Features Editor
Newtown, Connecticut. Aurora, Colorado. Blacksburg, Virginia.
Littleton, Colorado. These four towns are the sites of some of the deadliest
mass shootings in United States history. While the massacres in these cities received
the most media attention, there have been numerous others. Shootings such as
the one in Newtown are occurring more frequently, a scary trend in a country
where a ban on military-style assault weapons expired in 2004. The fact of the
matter is, the United States has a problem. The mentally ill and unstable and
those with criminal records are able to have not only guns in their possession,
but incredibly dangerous military-style assault weapons as well. Something must
be done to make this country safer. Capitol Hill must agree on reasonable gun
control laws and their enforcement to stop these mass shootings. The future of
the United States is at elementary, middle, and high schools, and our future is
being gunned down.
In early January, after the massacre at Newtown, President Barack Obama
outlined a plan to curb “the epidemic of gun violence in this country.” The
44th president’s plan involves universal background checks for all gun buyers,
hindering gun trafficking, banning military-style assault weapons, as well as illegalizing
ammunition magazines which hold more than 10 bullets. In an ABC News/Washington
Post poll, 53 of percent of those polled favor Obama’s proposal. However,
support is much larger for individual parts of the proposal. Large majorities
ranging from 88 percent to 65 percent favor background checks, tracking gun
sales, and banning high-capacity magazines. In a study by Johns Hopkins
University, 89 percent of respondents support universal background checks. Out
of these 89 percent, 75 percent identified themselves as members of the
National Rifle Association (NRA), a longtime opponent of gun control. Wayne
LaPierre, the vice president of the NRA, isn’t buying into gun control, saying
on NBC’s Meet the Press, “It’s not
going to work. It hasn’t worked.” However, these statistics show that more
Americans feel the need for it, and frankly, society needs it. We shouldn’t
have to mourn the death of children, teenagers, or adults killed by a rampant
gunman. Obama and future presidents should not have to deliver tearful
speeches, saddened and grieving for the deaths of the innocent.
A bill has also been introduced by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein
of California, entitled Assault Weapons
Ban of 2013, with a goal of banning military-style assault weapons and high
capacity ammunition feeding devices which hold more than 10 rounds. Most
importantly, there is also legislation to protect the rights of law abiding
citizens. Those who use guns for hunting purposes, defending his or her
household, or legal recreational purposes needn’t worry. On social media sites
such as Facebook or Twitter, mass amounts of users are complaining that the
government shouldn’t be allowed to take their guns and that implementing gun
control is unconstitutional. Let me put this rather simply: If you are a law
abiding citizen with no criminal history or mental illness, the government
won’t take your guns. The goal of gun control is to keep guns out of the hands
of the mentally ill and unstable and those with a criminal record, not take
them away from everyone, which would most certainly be unconstitutional.
Keeping the country safe isn’t unconstitutional; it’s morally right, and
necessary.
Perhaps the United States should look towards countries such as Japan
for help on deciding which types of control to implement. Among developed
countries, the island nation has the least number of firearms in circulation. To
compare the two countries, in 2008, the United States had more than 12,000 fire-arm
related homicides. Japan had 11. That total was unusually high for the
Japanese, as in 2006, there were only two. Obtaining a gun in Japan is relatively
difficult. Citizens must complete an all-day class, pass written and shooting
range tests, take mental and drug tests, file with police, and provide police
with documentation on where the gun and ammunition will be located in the house
(both must be locked and stored in separate places). In addition, police
inspect every citizen’s gun once a year and those who own a gun must retake the
class and exam every three years. The United States should take some ideas from
the Japanese, such as requiring citizens wishing to acquire a gun to pass
written and shooting range classes, as well as taking mental and drug tests, to
prevent those who shouldn’t have a gun from obtaining one. Spending a few hours
taking these tests isn’t a hassle, especially if it will prevent unlawful use
of guns. The key, though, is for the government to enforce the laws; a law
isn’t effective unless it is enforced.
If you watched Obama’s speech after the massacre in Newtown, you know
how serious of an issue gun control is. Obama showed his sensitive side in the
speech, appealing to Americans not as Commander-in-Chief, but as a father and a
husband. “With their very first cry, this most precious, vital part of
ourselves, our child, is suddenly exposed to the world, to possible mishap or
malice, and every parent knows there's nothing we will not do to shield our
children from harm,” Obama said. I cannot remember a president who has cried
while delivering a speech to a national audience. We shouldn’t have to see
another president cry. We shouldn’t have to listen to another president
question if we are doing enough to keep our kids safe. In his speech, Obama
asked, “Can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children, all
of them, safe from harm? Can we claim, as a nation, that we're all together
there, letting them know they are loved and teaching them to love in return?”
Looking at this country in its current state, I can honestly say we are not
doing enough to keep our children safe. They are growing up not surrounded by
love, but rather tragedy and violence. We need to stop the massacre of the
innocent, and we can do so by implementing some sort of gun control.
