We live in a time when the need for guns is questioned and challenged. Some believe that guns should be available for protection of self and family, whereas others are firm believers that guns are too accessible to those who will use them for irrational acts of violence.
We hold a right to bear arms, and to be denied that right is unconstitutional. However, it is also that right that has allowed for several mass shootings to happen within the United States for years.
Only last week, a man walked into a nightclub in Orlando and opened fire, committing what is now being called an act of both hate and terrorism. The act left 50 dead, and many more injured.
A day before the nightclub shooting, a man walked up to a well-known music artist after her show and shot her, causing her death only hours after.
In 2015, a man and a woman in San Bernardino walked into the Inland Regional Center with guns and killed 14 people.
In 2007, a college student went on a shooting rampage at his school, Virginia Tech, and killed 32 people.
In 1999, two teenage boys shot and killed 13 people, consisting of students and faculty, in what is known as the Columbine High School massacre.
1949 was the year Howard Unruh embarked on what is called his “Walk of Death,” in which he shot 13 people. This is considered to be the first mass murder by a gun within the United States.
Since 1949, we have seen many incidents others than those listed above that have involved the use of a gun. Now that weapons, especially semi-automatic weaponry, is more accessible to the general public, it is close to impossible for anyone to predict what could happen next.
There have been smaller incidents, such as police officers unjustly shooting suspects and innocent people. There are several cases of accidental shootings in which a child find access to a weapon that he or she does not know how to use.
Guns are in question because they are, in every sense, dangerous if not used correctly or in the right hands. I am not opposed to the idea that having a gun assures self-protection. I have heard claims that being allowed to carry a gun could have helped in several of these mass murders. This still, however, does not change the fact that guns are dangerous and ruthless weapons.
I believe that guns can be used responsibly and for good purposes, which is also why I believe that the main problem in all of past shootings lie in more than just the gun.
The gun is only the tool, and the person wielding it is the murderer. These incidents don’t happen because there is a gun. They happen because the person holding that weapon is unstable, angry, agitated, or completely unaware of his or her actions; they happen because the gun is placed into the hands of someone who is looking to kill.
The argument about gun use and possession has caused uproar, especially in times following a mass shooting. We question how the assailants found guns, who sold them the guns, where they got the guns, how they paid for the gun. We ask every question we have about motive and action, with a large focus on the gun itself. We start to challenge the gun laws and begin fighting for what we believe is right.
We fight for the right to bear arms, to defend ourselves, and we fight to prevent those who we believe will abuse that right from bearing those same weapons.
But maybe that’s the wrong thought to have. It is not the gun who kills, but the person who pulls the trigger. We need to stop focusing solely on the guns, and start looking at the hands holding the weapon.
