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| Obama at tonight's speech |
As you should be aware, the past several years have been saturated with controversy regarding gun control. Both Obama and Vice President Biden has recently been adamantly pushing for reform. Tonight Obama reinforced his support for stricter gun control laws, highlighting that those affected by gun violence "deserve" to see such proposals voted on. Referencing the Aurora and Newtown shootings was an expected move, being that these two tragic incidents are still fresh in many peoples' minds. But the most intense emotional appeal to the public was his story of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton's gun-related death just blocks from the Obama family's Chicago residence. More information on Pendleton's murder
How do you think Obama's personal connection to the gun control issue will affect the creation related policy? While gun control is a very partisan issue, hope for compromise is alive in the fact that there are many ways to achieve safety without infringing on the public’s 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Many have suggested improving care for those with mental illnesses as well as requiring background checks on all gun purchases. What do you think are plausible solutions?
3 comments:
I don't think there is a plausible solution to gun control, just as there are no plausible solutions. I think that if someone really wants a gun, they will find a way to get it no matter what. For example, there are many drugs that are outlawed in the U.S. but still people are creating and using these drugs. Of course they get punished for this but the damage is already done. It is sad but unless the government takes overly extreme measures ( illegal search and seizure )which would be outrageous, we'll never solve this issue.
I agree with Ali to an extent: even if we tighten our gun control laws, people will still be obtaining them illegally, but I do think there is a solution. Although this may seem contradictory to the purpose, loosening gun control may prevent gun violence, as shown in statistics from other countries, mainly in Europe. The reason for this is, I think, more self defense. Having a means to defend yourself will deter potential threats to back away. This is a bit like an arms race, but we may as well try. As of now, it seems more control isn't working.
The largest issue with gun control isn't that it doesn't work--it does, in many cases. It's true that it's still possible to obtain guns even with restrictions, and that can understandably cause problems. Outright banning guns in America is completely out of the question, but assault weapons bans should not have to take much deliberation in order to pass them. America could exist with current gun laws, and try to accept that as a result of our expansive country and enormous population that at the end of the day, some people are going to die. But that doesn't have to happen.
Why is gun violence in America so high? It's because of our culture, not a lack of regulations on guns. Americans tend to be incredibly proud and distrust government, so when it comes to our own protection many people prefer to rely on themselves than on the police (the recent mishaps with police pursuing Dorner demonstrate why). It's easy to blame violence on the accessibility of guns or on violence in various media forms, but those are both just results of our inherently violent society. This isn't necessarily bad or good, it's just how things are.
Regardless, steps to prevent mass shootings can still be implemented, i.e. changes in mental health treatment and banning assault weapons and so forth. (I say assault weapons because even with semi-automatic weapons, they still carry far more force than even a typical handgun.)
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