Accessories manufacturer Kevin Kao of Irvine, Calif. examines a military grade Remington ACR Special Purpose Rifle at the 35th annual SHOT Show, Tuesday in Las Vegas. The National Shooting Sports Foundation was focusing its 35th annual SHOT Show on products and services new to what it calls a $4.1 billion industry, with a nod to a raging national debate over assault weapons.
Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Aurora movie theater, Virginia Tech and Columbine High School are all at the forefront of the minds of many Americans. President Obama has called on Congress to pass laws to limit automatic weapons. The NRA has called Obama a hypocrite because armed secret servicemen allegedly guard his daughters. The second amendment gives us the right to bear arms, but our country has one of the highest rates of gun-related deaths in the developed world. The fight to bear arms is coming under fire from lawmakers on all sides of the political spectrum. Right now, politicians need to put party lines aside to put the safety of Americans first and limit the availability of automatic weapons.
If there is one thing politicians from both parties can agree on it is that the recent shootings at Sandy Hook and at the Aurora movie theater are heartbreaking and similar tragedies need to be prevented in the future. Everyone has the right to go to school, work or even the movies without fear.
The NRA says that guns can only be stopped with guns. They believe that if the “bad guys” have guns then the “good guys,” such as police officers or teachers, need to have even bigger guns. This mindset has good intentions but could lead to even more violence and death. It is reminiscent of the TV show “The Walking Dead” where the only way to survive is to shoot off more rounds and acquire more guns.
The solution to gun violence is not more high-powered military style weapons, but better control over who has access to them and being aware of how they are going to be used.
Proponents of gun rights and the second amendment fear that Obama and anti-gun lawmakers are looking to limit the availability of all guns. Obama does not want to take away hunting rifles, antique collectible guns or even concealed weapons. He is attempting to limit access to guns that have high capacity magazines, armor piercing bullets and improve background checks to make sure that guns will not be used in harmful ways. It is not necessary to have an automatic weapon for self-defense. For intimidation or home defense, a shotgun or even an antique dueling pistol will work just fine. As for hunting, no deer needs to be taken down by a stream of 60 rounds.
The laws proposed by Obama aim to make automatic weapons, like the ones legally bought and later used to kill 12 people and injure more than 50 others during “The Dark Knight Rises” midnight release this June, harder to obtain. Obama should not issue an executive order to completely bypass congress, but both Democrats and Republicans need to consider a solution that will uphold the second amendment and help protect the people of this country without involving more guns.
