This past week marked yet another tragic shooting in 2015. On October 1, a 26-year-old man opened fire on Umpqua College, killing nine and wounding ten. Though the shooter's motive remains unclear, he purportedly ordered all Christian students and faculty to stand up before opening fire on his victims.
During my investigation of this event, I came across a statement made by John Hanlin, the sheriff in charge of the case investigation:
“I don’t want to glorify the shooter, I don’t want to glorify his name, I don’t want to glorify his cause.”
I firmly agree with Sheriff Hanlin, and so I will refrain from mentioning the names of this shooter, or any other shooter, in this article. Unfortunately there have been numerous campus shootings that have made the news, but I will only mention a few.
1. In Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16, 2007, a 23-year-old gunman killed 32 and wounded an unrecorded amount.
2. Another shooting incident that took place in Virginia happened very recently on August 26th, 2015. An ex-coworker gunned down a team of WDBJ-journalists, Alison Parker and Adam Ward, who were on-air shooting a morning segment that left viewers speechless and horrified.
3. Finally, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that occurred December 14, 2012 in Newtown Connecticut. This horrific and time-stopping massacre resulted in the deaths of at least 20 children (ages six and seven), six adults, school staff and faculty. Because most of the death count comprised of children, my disdain towards firearms and support towards gun control escalated dramatically. Each child had so much potential to live life and to contribute to society, but was abruptly cut short due to a mentally unstable person with access to weaponry.
Here is one child’s story:
The Second Amendment protects United States citizens' right to “a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, [which] shall not be infringed." The Bill of Rights was written and implemented in 1791 to protect individual liberty; however, in recent history, this right has violated its citizens’ wellbeing to peace, safety, and security. In other words, it is high time we revised gun control laws in the United States.
Here is Barrack Obama’s speech, given in response to the Oregon shooting and routine-ness of is all.
President Obama also stated, “The reason Congress does not support the modest gun safety laws we proposed after Sandy Hook is not because the majority of Americans don’t support it. It’s because interest groups fund campaigns (and) feed people’s fear.” In response to the lack of support from Congress, President Obama urges citizens of America to become “single issue voters” in order to put put an end to easy access to firearms. What is your stance on this issue? What will you do?
(Disclaimer: I am deeply sorry for anyone who has been directly or indirectly affected by this event or the event(s) mentioned. There is no reason or right to take another person’s life.)
