In the year 2015, the U.S. faced 330 mass shootings. Within that year, our country took zero action to keep them from happening again. Controversies over a citizen's right to bear arms held back any initiatives politicians tried to make to keep American citizens safe. These controversies led to controversies over how American citizens can be safe, and the controversy cycle rolls on.
I’m going to be straight forward with you: I strongly dislike guns. I personally feel that they hold more threat than benefit, and they are too violently final. They are too easy to use in regards to the consequences they pose. Do I think they are unnecessary? Not really. In some cases, I think guns are helpful, but they should not be the first answer to every problem. From police work to drug deals, guns are not necessary. They are helpful, but not needed.
Many people hold the concept of guns and the second amendment to be interconnected. They aren’t. To further explain, let’s review the second amendment first. Taken from Cornell University’s Law school definition, the second amendment states:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Notice that it does not give you the right to bear a gun. It gives you the right to bear arms. Which encompasses all weapons and ammunition, not just firearms. So really, the right to the second amendment isn’t being threatened by gun regulation anymore than it was threatened by the regulation of knives. Human lives should be the priority here. Right?
Look, I'm not saying we shouldn't have a right to bear arms. I think we should. I'm happy we do. But I don't think this should entitle us to unlimited access to weaponry. I don't think it should entitle us to strut around with them either. But what I'm trying to get at is that this whole "defend your second amendment" spiel is just a really good sales pitch -- and that's all it is.
Guns are a product just like anything else in a capitalist society. A good capitalist would find ways to profit off of a product. What better way than to sell a constitutional American right? Who can argue with your product when it's soaked in patriotic ideologies and values? Well, that would appear to be the predicament we're all in now, huh?
The thing is, your right to guns aren't being infringed upon because democrats and liberals want better regulation on the distribution of firearms. It would be threatened if they were to say we could not have any, and even then it would only infringe upon a fraction of the amendment. Gun companies are selling this image of firearms as a sign of patriotism and nationalism. We as a country should be aiming towards more preventive and cautious measures with distributing guns. We cannot let ourselves become so desensitized towards the issue of mass shootings that we no longer feel a need to take action. We should be protecting our own country from itself before we worry about protecting it from others.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." - Abraham Lincoln
I'd hope no one in this country would want more innocent people to die because of another mass shooting. We need to continue our talks about gun regulation. We, as a nation, need to start working together to find a common ground. Let's keep these discussions going, and work towards something better.
