I’m a college kid, a freshman, currently. My dad’s side of the family are all Republican, and they decided to vote Trump for various reasons that I personally do not agree with. In fact, I don’t agree with many of their ideals. One of those is gun control.
My dad owns a pistol, which he keeps locked up in a safe, along with the ammo he has. My uncle who lives in the same state as us has at least a handgun and a shotgun. And my grandpa currently has a shotgun. My uncle especially goes shooting often with his own children. He invited my dad, and I agreed to go along; mostly just for the experience and to know what it’s like (I do a lot of writing and research like that, but I rarely get to do practical research outside of school).
I didn’t say so at the time, but I hated it. I hated the feeling of kick-back the tiny handgun gave me. I hated feeling that power. I hated hearing it, loud even through the earplugs. And I hated that I was good at aiming with the gun. I hated that, even accidentally, I could kill someone easily with this object in my hands. I did maybe one round and then I stopped. I didn’t try the shotgun. And I couldn’t wait to get out of there.
My uncle and one of his kids in particular love it. They go hunting every year. My grandpa can’t shoot if he wanted to, at this point, and my dad is more of a geek than anything – I don’t think he cares. So why does he have a gun again?
He says it’s for protection. Which is bullshit.
If something was to attack us in our house, the gun would be locked in the safe because it’s (surprise 😱) a dangerous weapon, and he wouldn’t have much of a chance to get it out before the danger does anything. And even if he did, we’re obviously going to call the police. And then when the police arrive, they’re going to see a gun and assume my dad is a threat. The gun, ultimately, will be more of a hindrance than a help.
And it’d be no different in any situation.
In the past two months, we’ve had two mass shootings (perpetrated by white males, by the way, which is an issue for another post), one in Vegas during a concert, and another one in Texas during a Christian Church hour. Both of these states, Nevada and Texas, have few gun control laws. Guns are aplenty in both of these states. So… Why did nobody use guns to save the day? Why not shoot the shooter?
Firstly, you’re likely not trained to do that, like policemen and other government officials have been. So even if you have a gun and it’s loaded and ready to shoot, you’re unlikely to know what you’re gonna do. Secondly, when the trained professionals arrive at a shooting, they’re gonna see you with a gun, and they’re gonna assume you’re part of the threat. The situations are the same. Even if you’re a good guy with a gun, you have a gun, and trained professionals are going to target you. So… Your gun was useless. And it distracted from the real threat. Congratulations, you were worse than useless.
I’ve gotten reports on my phone because my college campus is all about safety, thank goodness, and I can remember that I received at least three reports of shots fired in my area. And we had to avoid the areas. Those that fired shots may not have necessarily been trying to shoot somebody – it may have been an accident – but everyone knows that guns are deadly. There’s a reason why my dad keeps his gun in a safe, hidden away.
So, how do we stop potential mass shootings?
Well, what if I told you that putting increased restrictions on guns may help. And before you go “guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” remember why my dad might keep his gun in a safe. Remember why police will go after you if you have a gun during a public shooting and not the people around you. Guns help people kill more people efficiently; that’s the purpose of many guns at this point. And yeah, if a criminal is determined enough, they could probably find a way to skirt around laws and get a gun. But gun control laws we as a people could establish would make it so much harder for the common criminal to do so. It could easily deter a lot of mass shootings, and would help police determine who the shooter is with less guns among the populace, both during the shooting and possibly after.
What would these gun control laws look like? Well, we could get off our high horse and look at other country’s examples, like those of Britain and Australia. Yeah, they’ve had some mass shootings, but I don’t think they’ve had two mass shootings in under two months. Or even multiple mass shootings in under a decade. There’s a solution here, America. And I grieve for those who have been directly affected by these mass shootings. But my thoughts and prayers go directly into hoping that Congress will act to prevent these shootings from happening so frequently. And there are some things us common people can do. Call your senators and representatives and tell them the solution to this problem. When you vote, make sure the candidate you vote for is against mass shootings and wants to stop them. Hope is good; thoughts and prayers are okay; but action is the only thing that will do anything about this issue. Imagine a world where we didn’t have to give thoughts and prayers every couple of months.
At this point, I don’t understand how gun control wouldn’t help us all.
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