Make America Safe Again

 Make America Safe Again

Memorial for victims in a school shooting 

    It is clear today that it is all too frequent in the news to hear about innocent lives lost due to tragic mass shootings. While many people are quick to jump to the idea of eliminating the second amendment from the constitution, there needs to be a more practical approach that does not infringe on our constitutional rights as Americans. Through helping the mentally ill, controlling gun ownership to a better degree, and listening to the statistics, fellow Americans can be safer out in public while keeping out basic rights such as owning guns which will bring us closer as a country. Proper gun control can and will ensure our constitutional right to bear arms and will keep the United States the land of the free.

    While many believe that the answer for controlling guns is taking away the right to own guns, or at least automatic weapons, that is not a practical approach in today’s world. Gun control in America should not mean taking away all guns from all people but doing a better job of controlling who gets their hands on a firearm and how. In a peer reviewed journal by William J. Vizzard titled, "The Current and Future State of Gun Policy in the United States' ' he states, “The sheer size of the existing firearms inventory and the number of gun owners are considered two of the greatest hurdles. Although the exact number of firearms cannot be determined, the best estimate is somewhere over 300 million and growing." What can be taken away from this is that taking away guns from all Americans is not a practical answer and could not be done at this point due to how saturated the United States is with firearms. Instead, implementing laws and programs to help avoid guns getting in the hands of the wrong people such as the mentally ill or felons, should be more of a priority to keep the people safe.   

    Statistics drawn from the American people on how gun laws should be handled in the United States also give great insight. In a research article by the Pew Research Center, it is shown that 52% of Americans believe that gun laws should be more strict, and that 30% of Americans believe that they should stay with the current legislation that comes along with purchasing a gun. That leaves a relatively small 18% of the population believing gun laws should be less strict. Along with that 73% of Americans believe that people with mental illness should be prevented from purchasing guns. Similarly, 65% of Americans agree requiring background checks should be mandatory for purchasing a gun and they should be somewhat stricter with said checks. As shown by the numbers, the majority of Americans want gun laws to become somewhat stricter, but not taken away completely. It is also very clear that the large majority of Americans believe that the bigger problem is keeping people with mental illness away from guns, and making background checks a bit stricter, not getting of our constitutional right to bear arms all together.

    In a research article published by the National Library of Medicine titled “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms” written by Jonathan M. Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish, a study was done on the correlation between mass shootings in the United States and mental illness and there was a clear correlation. The article essentially states that evidence strongly suggests that individuals who commit mass shootings are often socially marginalized and suffer from mental illness. With enhanced psychiatric attention, these instances could be prevented to an even greater degree. Mass shootings also shed light on a call for reevaluating our gun laws as a nation. What can be taken away from this is that the correlation between mentally ill individuals and mass shootings is clearly there. On top of that, if the attention shifted from controlling guns, to increasing psychiatric care to those who need it and controlling who gets the guns in the first place, the problem may be solved to a better degree without infringing on our constitutional rights.

In a statistical article by Statitsta, it is clear mass shootings have been on an upward trend since the year 2000, and we have already seen nine mass shootings in the United States as of October 13th. Places such as schools and workplaces that are supposed to be safe territory are now some of the most common places for these mass shootings to occur. These places are also the foundation for our youth to learn and where our economy is supposed to thrive the most, and with gun violence becoming too regular it may hinder the safety and trust within these commonly visited places. While many conservatives in favor of no infringement whatsoever on our gun rights may argue any steps toward gun control are bad, it is important to recognize change for the better is never bad, especially if that means more lives are saved. As Americans and as a united country, we need to make decisions that will not strip away our rights, but instead keep us all safe. Everyone agrees that the innocent lives lost in mass shootings is an American tragedy. It is now time to put aside our differences and make sure these despicable acts of violence do not continue to happen.