by Avni Mittal
Aurora Movie Theater: 12 dead, 59 injured. Sandy
Hook Elementary School: 28 dead (20 children 8 adults). Aurora townhouse: 4 dead. Baruch
Houses, Lower East Side NYC: 16 year old boy dead. These are some of the
major shootings that have occurred in only the last several months in the
United States. Heading into 2013 and President Obama’s second term, there
are a lot of issues that need to be faced. Along with tackling the debt
ceiling, climate change, and healthcare costs, I believe gun control should be
one of the more prominent issues discussed in 2013.
Gun violence is increasing at a rapid rate in the U.S
and something really needs to be done about it. I feel that part of the
reason for this increase is the increased availability of guns. A friend
of the boy who was killed on the Lower East Side and others who witnessed the
crime state that the shooter looked a mere 12 years old. He then
continued on to state that if she wanted to, his younger, seven-year-old
sister, could purchase a gun. The easy accessibility to guns
has made it hard for shooters to have time think about their actions
beforehand. For example, the 12 year old shooter was claimed to have been
seeking revenge for a fight earlier that day.
Technically, according to the Second Amendment, American
citizens have the right to bear arms. Some may use them to feel safer or
for sport. But are those who have guns really safer? In the Sandy
Hook Elementary School shooting, the gunman Adam Lanza is said to have shot his
mother with the gun she had in the house. Guns at home may be easily
accessible to family member in the house, and can easily be snatched on
site. Therefore, I feel that the guns kept at home are causing more of a
problem rather than preventing one. Personally, like my government
teacher, I believe that the Second Amendment needs to be scrapped. The American
people cannot seem to handle guns, and those who wish to use guns for sport
should keep their guns where the British do, locked up at hunting clubs. However,
I have a hard time seeing this change as realistic out due to the many gun
enthusiasts and civil rights activists in our country.
For example, a gun show in the area of Newtown,
Connecticut, still took place three weeks ago even after the tragedy that
occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Also, after shootings like
Aurora and Sandy Hook, the number of guns sold has increases. The immense
fear that lies with many Americans has led us to try and ‘fix’ the problem by
fighting fire with fire. With this attitude, it will be hard to come up
with a helpful approach to gun control.
I look forward to what will happen in the coming months.
I think you make a good point and you enforce it by bringing up many examples of mass shootings that have occurred in the past. I agree and think that right now gun control is a huge conflict in the United States and has sparked a lot of controversy. Do you think that we should get rid of the Second Amendment? Also, I didn't know that there was a gun show in Newtown recently, and that's really saddening. I hope that in the coming year, there will be a helpful, compromising approach by Congress to come up with a solution.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that guns shouldn't have the huge availability status that they presently have but at the same time I feel that honestly, I know it sounds cheesy but guns don't hurt people, people hurt people. I feel that there are simply just crazy people out there and I commend the fact that we are trying to help the problem by controlling guns but there are some factors we unfortunately have no control over :(
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