I despise political rants as much as the next person, and I’m not normally one to partake in the debate… but I can't hold back this time. So if you hate political rants, then just scroll past this to save yourself time. I'm not looking for an argument. I am, however, trying to express my feelings toward the shooting in Orlando last night.
I am so unbelievably sick and tired of mass shootings in this country. Since I actively began paying attention to politics in high school, I have watched President Obama get on national television and deliver way too many somber apologies to families of victims who were shot and killed in an act of hate or terror. We live in a free country.
Why should we have to fear going outside to enjoy ourselves because someone could kill us at any waking moment?
We live in a country where, unfortunately, access to guns is extremely simple. It’s written in our Bill of Rights, an Amendment to our Constitution. Now, I’m not here to disrespect our Founding Fathers and say that the Bill of Rights is wrong or pointless. In fact, I think that they are more than necessary. But I do think it’s time for an upgrade.
Times are changing and have been. The Bill of Rights was written in 1789, and it wasn’t ratified until 1791. Take a look at this time in history: men were wearing wigs and stockings, women were barely allowed to leave the kitchen and guns were used mainly for hunting and in war. So of course, at the time, it made sense to make the second Amendment to our Constitution the Right to Bear Arms.
It’s 2016. Kids are using battery-powered hoverboards to get from Point A to Point B. In a device smaller than a calculator, we are able to message, make phone calls and with the swipe of a finger have access to the entire internet (which, just for the record, wasn’t around in 1791 either). If our technology is upgrading and advancing, then why can’t our Bill of Rights be upgraded too?
The Bill of Rights is essentially a list of updates or upgrades to the Constitution, isn’t it? I think it’s time to amend our amendments.
As college students, this is our future at hand. Do we want to live in a country like this? Where mass shootings are nearly a regular occurrence? Or a place where freedom is jeopardized at the hand of someone who got their hands on a weapon that should not have been in their hands in the first place? I don’t.
I plead, urge and beg President Obama to not be a Lame Duck. This is the time to take action against misuse of weapons in our country. Yes, we live in a free country, which should mean you can say and do whatever you want. But as free citizens, we should have and deserve the right to live freely and without fear. And maybe, just maybe, this means banning guns.
Gay, lesbian, straight, black, white, transgender… whatever you are, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, we’re all people, and we’re all Americans. There is too much hate, exclusion and resentment toward each other in this country. We need to take a stand as young adults in this country and do something to protect ourselves and our future in America.
How many innocent people have to die before something is done about this?
