While gun laws and violence has been around for a very long
time, recent media seems to be getting into the topic more than ever before.
Gun violence in U.S. soil has once again gone up, a 4 percent increase since
last year’s statistics (Gun Violence Archive, 2018). While the Second Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution provided rights to bear arms (U.S. Const. amend. II),
the public often wonders whether a wide range of alternatives should be
considered: including no, partial, or total abolition (LaFollette, 2007).
As intimidating firearms looks, they’re merely just a tool
for self-defense. When given to the wrong individuals however, they become
deadly weapons. Despite this fact however, I personally find guns to be no
different than everyday items such as forks or a pitcher of iced tea. As the
Merriam-Webster (n.d.) dictionary defines, a weapon is something used to
injure, defeat, or destroy someone or something. Since how the gun is used
really depends on the individual, I personally believe that gun laws should
revolve mostly around gun users and not the object itself. As easy as it sounds
however, establishing gun laws based on our mental state is excruciating
difficult since the only person who really understands it is ourselves.
While we hope that future technology allows us to
accurately read and understand one’s mental state, I personally think the
closest we can get to determining one’s thinking is through a series of
personal interviews and close examinations of the individual’s medical and
crime records.
Although background checks may help, I believe it is also everyone’s
responsibility to ensure that firearms don’t end up with the wrong person. One shooting
I recall is the Cascade Mall Shooting that occurred in Washington State last
year. The incident occurred just a few miles away from where my family and I
live, and I recall several friends and acquaintances who knew the 20-year-old
suspect, Arcan Cetin. While the motive is still unclear to this day, Cetin
entered the mall with a .22 Ruger rifle, instantly killing five people. Upon
further investigation, it was found that Cetin had multiple troubled histories
and was banned of possessing firearm. Despite the ruling, he still managed to get
his hands on the rifle, which was stolen from a family member (Solis & Hughes,
2016). Although it is unclear how the rifle was stolen, perhaps the incident
wouldn’t have occurred if it were locked away and closely monitored by the
appropriate owner. In addition, if ones even knew or sensed suspicion of an
individual, these should be reported immediately to reduce situations from occurring.
References:
References:
“Gun Violence Archive”. (2018). 2014-2017 End of Year Logs.
Retrieved from http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
“Weapon” [Def 1]. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved
from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weapon
LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics.
Blackwell Publishing.
Solis, S. & Hughes, T.
(2016). Washington mall shooting suspect to face 5 murder charges. USA Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/09/25/washington-mall-shooting-suspect-arcan-cetin/91071336/
U.S. Const. amend. II. Retrieved from
https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/United_States_of_America_1992
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