Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Mass shooting incidents in the United States of America have escalated to an unprecedented level, as evidenced by the ongoing reports of such events. This has now been coined as a distinct epidemic within the country, which houses the largest number of gun manufacturing industries, ammunition stores, firing ranges, etc., leaving vast space for gun enthusiasts to practice their ambition openly and simultaneously allowing potential individuals with loose hands access to these weapons of war.
The Columbine High School Massacre heralded the beginning of a troubling trend, followed by the Virginia Tech shooting and ultimately the Sandy Hook massacre, barging the doors of the United States Congress into reevaluating gun laws. Every year, more than half the population across the country engages in passionate protests for and against gun laws across the nation in hopes of disarming or having their 2nd Amendment secured. Still, amidst the staging, we’ve seen how young people with delusional perceptions can easily access military-grade weapons, often acquiring them from local gun stores with alarming ease as lawmakers only go back and forth on a bill that rarely turns into a law, leaving these vulnerable individuals unchecked.
An Unfortunate Origin
Here is the basic chronology: A news story breaks on a mass shooting occurring in someplace with reported casualties. This situation typically concludes with either the police talking down the suspect or the latter committing suicide. We then read further about the slaughter and the data presenting the numbers in terms of casualties and age group of the victims, along with more information on who the perpetrator was and the motivations that led to this act. Families and loved ones are devastated upon being handed the unfortunate news of never having the possibility to see their deceased and then interviewed by enormous local media outlets trying to fetch an effective reaction, which is and should be apparent as per human connection. On the other side, the police conducted further investigation into every detail of the shooting, compiling their findings for the court officials, who would ultimately bring a legal resolution to this tragedy, although the end was marked the moment the massacre came to a halt.
Elected officials, local community leaders, and anyone of interest pay visits to the families over several weeks or months and have covert discussions, which are usually lost in the air with no further updates on the same. Oftentimes, families, along with the local community, hold a series of rallies advocating gun control and seek assistance from a local lawmaker in drafting a legislative proposal. We see this wheeling between the families and legislation for months, sometimes even years, ultimately losing momentum until another mass shooting incident ignites the dosed fire.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Now why are things not moving, and what are the possible arguments? The lobbyists are clear about the 2nd Amendment, which allows citizens to possess firearms and use them to defend their freedom. Being one of many pillars holding democracy, getting rid of this would submit them to dictatorship (having one leader steal away their guns) and relegate the country to the danger of being taken away. Families don't always advocate for gun confiscation; instead, they advocate for raising the minimum age for gun ownership or outlawing certain weapons that are only suitable for combat.
If anything, many families of victims are, surprisingly, gun owners themselves and stand by the 2nd Amendment, but not at the expense of life itself. The 2nd Amendment has also been under fire for its value since the 1700s when times required people to dawn military attire upon command, but the same law doesn’t apply to this society, as we are not confronted with daily threats of foreign invasion.
A Plausible Succession of Scarce Gun Violence
There is a call for the prohibition of automatic weapons in specific regions, preventing regular civilians from using them. These weapons, known for their mass killing capabilities, require minimal effort to operate, unlike semi-automatic handguns that necessitate constant reloading and trigger pulls to discharge a single bullet. As viewers from around the world read about these horrific events unfolding in what is considered the most developed country in the world—the United States—we reckon why ordinary citizens need wartime weapons in their arsenal for defense when there is law enforcement, community support, and more.
The act of granting citizens access to firearms simultaneously opens the door for criminals to acquire these weapons, allowing them the unfortunate privilege of creating destructive stories for the world to read. A criminal walks up to you and demands actions to be met at gunpoint, but then you’ve got one hiding underneath your waist. You pull it out, and then we have the gunfight at O.K. Corral amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy commercial street.
People globally are often unable to put their heads around this, thinking how quickly life would take turns and provide paradigm shifts to everyone by having violent street outbursts. Will taking away guns work? Well, banning assault weapons prevents future generations from acquiring one; it leaves the populace exposed to potential attacks from criminals who possess firearms illegally since America has already created a black hole of an armed society.
It's essential to impose stricter regulations, bare minimum age restrictions, or a complete ban on military-style weapons to reduce the annual fatalities resulting from gun violence and have lobbyists, lawmakers, and the affected parties come to a bipartisan agreement to make the entitlement of destructible tools more of a fever dream for criminals, thereby creating a peaceful ordinance for everyday people.