US, Serbia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the list goes on…The US leads the pack of this not so great company (not to demean the nations in the list). Well, it is the list of nations with the most guns per 100 residents, so it is no surprise that we have scores of shootings including at elementary schools. The US is estimated to have 88.8 guns per 100 residents, which means if I am in a crowd of 10, everyone else has one, quite a scary thought.
I am shocked, saddened and angry at the mass shooting today at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, just 25 miles from my home. My heart goes out to the families impacted by this horrific tragedy, and pray that they have the courage to overcome the personal loss. It is not a time to look for blame, but it is a time to see how this can be prevented again.
About 20 small kids in the elementary school died, and for what purpose? Atleast a 100 rounds were fired, at innocent unarmed kids. The shooter was no doubt insane, but it is our gun control laws that are even more insane. How else can one explain providing automatic weapons freely to insane people without proper checks? It is not that US has more crazy nuts, every country has crazy people, almost in the same percentage range as in the US (maybe the US has less), but no other country makes it easy to arm these crazy nuts with automatic weapons.
About 20 small kids in the elementary school died, and for what purpose? Atleast a 100 rounds were fired, at innocent unarmed kids. The shooter was no doubt insane, but it is our gun control laws that are even more insane. How else can one explain providing automatic weapons freely to insane people without proper checks? It is not that US has more crazy nuts, every country has crazy people, almost in the same percentage range as in the US (maybe the US has less), but no other country makes it easy to arm these crazy nuts with automatic weapons.
These are not illegal weapons, they are very much legal. The gun control advocates are quick to jump at every mass shootings to say ‘it is not the guns, but the people, guns don’t kill, people do’. To which I say, dude, people cannot kill in masses unless you provide him an automatic with 100+ rounds. Ask the NRA and they might advise that guns make people safer. Going by that logic it is better to arm all kids in schools with guns than to have gun control. And by the way, more guns does NOT mean more safety, statistics show it is the opposite. The United States has the highest rate of gun related injuries per capita among developed countries, though they also have the highest rate of gun ownership. Violence committed with guns leads to significant monetary costs. It is estimated that such violence costs the USA $100 billion annually. On a lighter note, at a time when we are looking at closing the budget deficit this might help us. Congress, are you listening?
I am for full gun control, but that is like wishing for peace between Israel and Palestine this year. So for a solution that is realistic is to atleast not allow automatic weapons for civilians. The argument by the gun lobby is to bring in second amendment and self protection. You don’t need an automatic weapon for self protection, have a regular weapon if you want with proper checks. Make sure licenses are allotted to people after good background checks. Automatic weapons should only be in the hands of police officers, else it ends up in the hands of criminals and also puts the officers at risk.
As for the second amendment, this is a big wash and as anything else is by the lobbyists they bring up a narrative. "Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home". It was created during the 18th century to legalize the right to have weapons as the British had banned it to prevent the settlers from having an army (and weapons) to fight them. It made perfect sense then, but does it really mean the same in today’s civilized world ? Are we still living in the 18th century? The gun lobby and the politicians that support them (and get money from them) have changed the interpretation to sound as if having a gun makes you a true American because it is about your freedom, and to fool the ignorant (and there are plenty of those around) they add the word constitution to it.
More deaths of innocents (including children) will continue in the months and years to come, and nothing will be done. This incident will be forgotten just like every others in the past. I wish I am proved wrong, but there is no leader who has the guts to take on the powerful gun lobby. So I guess we have to get used to this and take it in our stride, and yes pray and hope we can.... We should all try to do what we can, and this is what I can do in a small way...
I know a lot many gun lovers will not like this post, but can you provide a logical explanation of what happened?, and do you really believe it has made you a lot safer?
-Ramanuja Iyer
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