were not in good mental health. Adam Lanza, the shooter of the Sandy Hook Elementary School, was nearly committed to a psychiatric facility by his mother before he committed the crime using his mother’s own gun she kept in the house. Additionally, James Holmes, the man who was responsible for the Aurora Colorado Movie Theater Shooting was noted by CBSnews.com to have seen three mental health professionals at the University of Colorado prior to the incident. Men like Holmes and Lanza are not only a threat to themselves when they have access to weapons, but also to countless others around them.
Another shocking revelation in respect to gun control is how easy it is for convicted criminals to acquire guns. According to an article by thinkprocess.org, many people with felony charges on their records are able to easily have their right to bear arms reinstated in a court of law with little to no review on the case. Incredulously, in several states, criminals who had committed first degree murder and manslaughter were able to get their second amendment rights restored. This debauchery of the so-called “justice system” has been made possible by extensive lobbying on behalf of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and their “restoration movement”. There have already been examples of convicts, including a man in Washington, who have used their weapons to commit more murders after their release. Criminals, especially those with violent backgrounds, should be cut off from guns for the duration of their lives.
Access to assault rifles also plays a major part in the problem of gun violence. Under the National Firearms Act of 1934, civilians have the ability to purchase assault rifles and any other type fully automatic firearms. It seems ludicrous to me that an average man in a place like Cooper City has the ability to own the same weapons used on the front lines of a battlefield. What possible purpose could one have for owning a weapon like that? Granted, some professions such as hunting call for the selective use of these weapons. In those circumstances, an exception should be made. Additionally, in regards to the claim that guns are used for protection, the fact is that if people didn’t have them in the first place, we wouldn’t need protection at all.
The most crucial step to solving the problem of gun violence in America is teaching Americans about gun violence. Through proper education, we can make people more aware of the dangers that guns can pose and the responsibilities that accompany having them. Moreover, having public places such as schools practice emergency drills will help people become better prepared if a shooting were to actually occur. This can limit casualties and save countless lives in the future.
The fact of the matter is that you can never truly stop gun violence altogether. Criminals will still always find ways to acquire guns and use them for malicious purposes. However, that should be no excuse for letting these problems go unaddressed. How many more sons and daughters need to die for us to realize we need to make a change? How many children are going to have to grow up parentless because we do not take the initiative? We all need to take time out of our day to contact our local congressman and tell him that enough is enough. There needs to be something done about gun violence in the United States before it is someone we know whose funeral we have to attend.
