When it comes to mass shootings, we need a whole hell of a lot more than “thoughts and prayers.” Specifically, we need improved gun regulations, but there are a whole lot of people who lose their minds at the prospect.
Their argument is all-too familiar: if we increase gun regulations, we’re infringing on the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. To which, I say, they’ve got no clue what they’re talking about.
The truth is, these people, and all the others who come out against mental health and better background checks, are wildly misconstruing the rights granted by the Constitution and our founding fathers.
In fact, I’d argue that they know next-to-nothing about the Second Amendment’s original purpose or what the Second Amendment actually means.
You see, these folks constantly forget that the amendment begins with “a well-regulated militia.” They spend all their time touting the amendment as the reason why they should be able to have access to any gun without regulatory oversight, but once again, I go back to that operative phrase “well-regulated.”
It is quoted, “Regulation is necessary for the security of a free state.” Yet how can you have a free state when some people are picking and choosing who gets security and who doesn’t based on their own ideals and agendas?
The answer is, of course, you can’t.
Any country must be regulated for civility, balance, and optimization. The problem just lies in the fact that people are either selfishly interpreting the Second Amendment or are confused with its fundamental purpose: a free society.
And that confusion or selfishness? They have dire consequences. An increased number of mass shootings is one of them, a dire symptom of an impending coronary event at the heart of a sick nation － a nation still attempting to keep a white-knuckled grip on some ideal that’s doing nothing but harming our families, friends, neighbors, and the rest of our fellow human beings.
Pretty selfish, isn’t it?
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this is a complicated issue. Guns can undoubtedly be used for good － to provide people with food, to offer protection from danger. However, we need to deal with the biggest issues at hand right now and mass shootings are an immediate danger that we simply can’t ignore any longer.
We’ve already been doing that for way too long.
They bring with them death, lasting anguish, and ominous fear. They threaten the future of our children, our nation as a whole. And they don’t appear to be slowing down. Little indicates that they will, either.
So, what do we do then? Well, we must insist to those in power that our country’s wellbeing is on the line, that these gunmen are their own militias against innocents. Not only this, but we also need to re-educate the masses, to make them understand that it was written at a time entirely different from today.
When it was drafted, British invasion was a looming threat and public safety was at risk. But invasion is no longer the threat － we ourselves are, and we need to face that.
As you’d expect, it’s easier said than done. Our country is great at avoiding the truth, at placing blame everywhere except where it truly lies.
We just love a good scapegoat.
But while our nation is suffering from a mental health epidemic stemming from existential stress, family dysfunction, racism, etc., these are neither the sole nor the main contributors to the problem.
Our current paradigm of ignorance, though? Yeah, that’s definitely high up on the list. And the sooner we deal with it, the better.
After all, this is the thing keeping us divided. It’s what’s breeding hostility and conflict. The debate surrounding mass shootings － that is merely a symptom of an impending heart attack. Meanwhile, the cause is all on us, and as such, it’ll be all on us to fix it.
