One of the most widely debated topics in America today is guns. It is no secret that gun violence is a problem in the U.S. I am a supporter of a stricter gun policy in our country. I do not mean ban guns entirely, but something needs to be done. Guns are a problem, violence is a problem, but I believe the problem goes way beneath the surface.
In short, the problem is society.
The way people are raised these days gives them a false sense of importance and an insatiable need for notoriety. We are given trophies just for participating. We are bombarded with growing levels of politically correctness. It’s true, one person can change the world. One person can make an enormous difference and make a legend out of their name. The truth is: most of us don’t. Most of us are just regular people, and there’s nothing wrong with that. This mentality doesn’t create a realistic expectation of the “real world”. As a 25-year-old college sophomore, I can say that I have at least some real world experience, and the harsh reality is, nobody cares how you feel out there. It’s a cutthroat world where basically the only way to succeed is to step on the person who is competing with you; to focus only on yourself.
Now add media to the mix. Violence is glorified in all forms. I’ll admit I play "Grand Theft Auto," but the truth is nobody should be playing a video game where you can stab an old lady for no reason. Beyond that is the local news. Each time there is a mass shooting of some sort the incident is glorified and talked about again and again until the next big disaster. The shooter’s face and name are shown constantly, giving them exactly what they want: notoriety.
People that have this unrelenting need for importance see an occurrence like this and think, “if I do that too, people will finally know me. People will remember me, and I can make a difference”. And here is where people bring up the mental-health aspect, which I do agree with. The government needs a complete overhaul of how it deals with and funds mental health resources. Even still, not every mental health disorder carries violent tendencies, and not everybody with a mental health disorder is clinically diagnosed. So while a reevaluation of our mental health system would help a large number of people, it wouldn’t necessarily help the gun violence situation. It would be like putting a Band-Aid on a severed limb.
The way I see it, the biggest problem lies with American elitism. It is commonplace in our country to want to be the biggest, the best, the toughest. It seems “true patriotism” is represented by who has the biggest truck, the biggest flag, and the most guns. Meanwhile, thousands of people, civilians, since 2001 have been killed by guns. According to an article on CNN.com[1], guns have caused more American deaths, on American soil, than any act of terrorism around the world. Including 9/11. They say that 3,380 people have been killed by terrorists, whereas a staggering 407,000 deaths were caused by guns. These deaths include homicide, suicide, and accidents.
To me, this debunks the notion that we need guns to protect against terrorists. Clearly we are the problem. More importantly, it raises these questions that I have for gun enthusiasts: when is it going to be enough? How many needless deaths need to occur for something to finally be done? How many of our own people, the people you claim to be protecting with your guns, need to die before you get over your self-righteous notion that you need your guns?
Back to the original point: our society is the problem. Violence is encouraged and glorified by the media, mental health issues are grossly misunderstood, and people can’t get over how great the U.S. used to be, but refuse to admit that it no longer is. What’s worse, I’m starting to believe that it’s gone beyond repair.
So what do we do?
The only thing that can be done: stricter gun laws. Why on earth does any civilian need an AR-15? Take away the gun-show loophole that doesn’t require a background check. We need to enact new system, with physical and written exams; license renewals; thorough examinations of mental, physical, and criminal histories; references; and training courses. That way, we can take steps toward a safer United States of America. (Note: I lifted these ideas directly from the laws of other countries.)
Take a look at gun laws in other countries. It’s clear that harsher gun laws mean less gun-related deaths. Just as well, harsher gun laws mean we don’t have to ban guns entirely. So millions of gun enthusiasts can continue to hide behind their centuries-outdated-second-amendment-right-argument. But, more importantly, we can have peace of mind. We can bring our country back to what it used to be: a safe and respectable place to live.
