With yet another shooting that has taken 17 innocent lives, the time has never be stronger for a complete overhaul of how guns are accessed in the United States. So far, the government has responded to the tragedy with their usual “thoughts and prayers” tweets, and the President and First Lady have visited the wounded survivors in the hospital. A sweet gesture, but a grossly insufficient way to react to a preventable tragedy.
Now is not the time to hope this never happens again. A plan must be created immediately. The objective is to have the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School incident be the last mass shooting in America. This, of course, is a long overdue goal, since the last mass shooting should have been Columbine High School’s — almost 19 years ago.
The common solution that people suggest is to ban guns completely. This should not be done. There is no need to criminalize responsible gun owners who have zero intention to harm unsuspecting humans. Such owners are not the ones waiting for their perfect moment to shoot up a school. Many parents of students across the country own guns — but they would never wish a shooting upon a school. It is valid for people to own guns to protect their home, and their right to own firearms should not be violated. Additionally, banning guns will cause a huge growth in the illegal gun market. Consider the Prohibition era when alcohol became illegal — people still found ways to drink anyways, and then the country ended up repealing Prohibition anyways. A full-on ban is not effective.
However, public safety should not be compromised in the effort to give individuals their Second Amendment rights. An effective balance can be created so guns are only in the hands of mentally stable people so that students, teachers and other people can go out without terrifying uneasiness.
The first way gun violence can be decreased is to not sell the AR-15 rifle, which was used in this most recent shooting, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting and the Orlando nightclub shooting. Buying this sort of gun is too easy — the only requirements are to be 18 years old, pass a background check and have $1,000. While it is incredibly difficult to keep track of illegal guns being sold and bought in the country, it is stupidly easy to point the blame at these retailers who are allowed to sell these guns. No one needs such a high-power gun. If it can become a criminal offense to own this gun, there will be higher consequences should someone choose to illegally buy this.
The second way to prevent a future tragedy is to establish an extended waiting period for someone to get a powerful gun in the first place. The decision to purchase a gun is a large one, and so is the one that women make when they want an abortion, which is why the government has created strict rules for women seeking one. It should be no different for purchasing a gun. Women who want an abortion are required to wait at least 24 hours, and sometimes longer, before they can do so. Finding a place that will safely do this for her is even more difficult. This is already a time-sensitive situation, and yet thousands of women jump through hoops to meet the requirements. Those who want a gun should be met with the same level of difficulty, as they are doing something that could endanger the public, and it is important to assure their purchase is for self-defense, not for senseless killing.
The third way to discourage the need to obtain a firearm is to require a person to receive permission from a psychiatrist. Right now, it is practically a free-for-all to buy a gun. The shooter responsible for the Florida tragedy was able to purchase an AR-15 rifle despite being mentally unstable. There is almost no criteria for gun ownership, and it has resulted in hundreds of tragedies that could have been prevented. Had a psychiatrist examined the shooter’s motives and mental state, he or she could have denied him legal access to a gun. Any retailer would not have been allowed to sell him a gun.
The final way to protect the community is to require all gun owners to purchase liability insurance for each gun they buy. This would further establish the responsibility the gun owner has to ensure no innocent person is impacted by their firearm. Mistakes do happen, unfortunately, and even if they are unintentional, the owner of the gun is still responsible for any death or injuries. Should a person accidentally shoot someone and not have insurance to cover the injury, that itself would be a criminal offense.
Consider the fact that a person must purchase insurance for each car they buy, regardless of who they bought it from. Guns should be no different.That Florida shooter has created hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of funeral expenses and hospital bills for his victims, and this has created a massive burden on the affected families. In the event that the shooter elects to kill himself also, such as in the Las Vegas shooting, the insurance could have partially paid for any of the 50+ people killed by his decision
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These suggestions are only effective if shooters buy their guns legally, which has been the trend. The illegal gun market, however, is an entirely different, complex problem that has plagued large cities, such as Chicago, for decades. If the government can at least deter people from easily accessing legal guns, we can decrease the violence that has spread and killed thousands. People are entitled to their right to bear arms, but not at the expense of the community’s safety. A balance of both rights should create an environment that marks the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre as the country’s last.