Are guns the problem?
A week ago on Sunday, September 15, Donald Trump was the apparent target of a second assassination attempt. The first attempt occurred only a few months ago at a Pennsylvania rally in July. Both attempts saw Trump leave nearly unscathed, with the first shooter killed and the second arrested. The nature of these recent incidents begs the question "when is enough, enough?"
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Thomas Matthew Crooks, the July attempted assassin of Donald Trump, bought 50 rounds for his father's AR-15 on the day of Trump's Pennsylvania rally. Though Crooks did not have as clear-cut warning signs that he may attempt such an act, one must wonder why he was able to quickly gain access to a rifle and 50 rounds with the controversial political figure in town.
These instances are not the only gun-related events that have happened in the country in the last few months and will certainly not be the last. The Georgia school shooting at Apalachee High School took place early September and resulted in four deaths and at least 9 people injured. The shooter had been cause for an anonymous tip to the FBI in 2023, yet still he was allowed access to a gun.
One must ask if this will finally be enough to create a substantive change of our country's gun laws. Though these are not the first horrific acts of gun violence and they will assuredly not be last, the acts have been towards a Republican candidate and/or in a traditionally "red" state. With the lack of gun control now affecting those who are against any possibility of stricter gun laws, is it possible that conservatives in power will consider restricting access to firearms? It is hard not to doubt this, as such violence makes for a cynical citizenry. However, in the smallest of silver linings, the direct impact may perhaps be enough for our politicians to say "enough."
Insightful post Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteThis topic is gaining more traction after the last couple weeks and the attempts on the former President's life. The Gun topic is one that can't be fixed with the signing of a law. We have hundreds of millions of guns in the US alone. It is also not a smart political move for representatives in swing states to have a strong opinion on this topic, whether ethical or not. This same rule applies to the abortion issue in our country. Some think a ban is necessary, but some think it is a right to have one. However, relating this to abortion would be slightly dishonest because whether you agree with guns or not, it is a right. Reform is necessary, but it is a hard path to navigate.
This was an absolutely fascinating blog post that I feel holds such importance in today's world. It feels as though gun violence is becoming more and more prevalent with zero action being taken to mitigate and solve the problem. It is so interesting and eye opening to hear the extent that people had taken to warn the United States against Ryan Routh. To involve such organizations and to be so preventative, yet still see no recourse done to mitigate the man's actions is truly unacceptable. To go back to the restricting of guns, however, while I understand that there would certainly be difficulties and controversies faced, the United States government has had the ability to regulate just about everything else, so I'm sure there would be ways to go about restricting guns that would create a safer environment for the population while allowing citizens to still have access to guns. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour post was very insightful, gun violence has become more and more prevalent as the years go on with little to no action to combat the rising issue. It is crazy to think about the fact that young kids are exposed to such dangerous weapons, in terms of school shootings, as they shouldn't even have the thoughts circling their head but the world we live in is so gun-centric that we can't go very long without another mentioning of a school shooting or an attempted assassination of political candidate. In terms of regulation, the government should 100% do everything in it's power to regulate who is able to own a gun as there are currently so many people in the US that own a gun that shouldn't, whether that be for their own personal safety or for the safety of others.
ReplyDeleteI think that the gun is not the problem; the problem is the laws that allow people who are not supposed to have one have it. You mention that one of the individuals has been indicated that he has mental problem, and the governmental offices knew about it, but nobody stopped him. The people who need to be hold accountable of this, are those who make the laws that allow reckless individuals to hold a gun and consequently harming or worse taking the life of other.
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