Friday, March 30, 2018

Let's talk guns

So… gun control. In my opinion, it’s a major problem at the moment and no matter what I do I cannot manage to stop thinking about it recently. All over the news I see school shootings, mass shootings, and terrorist bombings but legally nothing is changing. Instead while millions of people marching for their lives, the government and NRA are not taking anything seriously. There needs to be better gun control, and there are many problems with the arguments against gun control.
Let me start by saying the United States has the 31st highest rate of gun violence in the world. As of 2016 there were about 3.85 deaths per 100,000 people, which doesn’t seem like much but that’s more than 38,000 deaths due to gun violence in one year alone. What’s worse is these numbers keep rising, and nothing is being changed. In comparison to other first world countries, the United States is the worst when it comes to gun violence, but we are also worse than the majority of second and third world countries.
The citizens of the United States love their second amendment, and it’s obvious when looking through any type of mass media. One of the main problems in my opinion about the second amendment is that it was written in 1791, which is over 200 years ago. As time has passed amendments have been added, altered, etc., but “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” has not. This was before machine guns, landmines, dirty bombs, flame-throwers, tanks, biological & chemical weapons, and when there could be ⅗ of a person! Over 200 years, and there is still no change.
Evolving as a country and society can be difficult, but there are countries all over the world that have made a change for the better. My favorite comparison is with Japan because Japan has almost completely eliminated gun deaths. While culture is a major factor, their gun control is a major factor as well. Their gun control set up is amazing as there are many classes, tests, background check, and evaluations that one must go through to obtain a license to own either a shotgun or air-rifle. Not only does one have to retake classes every three years, but there are yearly exams by officials to check on the people and their guns. This has allowed people to still have the right to their weapon, but it has brought their gun violence down to a point where there are only about 10 deaths a year from gun violence.
America needs to change, and there are countries we can look up to for change. Our gun problem is horrifying, and every day I wait for our country to get out of our old ways and evolve. So government officials, if you’re reading this, please for the love of our people do something.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Luna,

    First of all, I love how much passion you convey in your writing! I can really tell that you are so adamant about gun control regulation, and that you care so much about this issue. I'm with you wholeheartedly. I too am disgusted by the lack of change, awareness, attention, and flexibility when it comes to the way most right-wing politicians have reacted to the obvious rise in gun violence.

    Second, your use of facts and statistics to back up your opinions is really well done. This technique makes for a much more accurate and logical argument. Of course, you're sort of preaching to the choir, and it seems that those that need to be convinced by facts and statistics refuse to, but overall it makes your argument much more reasonable. I also love that you mention the constitution and how problematic it is to follow it so strictly. As our society changes, so do the rules that we implement, or at least they should, to fit and align with current issues. Of course, gun violence is a major issue in America, so shouldn't we adapt our rules to fit our needs? I think yes.

    Third, I love that you bring up other countries in your commentary! I always use Japan as an example for being pro-gun regulation whenever I'm debating with gun rights activists (to be honest, though, I try to avoid doing that at all costs).

    Overall your commentary is spot on, powerful, and very, very important!

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