Opinion Article:
By: Dawson Iasillo Opinion Writer 4/5/23 Another day in America, another heart wrenching headline. It seems as though a new mass shooting happens every day in this country.
The National Gun Archives has reported more than 50 mass shootings have happened just this year and it is not even halfway through February. This has become normal in the U.S., and there is nothing more disturbing than that. Nobody is surprised. Nobody bats an eye. Nobody pays attention anymore. The gun issues in America are like living in a tragic version of the movie Groundhog Day. Every new day, there is a new shooting. The American people say their prayers, show their sympathies, and move on without any action and continue to circle through this cycle. The leaders of this nation are not stepping up in the way they were elected to. Many political leaders argue there is nothing that can be done about gun violence because of the second amendment’s right to bear arms. But where are our morals? Where do our priorities lie? Of course, the Constitution is important; it is the foundation of our land. However, the safety of our citizens should trump all else. Gun control has to become stricter for change to happen. Clearly, only speaking out against the topic is not preventing anything current gun control laws haven’t helped. A drivers license must be renewed every five years to ensure one is capable of operating a vehicle. Yet, there is no renewal for being able to have access to guns. America is the only country in the world where a person can walk into a supermarket and find guns lined up in a certain “gun aisle”. |
There is absolutely no need for automatic rifles to be accessible to the public. People in the military are the only people who would have such use for an automatic weapon. Hunting is no reason either. Shooting animals that quickly may be convenient, but the way people use it other than hunting requires these weapons to be banned.
Some may argue that people kill people, not guns. However, would you want someone who wants to kill to have access to a gun? Sadly, strict gun control laws would not eliminate murders. But it would eliminate any chance of 17 children being murdered at school in less than ten minutes. The image of people huddled in a ball while they shudder with fear while listening to the sounds of the popping gun should not be engraved in the average American’s head. We can’t let each other believe that this is normal. The interviews upon interviews of shooting survivors is not normal. More than 50 mass shootings in a month and a half is not normal. This shouldn’t be normal |