Another shooting happened today. I didn’t read about it in the news. I didn’t hear about it in class, and I didn’t see any social media posts. But I know one happened. Shootings happen daily in America; it’s become normal.
According to the Sandy Hook Promise, 12 children die from gun violence every day in America. The worst part about this statement is it most likely isn’t shocking to most of you reading this. So then why aren’t we, as a nation, changing something?
There’s only one answer: selfishness. Those who insist upon the freedom to bear arms as a justification for the legalization of assault rifles are selfish and irresponsible, putting the lives of millions at risk. Anti-gun control stances are self-serving and fail to recognize gun control does not take guns away from everyone, but instead takes assault rifles out of the hands of mass shooters.
Our country was founded on a hierarchical society, where white men were placed on top and given dozens of systemic advantages. This is mainly seen when looking at the wealth spectrum in America, which directly correlates to a social hierarchy. A whopping 88 percent of the top one percent of wealth is white, which has, inherently, led to white men being in higher office positions. It is my observation that this has led to some of these law-making individuals to lead a more self serving life. This has historically disadvantaged people of color and immigrants; now children can be added to that list. The leading epidemic plaguing American children is guns. Every child, of all skin colors, religions and ethnicities are in peril. Daily parents lose their children, kids lose their siblings, a little girl loses her best friend, and millions of children walk into school feeling unsafe.
Guns are the leading cause of death for children, and people want to do something about it. 97 percent of Americans are in support of extended background checks. Similarly, 71 percent of Americans say gun laws should be stricter, according to a poll by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. America is supposed to be a nation of democracy. If America is a democracy, and more than half of the population is in support of stricter gun laws, why don’t we have them?
I picture the remaining 29 percent who disagree with that statement as angry toddlers, lacking to see the full picture, upset at the idea of having their toys taken away. I agree that guns are not inherently bad, and gun violence will probably never go away. The real issue is the severity of assault rifles and their increasing accessibility to them.
Dangerous assault rifles such as the AK-47 and AR-15 are war machines designed to shoot 600 rounds per minute with the intention to kill as many people in the shortest amount of time possible. Anti-gun controllers say they need guns “to protect their families.” I am not disagreeing with that statement. I agree, a standard handgun that carries on average 5 rounds, when properly stored out of reach of children, in a sealed and locked safe, can be very reassuring to own. As a Latina woman, I can understand why certain members of marginalized communities choose to own a gun.
But, there is no need for an average civilian to be able to walk into a store in forty out of fifty states and, with little to no background check, buy an assault rifle. Assault rifles are not used for hunting, sporting marksmanship or protecting loved ones. Assault rifles are used to commit mass murders, “Mass shooting incidents with four or more people killed, where the shooter used an assault rifle resulted in an average of 2.4 times more people killed and 24 times more people wounded compared to incidents where the shooter did not use an assault rifle,” according to a study done by Every Town Research.
I acknowledge that guns are never fully going away, and to be honest, I think that is good, as long as the guns available are not assault rifles, and are simple self-defense weapons. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean there aren’t important actions that must be taken to ensure the safety of our future children. The first necessary step is extended background checks. According to Every Town Research, state laws requiring background checks at the point of sale are statistically associated with lower rates of firearm homicide, suicide and trafficking. Background checks will not make it more difficult for “good” people to get guns; it will only make it harder for the “bad.” Updating background checks at the federal level on all gun sales is an easy way to keep our communities safe.
The argument for stricter gun control isn’t to put people's families at risk, leaving them with no means to defend themselves, it is to ensure we keep unnecessary and disastrous weapons out of the hands of civilians to work towards keeping any guns out of the hands of any harmful individual.
Credits:
Created with an image by niyazz - "Wooden judge gavel and black color gun over US flag"