Gun Control
By Allison Johnson
Blog Content Contributor
Fact: Not everyone who wants stricter gun control is out to take away everyone’s guns.
Now, since we got that out of the way this conversation will be easier to have. From an observation of conversations on media and my peers, this is what people who lean left want when they say gun control: stricter background checks, with an emphasis on mental health and abusive pasts. Now this is what I’m observing from the right side of the spectrum: “those regulations are going to make it harder for law-abiding citizens to get guns.” So you’re calling people with multiple assault charges law-abiding citizens?
These cases are severe y’all. You shouldn’t have a gun if you fractured your own infant’s head. I highly recommend reading up on how domestic-violence does in fact have a correlation with American mass shooters. Again, for your argument of “this would make it harder for law abiding citizens to get guns,” I’m sure law-abiding citizens with good mental health aren’t shooting people. It’s violent individuals who are sick in the head.
I go to school with people who are extremely open about their mental health disintegrating. As much as I understand and feel the stress that students are going through, constantly broadcasting your uncontrollable anxiety makes me feel like you do not need a gun. At least not till your mental health has improved.
Now, if you’re a conservative, why not make it harder for people with mental illnesses to buy a gun? If I’m correct, every time a white male is in the news for a mass shooting, the narrative is that he is a mentally-ill man. I agree. Now there could be a political motive, but obviously, these guys have lost a few marbles. These men are mentally-ill. These guys should not be able to go to Academy and buy guns.
For people that use ISIS as a motive to kill, I pray our president seeks advising for a regulation that would cause us to see less of this. I can’t imagine being Muslim in a country where many want to see them banned. I don’t think banning is the right course of action to take since our country should stand for proudly being a diverse one.
But for the narrative for an American mass shooter? This conversation should be much simpler to have. Background checks needs to get stricter. It shouldn’t be so easy to buy from gun shows. We need people who sell guns to hold themselves more accountable for who they are selling to. Obviously not everything is foreseeable, but when things like severe cases of domestic violence or being mentally-ill are characteristics of a buyer, they should not have to sell them a gun at all.
Remember, the next time this happens on American soil by an American, the narrative will be that they are mentally-ill and abusive. So you know what? Think about how we need change. Those evil people find power in their guns. We simply need a change in gun control so we can take this power out of their hands, and so we can save lives. Unfortunately for most, it’s going to take a situation like this to hit too close to home to want change. Whether it’s in their hometown, affects them or a close loved one.
Featured illustration by Melissa Monrroy.
jonolan on January 19, 2018
Fact, every one of the ones wanting stricter gun control is enabling the ones who do want Americans’ firearms confiscated. This is because, as federal law enforcement has advised for years – even under Obama – what you’re describing aren’t significant problems when you put them in the context of our population figures, and both them and the real problems can’t be effectively remediated short of mass confiscation.
Fact, the background checks are already as strict as you claim to want. And that, with the long acceptance of Instant Check, includes gun shows. Any issue that actually exists is either: a failure of interstate, state-to-federal, or agency-to-agency (recent military issue involving that church shooting). And, a lot of that issue is because the government(s) have failed to provide a tested and safe means of sharing the data. (I know; I developed the testing criteria for it over a decade for the US Courts and it never got universally implemented); or the fact that people do not get a lot of the crazies treatment, e.g., Jared Loughner.
Fact, with new technologies available, we’re a little screwed (Yeah, even I’m saying that) because you can CADCAM / 3D Print a firearm these days or just the full-automatic lower receiver of one like the Vegas shooter did.
Fact, any attempt made to tighten the restrictions further wouldn’t likely stand up in court because those restrictions would likely disproportionately negatively impact Blacks and, hence, would be declared racist. Think about it! Presenting a photo ID to vote was considered so…so how about that or more to buy a firearm (Also remember the long and storied history of “gun control” being used to keep the Blacks unarmed).