Keep Guns Away from Children and the Mentally Ill - Should Be Common Sense

Keep Guns Away from Children and the Mentally Ill – Should Be Common Sense

America has a long-standing love affair with guns. Ever since our founding fathers wrote it into the Constitution that we have the right to bear arms (2^nd amendment), we have almost been obsessed with collecting guns. I wonder, however, how many of those who are citing the 2^nd amendment as giving them the right to bear arms really know what that amendment actually says. The purpose of that amendment was to provide for a “well regulated militia” for “the security of a free state”. Nowhere in this amendment does it state that the average person has the right to, or even the need to, bear weapons such as the AR-15 (ArmaLite Rifle). Weapons such as the AR-15 may be necessary for the military and for certain sports such as hunting, but these weapons are making it into the hands of disturbed children and adults. This needs to stop.

We have had a problem with the mentally ill being able to easily access guns for decades. In 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. In 1980, John Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman. In 1999, two young gunmen took 15 lives at Columbine High School. In 2007, Seung-Hui Cho killed 33 people at Virginia Tech. In 2012, Adam Lanza killed 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary and James Holmes killed 12 and injured 70 others at a movie theater in Colorado. These are just a few of the most infamous incidents involving gun violence since the 1960s. When President Barack Obama sought to do something to lower the number of gun-related deaths by imposing stricter laws governing the sale and distribution of guns, gun enthusiasts and conservatives created panic by saying that he was going to take away their guns. Name one person whose gun was taken by Obama or his administration.

Last year, Donald Trump, as part of his agenda to undermine everything that Obama’s administration did during his 8 years in office, revoked a regulatory initiative that made it harder for the mentally ill to purchase guns. Since Trump took office, gun deaths have increased, including over 400 mass shootings (Mass Shooting Tracker; Business Insider; Gun Violence Archive). There has also been an increase in officer-involved shootings, particularly where persons of color are concerned.

Recently, while most of the United States was exchanging valentines, chocolate hearts and flowers, 17 children breathed their last breath at Stoneman Douglas High School. When the brave survivors of this mass shooting decided to step forward and say enough is enough, they were attacked by the NRA, NRA supporters, Laura Ingraham and others. False propaganda began to be circulated about these brave children and other March for our Lives supporters, including a photo-shopped image of Emma Gonzalez ripping up the Constitution when in fact she was ripping up a target. Is this what America has become? We are actually attacking the victims of a horrific tragedy?

I support the right of responsible, mentally fit and informed individuals to own guns. I do not support the right of irresponsible, mentally ill and untrained individuals to own guns. Let me explain what I mean by responsible, mentally fit and informed. A responsible gun owner should keep their gun(s) secure from their children, their children’s friends, or other persons, preferably locked up. A mentally fit gun owner will not have a history of severe mental illness that can create a potentially hazardous situation should they be armed with a weapon. An informed or trained gun owner will actually know how to safely use and clean their weapons. We need to reinstate the gun regulations that call for stricter background checks for criminals and mentally ill persons. I realize that these people can still get their hands on black market weapons, but at least they will not be legally handed a gun with which to commit mass murders as easily.

Victims do not deserve to be villainized for standing up for their right to live. Our children have a right to feel safe at school and not wonder every day if some nut is going to shoot up their school. Parents have a right to drop their kids off at school each day and expect that they will see them again at the dinner table. We all have a right to go to school, to the movies, to a concert, or to any other place without having that be the last event we attend due to a nut with a gun. And while this entry has been mostly about the issue of mass shootings and the right of children to live, I wish to add that police and civilian violence toward persons of color also needs to stop. Many of the worst perpetrators of violence toward persons of color and/or antagonism toward March for our Lives supporters have been those who claim to be pro-life. How can you be pro-life and yet not believe that all persons have a right to live? Stop making it so easy for the mentally ill to purchase guns. Stop making it so easy for your children to get their hands on your guns. Stop villainizing victims. Be a part of the solution instead of being a part of the problem.