It happened again.
Politicians are about to say how concerned they are about the most recent tragedy. However, they’re also going to say that this isn’t the time to talk about gun control.
On Oct. 1, a country festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, was attacked by 64-year-old Stephen Paddock. Currently, 59 people have died and over 500 are injured.
According to the New York Times, Paddock attacked the festival from his hotel room, in which the police found over 17 firearms.
This is one of the largest mass shootings in American history.
Gun control has always been a controversial topic, but it seems as if our country keeps experiencing these mass shootings yet the government isn’t doing anything to stop them.
Our gun laws remain unchanged, and it is still easy to obtain a gun.
Currently, to purchase a firearm in Nevada, according to Nevada Carry, one must be at least 18 years of age to buy a rifle or a shotgun and 21 to buy a handgun from a federal firearms dealer, and then, one must submit a background check form and wait for its approval before physically owning a firearm.
“This was an act of pure evil. We cannot fathom their [family of victims’] pain; we cannot imagine their loss,” said President Donald Trump.
Trump also went on to speak about how in times like this our nation should be united and spreading love. However, he did not mention that the murders were caused by an insane amount of firearms, nor did he suggest anything that we can do to prevent mass shootings and terrorist attacks in the future.
The reasoning behind gun control and gun laws is very circumstantial, and it is hard to generalize what this country needs to further protect its citizens.
Bearing arms is a natural right in the Constitution, but it is how that right is used that affects whether it should still be implemented.
The American Constitution was created in September 1787.
Since it is currently the 21st century and just about everything in this country has changed and improved since then, one would think the constitution would have been changed or altered as well.
In 1787, guns were a lot different than they are now: they took longer to load, they were heavier, and they were harder to aim.
Sure, James Madison and our many other founding fathers were well aware that our weapons would continue to evolve from today. However, according to journalist David Pescovitz, the first documented mass shooting in America was not until 1949.
People will argue that citizens need guns to protect themselves in the circumstance of an invasion or to overthrow a corrupt government. Yes, those are important things, but we should be focusing on the present issues involving gun violence.
Just because it’s ones’ right to own a gun, it does not justify the death of thousands of innocent people a year.
No matter how strict our gun control laws become, people will continue to buy them illegally.
However, our government and police forces should be working to stop the sale of illegal firearms, much like how we are able to track and investigate drug cartels and have the technology to stop human trafficking.
Our government should be focusing on all prospects of gun control and the sale of illegal firearms, it should become a priority.
People are dying. People are mourning. People are afraid.
There is clearly a problem here.
Our security measures need to improve, our laws need to be stricter, and our background checks need to be more thorough. If one wants a gun, they should have to provide a reason to have a gun and be professionally trained in how to use it.
According to Every Town, over 12,000 people are murdered with guns every year in the U.S.
That number is much too big.
Massive shootings and terrorist attacks are going to continue to happen unless our country does something about it.
It’s time to address the problem.
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