MY TAKE ON AMERICAN GUN LAWS

At least 58 victims were brutally shot and killed in this past month’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. (Levenson, Grinberg) Yet still, even after the many deaths, gun laws remain basically the same around the country. Why is it that death and mass shootings can suddenly be forgotten about with no repercussions being made in today’s society? Something needs to change here in America and it should start with our gun laws.

  Six out of the twelve deadliest mass shootings in America have happened in the past 10 years. (Goldfarb and Ehrenfreund) Obviously mass shootings and gun violence are starting to become a major problem in America.

Although, some people may beg to differ by saying they have every right to exercise their Second Amendment rights. I’m not going to argue that Americans shouldn’t be able to practice the Second Amendment, but I will argue that today guns aren’t regulated enough to keep them out of the wrong hands. With the history of these mass shootings in the past 10 years it could definitely be said that things are starting get out of control. So what is a solution to this that can satisfy both sides of this argument? State regulations on gun control are a good solution to what we can do as Americans in order to keep these horrific mass shootings from becoming a more frequent occurrence.

Las Vegas, Nevada on October 1st, the biggest mass shooting to ever take place on American soil happened. This mass shooting injured 546 people and killed 58 people. (Bui, Zapotosky, Barrett, and Berman)  All of these people were innocent concert goers who had their lives taken,  or put in jeopardy due to a mad man who had access to deadly automatic firearms. There needs to come a time when American citizens realize the reasons behind these mass shootings can be stopped and we all start to try and make a difference. Many people argue that these type of massacres are random acts of terror and usually can’t be stopped but I simply can’t agree with that. If we had outlawed selling automatic weapons in every state in America then who knows if this month’s shooting would’ve ever occurred? One thing that’s for sure is that if the shooter didn’t have any automatic weapons the number of fatalities would’ve been significantly lower. It’s time for Americans to take a stand against these acts of terror and do something to keep them from happening again and again. 

The reasons behind the Las Vegas shooting are a big factor in the argument for gun control. Why was the shooter allowed to have so many guns, and how was he able to bring them into a hotel casino? Astonishingly, the reasons behind that still aren’t enough to create a regulation on automatic firearms and that is a serious problem. America is facing an epidemic yet our lawmakers have ceased to do anything about this so far. There are very few situations when an assault rifle or automatic firearm is ever needed. The only time I can think of that any type of automatic weapon or assault rifle should be utilized is when a soldier is in combat or when a trained professional needs to use these type of weapons for defense. There should be no reason for a normal citizen to have access to such weapons. Yet the reason so many people are able to go out and buy them is because a lot of states don’t even have laws that regulate or extinguish the sales of automatic firearms. 

The reason I believe nobody should have access to automatic firearms is plain and simple, there is no use for these kind of weapons for a normal everyday citizen. I am not saying that Americans shouldn’t be allowed to have guns, because every citizen has the right to bear arms and protect themselves. What I am saying is that Americans shouldn’t be allowed to have access to automatic firearms because these weapons were made to kill. They weren’t made for shooting ranges, they weren’t made for protection against household burglaries, they were made for one thing only and that is to kill. If citizens weren’t able to have access to these guns I believe mass shootings wouldn’t occur as much and even if they still occurred they would have a lot less fatalities. 

A lot of people disagree with my argument for nationwide gun control and, although it is hard for me to understand their reasoning, they do give valid arguments. Someone who is against gun control might say it isn’t fair to outlaw a normal law abiding citizen’s interests or hobbies just because a select few misused their privileges by committing murder. It may be true that it isn’t fair to outlaw someone’s interest or hobby because there are mass shootings but then again is it fair that people should lose their lives due to these weapons being mishandled? No. A hobby is something that we do for pleasure and I can’t say honestly that I disliked how I felt when I fired a gun for the first time. We all have that part inside of us that is begging for power and for some people shooting guns is a way to release their inner tensions or a way to make themselves feel empowered. I can’t disagree with that, but I must say that too much of anything can start to be a bad thing.

Now that I’ve said my peace about why we should outlaw automatic firearms in every state I hope you can either agree or at least see things from point of view. Nobody wants to have their loved ones life taken in something horrific as a mass shooting. If we all just sat down and decided to think about whether or not it’s more important to keep a maniac from being able to access an automatic firearm than it is to keep someone from being able to practice their favorite hobby, I’m sure we would all agree that it’s more important to keep these weapons out of the wrong hands. And this is the reasoning everyone should use when thinking about gun control, because saving lives is more important than outlawing someone’s hobby.

Reference Page

Goldfarb and Ehrenfreund,Washington Post, June 18th, 2015, www.washingtonpost.com
Bui, Zapotosky, Barrett, and Berman, Washington Post, October 2nd, 2017,
www.washingtonpost.com
Levenson and grinberg, CNN, October 6th, 2017, www.cnn.com