Brian Osborn
Staff Writer
On Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza is suspected of walking into Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut and opening fire on both students and faculty. By the end of it all, 20 children and eight adults including Lanza were dead in the second deadliest shooting in this country’s history.
With this school shooting and already around 1,100 other deaths by guns in America since Sandy Hook, according to Slate.com, I have to ask: what the hell is going on? How can we fix a problem that already seems to be spinning out of control?
According to the Center for Disease Control, as of right now we average about 87 deaths by guns a day in America and by 2015, gun deaths will surpass car fatalities as America’s leading cause of death aside from medical-related deaths.
It is time for some sort of gun control to be enforced, but what kind, and where do we draw the line between freedom and tyranny?
The problem can’t be fixed with external tinkering alone. How can we be sure that all the laws we make will actually fix the problem or prevent the inevitable? Plus, laws can also lead to exaggeration.
You can’t fix one extreme with another extreme. For example, if you lose control of your car, you aren’t going to gain control by turning your wheel from one side to other.
But if each and every one of us made little adjustments within ourselves, like being nicer or more appreciative of the people around us, or just trying to better ourselves from the inside, wouldn’t the problem begin to work itself out?
First we need to identify the problem. Does it lie with the guns?
Staff Writer
On Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza is suspected of walking into Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut and opening fire on both students and faculty. By the end of it all, 20 children and eight adults including Lanza were dead in the second deadliest shooting in this country’s history.
With this school shooting and already around 1,100 other deaths by guns in America since Sandy Hook, according to Slate.com, I have to ask: what the hell is going on? How can we fix a problem that already seems to be spinning out of control?
According to the Center for Disease Control, as of right now we average about 87 deaths by guns a day in America and by 2015, gun deaths will surpass car fatalities as America’s leading cause of death aside from medical-related deaths.
It is time for some sort of gun control to be enforced, but what kind, and where do we draw the line between freedom and tyranny?
The problem can’t be fixed with external tinkering alone. How can we be sure that all the laws we make will actually fix the problem or prevent the inevitable? Plus, laws can also lead to exaggeration.
You can’t fix one extreme with another extreme. For example, if you lose control of your car, you aren’t going to gain control by turning your wheel from one side to other.
But if each and every one of us made little adjustments within ourselves, like being nicer or more appreciative of the people around us, or just trying to better ourselves from the inside, wouldn’t the problem begin to work itself out?
First we need to identify the problem. Does it lie with the guns?
The conservative standpoint is that it is their constitutional right to bear arms. Any kind of law that bans the sale of weapons is an infringement on their rights.
According to the United States Constitution’s Second Amendment, “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.”
But at the same time, when this amendment was ratified, the most advanced piece of personal weaponry was the black powder musket. Now, if you want to go on a shooting rampage with a smooth bore musket, good luck.
Today, some guns can shoot 6,000 rounds a minute, blow foot-wide holes in elephants, and some munitions can go straight through a bulletproof vest. And, many of these weapons are available to the people.
I could see it being efficient having a mini gun while you are hunting and you can kill, skin, and gut your deer in one clean motion. But other than that, why!?
But on the other side, where do we draw the line between the greater good of society and people’s civil liberties?
Let’s say we ban certain types of guns. Cool, but then you have to ask, what’s next? Could this be the first step in a nationwide move to disarm and our government crosses the line into tyranny?
Plus, if we make some guns illegal, we are just opening a door to another form of crime. As we can see from our past, prohibiting things doesn’t necessarily work, because there will always be business people who will see the demand and provide the product.
In 1919, the U.S. government ratified the 18th Amendment that prohibited the sale and production of alcohol. This gave people like Al Capone the chance to start a huge enterprise of illegal alcohol production and distribution that lead to the deaths of many Americans. Only until 1933, when they ratified the 21st Amendment, did most organized crime lose power and disband.
But does the problem really lie with the guns? In Switzerland, every man of age is legally bound to own their own firearm and they have so few gun deaths that they don’t even keep a statistic on it.
Then does that leave the people as the problem?
Let’s face it, America isn’t what it used to be. It seems that everyone has gotten all caught up in a climb and struggle for power and meaning that they don’t mind who they cut out from under them.
How come it is easier to get a gun than it is to get your driver’s license? To drive a car, you have to go through extensive driving tests, reading, and other exams to see if you are physically and mentally able to drive a car.
Why don’t we do this with guns? Yeah, we do background checks, but that implies that anyone about to go on a shooting rampage has done something really bad in the past. Which, as we know from the past few months to a year, is ridiculous.
Again, let’s say we do that and have a complete psychological evaluation and testing on everyone who wants to buy a gun. People who are sound minded pass and get their gun. People that don’t go home empty handed, yay.
