Moms Demand Action started as a grassroots movement the day after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, in which a lone gunman took the lives of twenty 6 and 7 year olds and the lives of six adults on staff.
Founder Shannon Watts took to Facebook immediately calling for gun reform.
Her initial ideology sparked this mass movement of calling for “common sense” laws. These moms are dedicated to gun reform and protecting children in all public places. The movement has gotten so large that Shannon Watts has received death threats from gun enthusiasts and only leaves her house with security. There is something to say about people who want to have easy access to guns also feeling comfortable with sending death threats. Moms Demand Action is not demanding the removal of guns, just for public safety. To attain public safety, there must be reform.
I think there is some confusion about what gun reform entails.
From the right's opinion, it is an infringement upon the second amendment, which is the right to bear arms. Initially, this amendment was designed so that the people could fight against a tyrannical government, if one were to arise. This was also when guns could only shoot one bullet at a time before needing to be reloaded. This right today should be altered so that there is a right to only apply for a gun. The Constitution should be viewed as an ever-changing document that is written as a simple outline. We, as a society, have evolved greatly since the 18th century. Our guidelines of law should reflect so. Gun reform would allow anyone to apply for a gun, and then go through a process by others who deem that person sane and stable enough to own a weapon that kills. I heard on the radio the other day that anything could be used to kill. The speaker, a candidate for governor in Kansas, claimed that a car is also a machine that can kill.
This argument is true, but just as there is for cars, there should be a written and physical assessment and application to attain a gun. People who have guns now will keep their guns even after the reform; republicans act as though the government will come and take their guns away, as though that is not an infringement on private property. This would be an infringement of the fifth amendment, which protects citizens from government seizing without adequate compensation. The adequacy is at the discretion of the initial owner.
Our country has changed. It is time for our government to change with it.
