This country needs gun control
Politicians’ thoughts, prayers are not enough
December 31, 2017
A gunman killed four people while attempting to enter an elementary school in Northern California Nov. 14. Just nine days prior, 29 people died in a shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
These incidents have increased the number of mass shootings in the United States to 413 during 2017, according to Mass Shooting Tracker.
The fact that we have a website that tracks how many mass shootings occur in the United States should be proof enough that this country needs gun control now.
— Hannah Leff
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.” This Amendment was intended to protect the rights of militias, not the “right of people.”
However, the National Rifle Association (NRA) insists the Second Amendment is an individual right, just like the rest of the Bill of Rights, according to the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.
The NRA and those who oppose gun control base their argument on a constitutional Amendment that was written when the large majority of guns had to be reloaded after every shot.
It’s not 1791 anymore.
It’s 2017 and someone can legally buy parts to modify a gun to function like an automatic weapon, and then aim that weapon at a Las Vegas concert and fire nine rounds per second, according to Time.
It’s one thing to own a handgun however, it’s completely different to own a weapon capable of firing thousands of bullets on a crowd of people.
An American citizen does not and should not need the right to buy semi-automatic assault weapons or high-capacity magazines. There is no situation where a civilian would need a gun that fires 400 rounds per minute.
The United States continuously breaks its record of people killed in a mass shooting each year. Last year it was Orlando with 49 deaths and more than 58 injuries, according to CNN; this year it was Las Vegas with 58 deaths and more than 500 injuries, according to Los Angeles Times.
It is not nearly enough for our politicians to tweet out their “thoughts and prayers” to those affected by mass shootings.
It’s simply an empty substitute for legitimate action. We need action, and we need it now.
