This morning, on Monday, November 28, there was yet another school shooting. All I can say in response to this news is "Why?"
No, I'm not asking why did the suspect do this. I'm asking, why do we let these shootings slip by, one after another after another. Why do we see the patterns in these shootings -- what leads up to them, etc, and yet do nothing to stop them? Are we okay with this? Are we okay with violence?
I remember after the Newtown, CT shooting, everyone thought that this would be it. Everyone thought that 20 six and seven year olds being shot dead would be the "last straw" when it comes to gun violence. Everyone thought that this would lead to tighter background checks to make it harder for people to access guns.
Yet, it wasn't. Nothing changed. People were somehow okay with letting six and seven year olds die for the sake of "keeping" their own guns (even if tighter background checks does not mean the government is going to take away your gun. It still upholds the Second Amendment).
I just wonder when we are going to actually be done with violence. When will we say that enough is enough? The public seems to keep waiting for gun violence to magically end, and yet it keeps happening. It wasn't that long ago that we had the worst mass shooting in American history in Orlando, Florida. And yet the violence continues.
I encourage everybody to think about the Second Amendment and what it means to them. Does it mean that everyone has the right to bear arms responsibly? Everyone has the right to kill whom they want, self defense or not? Does it mean that everyone has the right to bear arms without anyone else knowing, even law enforcement?
To me, it means that people have the right to go hold onto guns for safety, with proper documentation, training, and insurance. It means that guns should not be handed out indiscriminately: they should be handed out after proper checks into a person's past, much like you have to do before working with children (a CORI check). It means mass shootings should be less frequent. That's what it means.
