As a communication major, I’m well aware that the messages that we post out to social media don’t always come across the way that we want them to. It seems like every time there’s a mass shooting—like the one at Umpqua Community College this past week that killed nine people—messages of all sorts pop up in the form of memes, advocating against gun control laws.
These memes can be interpreted in many different ways, though. Especially by a college student that lives in fear of the next mass shooting happening at their school. Obviously, there’s bias there, but just for the fun of it, why don’t we look at the kind of messages that anti-gun control advocates’ memes are really sending?
The Intended Message: “Restricting where people can buy guns isn’t going to help anything! Meth and other illegal drugs aren’t sold in stores, and people still get their hands on that!
The Perceived Message: You’re worried you won’t be able to pick up your gun and groceries in the same trip to Walmart.
No, if people really wanted to get a hold of a gun, they will get a hold of a gun. You have to admit that there’s something wrong with being able to pick up a gun at Walmart while you’re getting groceries, right? There’s something even worse about being able to buy guns online.
The Intended Message: Restricting where people can carry guns by putting signs up and creating more “Gun Free Zones” isn’t going to change anything. If a person wants to shoot up a place, they’re not going to let a sign stop them.
The Perceived Message: Wow, you actually find mass shootings humorous?
We know that putting up signs isn’t going to stop a potential shooter. If a shooter wants to shoot up a place, nothing is going to stop him. However, by enforcing gun free zones and not allowing concealed weapons on the premises, you’re potentially making it a lot harder for the shooter to get past the front door. That’s why those signs are up there.
The Intended Message: Making guns illegal isn’t going to stop criminals from shooting up the place! That is simply not the answer.
The Perceived Message: Wow, did anyone say anything about making guns illegal?
Making guns illegal is not the solution here. Even though it eliminated the problem of gun violence for other countries (like England, which banned private ownership of handguns after a shooting in 1997), it’s not a logical solution for our gun-lovin’ country at this time. All we want are more laws that can keep shooters from legally owning 14 weapons to shoot up schools.
The Intended Message: It's in the constitution that we have a right to firearms! Are you going to go against the constitution?
The Perceived Message: Are you seriously ignoring that our country has a massive problem here?
Chris Harper-Mercer, the shooter responsible for the deaths of nine people this past week, owned 14 firearms. According to officials, “All the weapons were legally obtained by the shooter or family members over the past three years through a federally licensed firearms dealer.”
Background checks aren’t required to purchase guns at gun shows, and even with background checks, denial of firearm sales happens less than one percent of the time, according to CNN. Not only that, but the U.S. is the only developed country to struggle with the problem of gun violence to this extent. Obviously we have a problem, a logical solution to the problem would be stricter gun control laws.
We don’t want to take away your guns. But is our safety and mental wellbeing really too much to ask for?