But could failing these tests have you end up on some government watch list? And even if someone passes their test, who’s to say that he or she still doesn’t just snap some day and start shooting. Yes, that is speculation and maybe over the top, but is it really out of the question?
Obviously this is a tough issue to tackle and I know for sure that I don’t have the wisdom to figure it out, but let me leave you with this.
We have gotten so used to focusing on the external to fix a problem. If something goes wrong, what can we do in society to fix it?
But if we focus on ourselves on the inside, and just try to make ourselves the best person we could be, that’s when we get to long-term solutions, and things can right themselves.
It definitely won’t be easy, but nothing great in life is easy.
It would take a lot of focus, determination, and self-awareness, but we have the capacity to make this world amazing. It could even start as telling yourself, “You know what, I am going to do at least one nice thing for someone everyday.” Never underestimate what that one thing can do. It’s all about getting your mind in the habit of thinking that way which is sad to say; it is easier to be mean to someone rather than be nice to someone.
Who is going to walk into a room and open fire on a bunch of students if they feel cared for, loved, and appreciated. And is that so hard to do? Be nice, courteous, and just generally think of others before yourself?
Yes, this is a very utopian, idealistic or even hippie ideal, but isn’t it an ideal that’s worth striving for?
Drop me a note or send me an email and tell me what little thing you did to help change the world.
According to the United States Constitution’s Second Amendment, “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.”
But at the same time, when this amendment was ratified, the most advanced piece of personal weaponry was the black powder musket. Now, if you want to go on a shooting rampage with a smooth bore musket, good luck.
Today, some guns can shoot 6,000 rounds a minute, blow foot-wide holes in elephants, and some munitions can go straight through a bulletproof vest. And, many of these weapons are available to the people.
I could see it being efficient having a mini gun while you are hunting and you can kill, skin, and gut your deer in one clean motion. But other than that, why!?
But on the other side, where do we draw the line between the greater good of society and people’s civil liberties?
Let’s say we ban certain types of guns. Cool, but then you have to ask, what’s next? Could this be the first step in a nationwide move to disarm and our government crosses the line into tyranny?
Plus, if we make some guns illegal, we are just opening a door to another form of crime. As we can see from our past, prohibiting things doesn’t necessarily work, because there will always be business people who will see the demand and provide the product.
In 1919, the U.S. government ratified the 18th Amendment that prohibited the sale and production of alcohol. This gave people like Al Capone the chance to start a huge enterprise of illegal alcohol production and distribution that lead to the deaths of many Americans. Only until 1933, when they ratified the 21st Amendment, did most organized crime lose power and disband.
But does the problem really lie with the guns? In Switzerland, every man of age is legally bound to own their own firearm and they have so few gun deaths that they don’t even keep a statistic on it.
Then does that leave the people as the problem?
Let’s face it, America isn’t what it used to be. It seems that everyone has gotten all caught up in a climb and struggle for power and meaning that they don’t mind who they cut out from under them.
How come it is easier to get a gun than it is to get your driver’s license? To drive a car, you have to go through extensive driving tests, reading, and other exams to see if you are physically and mentally able to drive a car.
Why don’t we do this with guns? Yeah, we do background checks, but that implies that anyone about to go on a shooting rampage has done something really bad in the past. Which, as we know from the past few months to a year, is ridiculous.
Again, let’s say we do that and have a complete psychological evaluation and testing on everyone who wants to buy a gun. People who are sound minded pass and get their gun. People that don’t go home empty handed, yay.
But could failing these tests have you end up on some government watch list? And even if someone passes their test, who’s to say that he or she still doesn’t just snap some day and start shooting. Yes, that is speculation and maybe over the top, but is it really out of the question?
Obviously this is a tough issue to tackle and I know for sure that I don’t have the wisdom to figure it out, but let me leave you with this.
We have gotten so used to focusing on the external to fix a problem. If something goes wrong, what can we do in society to fix it?
But if we focus on ourselves on the inside, and just try to make ourselves the best person we could be, that’s when we get to long-term solutions, and things can right themselves.
It definitely won’t be easy, but nothing great in life is easy.
It would take a lot of focus, determination, and self-awareness, but we have the capacity to make this world amazing. It could even start as telling yourself, “You know what, I am going to do at least one nice thing for someone everyday.” Never underestimate what that one thing can do. It’s all about getting your mind in the habit of thinking that way which is sad to say; it is easier to be mean to someone rather than be nice to someone.
Who is going to walk into a room and open fire on a bunch of students if they feel cared for, loved, and appreciated. And is that so hard to do? Be nice, courteous, and just generally think of others before yourself?
Yes, this is a very utopian, idealistic or even hippie ideal, but isn’t it an ideal that’s worth striving for?
Drop me a note or send me an email and tell me what little thing you did to help change the world.