Why does the rallying cry after every major shooting these days seem to be, ‘More guns!” I’m not going to point fingers at any particular group of people, but we all know who they are.
The gap between the right-wing and the left-wing right now is cavernous…and it is only growing. The two sides of our political spectrum seem to disagree on everything from immigration policies to healthcare reform. It’s honestly amazing when our government gets things done in spite of this political tug of war. One of the hot topics at the moment seems to be guns. One side wants gun reform the other side just wants more guns and there is very little compromise at the moment.
Due to this conflict both sides take advantage of every opportunity, whether it is in the wake of tragedy or not, to state their stance on the matter; and there is one thing you always seem to hear from gun rights activist in the wake of the latest mass shooting, “If only there were more armed people present the shooter would have been stopped.”
After the Charleston shooting Steve Doocy, Fox and Friends host said “Had somebody in that church had a gun, they probably would have been able to stop him. After the recent shooting in a Louisiana movie theater former Texas Governor said had there been more guns present that night less people would have died. In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for more guns in schools to protect students. In 2012 after six people were gunned down inside a Sikh temple in Wisconsin what was the rallying cry? You guessed it, more guns.
More guns, more guns, more guns.
Do we really believe that more guns is the most logical solution for a country that obviously has a problem with gun violence? America is one of the most heavily armed countries in the world, from the military to civilians. While it is hard to track the exact amount of guns in America, because most of them aren’t registered, a study found that there were an estimated 200 million guns were in the hands of American citizens. Today there are around 300 million (more because of the aforementioned unregistered firearms) that’s a 50 percent increase in firearms. To put that in perspective, the US population (now at about 319 million) only increased 20 percent during that time. At this rate, there will be a gun for every single citizen in America.
Now, if the rallying cry after every shooting in America is “More guns!” to ensure everyone’s safety you would think that 50 percent increase in firearms would have made America an incredibly safe place. Wrong.
A study conducted by Mother Jones took a look at 62 shootings in America from 1982-2012. The study showed that there were an average of 2 shootings per year. However, 25 of those 62 shootings occurred from 2006-2012; and at the time this study was completed there had been 7 mass shootings in 2012 alone totaling 140 people injured or killed. In 2015 there have been 24 shootings in which 4 or more people have died. So, no more guns does not equal safety; in fact, its means quite the opposite.
Many will say, “I didn’t mean more guns in general, I meant more guns in situations when shootings occur.” No, more guns will just add to the bloodshed.
The fact of the matter is America doesn’t need more guns, we need less and we need stricter gun laws.
And to the daft “guns don’t kill people, bad guys with guns kill people” argument, yeah you’re right. However, do you think there would be so many bad guys with guns killing people if those guns were harder to obtain? For example, in Wisconsin you don’t need a permit to purchase a gun. In Missouri, citizens can carry guns while intoxicated and even fire it in self-defense; brilliant considering drunk people are known for their excellent judgement. In Utah, individuals under a felony indictment can buy a gun as well as those charged with a violent crime.
And these are only a few of the states with incredibly lenient gun laws.
Look, I know a lot of you love your guns and believe that as an American citizen the 2nd Amendment protects your right to bear arms. This is true. In fact, citizens owning firearms are part of the reason we’re a sovereign nation today. However, I, and many others, just ask that you take an unbiased look at what guns are doing to this great nation. We aren’t saying completely get rid of guns, but we are obviously in need of gun reform. America is riddled with bullet holes right now, and more guns are certainly not the answer.
