As I write this, reports are pouring in over the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Current reports are that 27 people have died, with the majority of them being children. Several shootings have taken place in the United States in the past couple of weeks, and a countless amount over the course of 2012.
In Southern Oregon I lived alongside several neighbors who were armed; I was accepting of them and not at all afraid nor bothered by their presence. However, I do think that something really needs to be done to address all these shootings that have happened recently. I doubt that the 2nd Amendment will ever be overturned - and I also doubt that anyone is really advocating that - but that doesn't stop the enactment of stronger safeguards on who can own weapons and teaching people responsible gun ownership/use. This won't fix the problem, but it'll help to reduce it.
Already I've been seeing people address the shooting by saying "this isn't the time to talk about gun control!". This is not a helpful response to such a tragic event, and it's sad that some people would rather provide a knee-jerk defense of guns before anyone has even suggested the tiniest amount of gun control than think of the victims and their families. It's reckoned that at least 18 children have died! How can anyone dismiss the deaths of children so easily?
I'm thinking of the victims and their families. I hope we won't see the casualty count increase over time.
As someone who supports guns (my dad's a deputy, guns are important to us), I would hate to see that right taken away.
ReplyDeleteCrazy to think that a week ago I wrote about a school shooting in the mid-east for my fiction class. :\ I guess it goes to show we're not safe anywhere.
Don't worry, I certainly don't advocate taking anyone's rights away. My post stems more from some people showing more concern for weapons than the actual victims.
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