Earlier this morning on the University of California Los Angeles campus, two people were shot and killed for a currently unknown reason. As the campus was placed on lockdown and national news outlets began reporting the story, one question began to scratch at the minds of American citizens from coast to coast: why does this keep happening?
In 2015 alone, there were 372 mass shootings (where at least four people were killed or wounded), killing 475 and wounding 1,870. Since 2013, there have been 185 school shootings across the United States (186 including today’s incident). It is evident that gun violence is currently an undying reality in our country. And although this is one of the most pressing political issues in this day and age, gun control is still seen as an absurd violation of American rights.
Yes, the second amendment of the Bill of Rights does, in fact, give citizens the “right to bear arms”, but what about the right to receive an education or walk in a public area without the constant and perpetual fear of being shot to death? Don’t the American people at least deserve that comfort? The second amendment was ratified in 1791—225 years ago—yet we still have citizens and politicians who worship it as if it’s the Bible. I don’t believe the founding fathers foresaw the creation of assault rifles during World War II, so I don’t think saying “this is the way Thomas Jefferson would have wanted it” justifies you keeping an AK-47 in your home. But what about self-defense, you ask? Okay, it’s your right to carry a gun, but there is no justifiable reason for you to keep fully automatic weapons in your house unless you can foresee it being raided by a mob of people.
But what the gun control argument all boils down to is this: the freedom of the American people. We are currently living in a time where this is one of the most controversial and confusing concepts to discuss. What is someone’s right, and what is crossing the line? It seems as if there is no correct answer. I live in a region of the USA where it seems like every other family owns guns for some reason or another. And often times, I see it as justified. But when tragedies such as the UCLA shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting, or the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occur, I have to ask myself, “It’s their right to own guns, but at what cost? The lives of our fellow Americans?”
So here I am, a 16 year old boy from Kentucky, pleading to legislators to find a solution. I do not want to take this risk anymore. I do not want to put my friends’ or my family’s lives at risk over someone’s political agenda. I want my loved ones to be able to go out in public without fear of having to find cover from gunfire. Conservative legislators and politicians repeatedly knock down gun control without ever offering a concrete solution to gun violence. So if gun control isn’t the answer, what is?
This is an honest and earnest request; I am not trying to be facetious nor am I trying to mock conservative values and principles. The proper measures to save lives have to be made. We have to come up with a solution before it’s too late for you, for me, and for our loved ones.
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