It’s that time of year again. No not the season of giving thanks, or dressing up in costumes for candy, the time of year where America experiences another firearm tragedy. Yes just two weeks ago the Washington Navy Yard in Washington DC was the victim of a mass shooting by suspected gunman Aaron Alexis with a shotgun. And though it may be just repeating the cycle of now putting scrutiny on gun control, it does need to be done.
First of all, this man was obviously afflicted with some form of mental illness. Not only did he call the police to report harassment and, “Hearing voices in his head.” But he also said, “Ultra low frequency attack is what I’ve been subject to for the last 3 months. And to be perfectly honest, that is what has driven me to this.” So to sum this up, the man was hearing non-existent voices in his head and thinks that the government is shooting rays into his mind.”
And this man was allowed to purchase a shotgun and ammunition from a gun store. Anything wrong with this picture?
In the last couple of years, there have been a lot of tragic shootings. And there is on major connection between most. Mental illness. Newtown, Aurora, and now the Navy Yard. The solution has been identified, but implementing it will not be so easy.
Yes selling a weapon to someone with a mental illness would solve most of these problems, but remember, we are American. At the first sign of our rights being infringed upon we instinctively call out “Second amendment!” and the government backs off. There is no clear line in the sand. Sure it might seem easy to deny an autistic person a firearm, but what about someone who has just a minor deficiency such as ADHD? That person still functions properly and can take care of themself, but his/her illness still disqualifies him from buying a firearm.
See what I mean, there is no easy line to draw in this scenario.
Gun control is a huge issue now, and even those without a mental disability are trying to stop gun control bills, because they want to keep their guns. Now you might think they shouldn’t worry because they aren’t mentally deficient. Well opponents of the bills cite the “Slippery Slope” argument. They think as soon as the government is allowed to regulate firearms then they will slowly lose their gun rights. So instead of allowing some weapons to be banned, and background checks to be enforced, they panic and attempt to strike down all controlling bills. Even though these regulations could save many lives, keeping their firearms is more important.
Firearms are one of the most hot button issues in America and we are getting no-where. We are trapped in a vicious cycle where we experience a tragedy at the hands of a firearm. After that we talk a lot of smack about gun control, but in the end we just move on and wait until the next tragedy. This cycle needs to stop, and we the people are the only ones who can do something about it.
