Gun Control, Keep it in Control or We’ll Keep Reading the Headlines
The Orlando shooting was one of the largest mass shootings in U.S. history with 49 killed and 53 wounded. This shooting happened only 4 months ago, and people have already forgotten. Forty-Nine people were killed; they are gone. The chances of this unfortunate event happening again if we had more gun control would be very slim.
Gun violence is a topic that needs to be discussed more. Every day there is a new headline saying things like “5 killed 3 injured.” We have become immune to it. Death isn’t something anyone should be used to.
Stores do check ID’s, and most of the time do background checks, but they need to be more enforced and thorough. People should have to have a gun license, proper ID, and a full on background check to purchase a gun.
The headlines trend for about an hour, then people say things like “it’s the people that kill not the guns.” While this is technically true, if guns weren’t as easy to access in the first place, maybe gun violence wouldn’t be so prominent that we are numb to it.
Whenever I hear this topic being talked about, people always say that there isn’t anything we can do. Personally, I would feel safer if laws were to change. There are shootings almost everyday in the US. Something needs to change.
People need to start realizing that being numb to reports of daily death tolls isn’t okay, and we should never have to be used to it.
Laws need to be made, and people need to speak up.
Sophie Hott is a senior at Wakefield this year, and this is her 4th year on The Chieftain. This year she is the Features and Lifestyle Editor. If she isn't...
Arti Shala • Jan 19, 2017 at 8:44 am
The Orlando Shooting was devastating, but stricter gun laws won’t solve gun violence. Omar Mateen was on two FBI Watch Lists, and still got his guns. Do you know why? Because he had the intention to kill, and this was known by the FBI by his membership in fundamentalist Islam seminars speadheaded by Al’Qaeda sympathizers. He got his guns illegally, he wasn’t allowed to buy guns by law since he was on a terrorist watch list. He circumvented the background check. If stricter gun laws are implemented, criminals and radical muslims are still going to get their guns, while law abiding citizens who want to protect their selves and their homes will be naked. Guns are not the issue, radical Islam is. Look at Chicago, strictest gun laws in America and coincidentally the highest gun violence rates. That’s because criminals don’t want to buy their guns from a store, they buy them privately or illegally. It’s just common sense.
adviser • Jan 23, 2017 at 1:13 pm
Hey. This is in the Opinions section, too.