Recently I was on Instagram and I noticed that one of the accounts that I followed mentioned another account that i follow. This account was Daisy Ridley -- Rey in "Star Wars," for those who don't know. The reason her account was mentioned was because she had deleted it due to the hate she was receiving for one of her posts. Want to know what her post was about? Stopping gun violence. In her post, Ridley stated, "As I sat in the audience yesterday, tears were streaming down my face at the tribute to those that have been lost to gun violence. I didn’t get a great picture of the incredible group that came onstage but they were so brave. It was a true moment of togetherness. We must #stoptheviolence.” Soon after, many took to her Instagram to state that she was a hypocrite since Star Wars deals with violence. I firmly believe that she had every right to post her opinion on anything that she wants to, but simply because she is an actress involved in a violence-filled franchise she cannot. In today's media, the coverage of almost all gun shootings is out of this world; every day is a new news cycle about the problem of gun violence. Just last week, three police shootings took place, and did anyone keep their mouth shut? No, they used media to call for an end of gun violence.
According to Yahoo News, a poll was taken on how gun violence should be stopped. This poll showed that nine out of 10 young adults favored having criminal background checks before being able to purchase guns. Another 9 out of 10 young adults also support having heavier penalties if someone violates existing gun laws, and 57% of young adults favor a ban on the selling of semi-automatic weapons. With young Americans supporting stricter gun laws, many people wonder if having stricter gun laws would affect our Second Amendment right to bear arms. The simple answer is no -- the Second Amendment gives Americans the right to bear arms; these stricter gun aren't taking away that right. They are simply making access to guns harder and safer. Simply speaking, if Person A has a history of mental illness or a history of violence, Person A can go out and buy a gun. With stricter gun laws, Person A has to go through a background check; this way, their history of of violence will pop up and their purchase of a gun is stopped.
Gun violence does need to be stop, but it shouldn't matter who says that. Daisy Ridley isn't her character; she simple played a character who was involved in a movie with lots of violence.
