In the aftermath of something tragic, we always look for something to blame for the awful act. In the aftermath of 9/11, we blamed our airport security for the attacks on the Towers, the Pentagon, and the downed plane in Shanksville, PN. So, can you guess what was blamed after the tragic attacks on Columbine High School? According the media, the reasons these attacks took place was anything from bullying to slack gun laws. There is always a scapegoat to a tragedy and in this case it's Gun Control and the Media.
Gun Rights
In 1889, the Bill of Rights was drawn up and along with it the first Thirteen Amendments. Among these amendments was the famous, often ridiculed 2nd Amendment. This Amendment stated "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". What it is saying is that along as we are a united and free country we will always have the right to own a weapon. The conflict with this is as modernized over the course of some 200 years, our technology changed drastically. This led to more people owning firearms in the United States. In 2009, there was 307 million people living in the US. And of those 307 million people there was nearly 300 million guns in American households. There is almost as much guns in the US as people; that can cause very many problems. As seen in the documentary, all Moore needed to do to get a rifle was to open a bank account. That is way too easy! I believe we have a right to own firearms, but we need to change the policy and make it more difficult to get a gun in the first place, if you have had a record of violence in the past. Also, with that we need to have more guns made in the US because then we can regulate the flow of guns and keep better track of where and when they arrive at the store or retailer. I think that in the future laws will be enacted which limits the use of rifles and the availability of handguns even more so then now. In order for this to happen we have to cooperate and be willing to give up some things. If one of these happens to be a handgun, so be it. Our amendments are over 200 years old. If we need change and it will help lower crime rate and death in the States, we will need to update the 2nd amendment. We need to put stricter laws on handguns and even stricter laws on the selling of assault rifles. We do this, and hopefully the crime rates and tragedies will subside.
The Media
The media does a very good job of reporting on stuff that we want to hear and does an even better job reporting on tragic and frightening news. It happens everyday if you pay attention. There will be scandals and news about the Middle East filling up almost the whole time slot with very little room to spare for informative and educational information. Those news companies thrive on the income of people tuning in to hear the info about the newest virus and the newest attack in another country. In our documentary, we found out that Canada reports very normal and respectful news. I think that reflects on their culture. As we found out, their crime rates say it. They see good on the news and they will tend to do good. Hopefully, our media will focus on the good aspects of our "gun-toting" society. They should report on the rising hunting numbers not the amount of deaths associated to those numbers. The moral is that the more good that is reported, the more positive the impact on our society.
Its impossible to completely resolve conflict, it always has been. But, with a little bit stricter gun laws and a more positive media, maybe we can do more good for the world instead of always bringing each other and it down with tragedies caused by the use of a full-auto gun. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. The person pulls the trigger not the gun. So, although I believe in stricter laws on handguns and assault rifles. I do think we should not take out the 2nd amendment but update it. We have already taken one step closer to a stricter gun law society when Mr. Obama enacted his 23 laws associated with gun rights. In these laws, he stated that he wanted better background checks, and he is giving schools grant money to help with defense of the school. There is a downside to these though. They will need to know everything about us and what we have done. A complete background check basically. I think this is wrong and could be avoided. This disrupts our privacy and needs to be changed.
Sources:
http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
Obamas 23 laws
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/NATL-Obama-to-Unveil-Gun-Violence-Measures--187077641.html
Obamas 23 laws
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/NATL-Obama-to-Unveil-Gun-Violence-Measures--187077641.html
