You either opened this article because you agree that guns are necessary in society or because you’re one of those people who gets angry every time they see someone wearing an NRA T-shirt. Unfortunately, America is split pretty evenly between people who want all guns off the street and those who think everyone should have one. And I don’t have much of a stance, so I flipped a coin and it was heads, so for the next 422 words I will be supporting those die hard gun rights activists.
Every time there is a mass shooting, politicians are called to action by the public. Typically, after such events, citizens will be reinvigorated with support for one of two ideologies regarding guns. I will reference the Orlando mass shooting since it is the most recent tragedy.
The first group will say, "If anyone in that night club had their concealed carry then this wouldn’t have happened.” Stop right there … concealed carry laws in the state of Florida do not allow you to carry inside of an establishment that serves alcohol. So for “us” gun rights activists, the problem precedes just having the right to buy and carry a gun. It goes all the way back to the legislation that infringes upon our second amendment right by giving us strict conditions under which we may execute that right. The constitution says, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Well then what do you call those "conditions" left-wingers? Finally, you might be asking, “Well, has someone with a concealed carry every actually stopped a mass shooting?” Yes.
The second group will say, “If nobody could get their hands on guns, especially assault rifles, then this wouldn’t be possible.” News flash: according to MSNBC in December of 2015, “More than 80 percent of guns used in mass shootings are obtained illegally.” On top of that statistic, again, according to MSNBC, “only three percent of criminals who use guns get them legally.”
The fact of the matter is that guns are out there and making them illegal will only make the people who want to buy them legally unable to. We’ve all heard that before, but look at the credible statistics above and think about that. Ninety-seven percent of guns used by criminals are not obtained legally, which completely omits the “background checks” that Obama uses as his foundation for all firearm debates. Imagine being in the night club early Sunday morning. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see some shots fired back? I will end with an inspiring meme that was plastered on the sarcastically-happy face of Willy Wonka: “So you’re saying more gun laws will take guns off the street? We should make drugs illegal too.”
End note: Please keep the people and their families affected by the Orlando shooting in your thoughts and prayers. At the root of the evil, it’s not about guns … it’s about morality issues that, unfortunately, too many people battle.
