Ron Latz, the district 46 and St. Louis Park senator, released two bills attempting to fix the gun violence epidemic facing the country. One gun bill is finally headed in the right direction, while the other one definitely isn’t.

The number one reason these shootings occur is because of the people, not the weapons. Of course, it can be argued if there was no way to get a gun, there would be no mass attacks, but that’s not the case in many ways. For example, it is almost impossible to completely get rid of guns, and even if there was a way, there are other weapons that can inflict harm. These people want to inflict mass harm on other humans, so even if they didn’t have access to the weapons, our government should help them find the resources they need to help themselves.

The first bill, SF0434, concerns routine background checks during the course of private citizens owning gun permits. Police officials have the power to run a background check whenever a gun permit is in effect. This idea stirs up some conflict with me. Of course, in theory, I see it as a great idea to have routine background checks but giving police officers the power to check whenever they see fit is problematic. There need to be greater guidelines in place to protect the privacy of the public. Without stricter guidelines, this bill has the potential to create more harm than good.

In the second bill, SF0436, Latz proposes the idea of allowing family members to petition a relative to remove their gun permit. This is a beneficial idea because I think one of the major problems with the gun conflict right now isn’t the weapons themselves, but the people holding them. Family members are constantly around each other so they will start to notice when someone is acting differently, or if they start developing criminal tendencies.

The problem with most bills on gun control is they focus on the weapons and not the people. Most gun bills are about restrictions and/or removal of guns. This is problematic because the issue isn’t the guns themselves, but the fact that people feel the need to administer violence.

The US Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center did a study on mass attacks in 2017. The study found that in 64 percent of the incidents, the attacker had mental health issues prior to the attack, and 32 percent were seen to be psychotic. If the government put work into helping these people instead of ignoring them and focusing on removing guns, then the attacks would have never happened.

The job of our government is to protect each and every person. This means not only protecting victims of attacks but also making sure that no more people have the urges to harm other human beings. 

We are putting way too much work into trying to remove the guns when instead we should be putting work into making sure every citizen is healthy both mentally and physically. There must be a reason why these people feel the need to create havoc. So instead of focusing on taking guns away from everyone, the United States needs to focus on helping those who are troubled and helping those with serious mental illnesses.