This is the second part of my three part essay on mass shooting in America. For a look at the pro-gun problems, please click here.
I have seen many anti-gun proponents suggest that changing the gun ownership laws would take guns out of the hands of people who want to kill. They go on to cite other countries that have little or no private gun ownership and the correlation between the lack of mass shootings and the absence of guns. While this concept might be a viable long term solution, it cannot protect unarmed civilians now or in the near future for a variety of reasons including:
- The debate over gun control taps into emotions of fear, anxiety and control on both sides. Any attempt to change the law would create political and legal conflict that would rival recent debates about abortion, gay rights and health care.
- Any change to gun ownership laws on a national level could require an amendment to the Constitution. That means a two thirds majority in the House and the Senate and ratification by thirty eight states. In the modern political climate, that kind of bi-partisan cooperation is almost unheard of.
- Even if an overhaul of the gun control system could be put in place, it would not eliminate the 200 million privately owned firearms in America. Even if the law was passed, it would not alter the mentality of gun owners in the same way that changes to women’s suffrage hasn’t changed the mentality of many men towards women in more than 90 years and the civil rights movement hasn’t changed the way minorities are treated in America more than 50 years later.
- During the long debate and struggle to alter the gun laws, many more guns would be purchased. There is a chance that a dramatic increase in firearms purchased could occur as people stockpiled as many legal weapons as they could before the laws changed.
- Finally, the focus on changing the laws in the future does little to protect unarmed children in the present.
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Why Ignoring Potential Gun Violence Isn’t Helpful
I have seen many people express shock, condolences and grief when faced with the latest mass shooting. Feeling helpless, they attempt to ignore or avoid the subject, hoping it will go away or at least hoping that it will not impact them directly. While the chances of being a victim in a mass shooting are still relatively rare, this course of action is not helpful to anyone involved because
- The number of mass shootings has steadily increased in the past thirty years.
- The variety of locations shows that there is no protected space or safe haven that is immune from mass shootings. Schools, businesses, religious buildings, malls and movie theaters are equally vulnerable.
- While prayers, condolences and expressions of emotional support are comforting after a crisis, they don’t do anything to help a community learn from that crisis and take steps to prevent and deal with the next one.
Now that I've touched on some of the concerns I have about the pro-gun, anti-gun and majority solutions to mass shootings, I'll turn my attention to my potential solution in my next post.
Gamal
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