By Leonardo Cervantes
There have to be stricter gun laws along with deep background checks on individuals purchasing lethal firearms.
The government continues to disregard Americans’ deadly infatuation with gun culture. A United States appeals court ruled that California’s ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional.
The fact that there aren’t harsher restrictions on assault rifles is mind boggling.
Governors can continue to use all the right words and say they want to stop gun violence, but until they do something about the gun pandemic in the U.S. mass shootings and homicides will continue to happen.
Second Amendment proponents continue to argue that owning guns will keep them safe from dangers.
While it’s true that guns offer a way of self-defense against life threatening situations there is no rational reason to own a fully automatic rifle and high capacity magazines.
No person has any need for a fully automatic assault rifle. A civilian doesn’t need an automatic gun as if they’re in the army or in a movie.
A high magazine size gives the shooter a higher chance of inaccuracy but the bullets give them higher chances to land on their target.
Mass shootings aren’t the norm across the world, except in the United States. They shouldn’t be normal but U.S citizens have become desensitized to them as they seem to happen frequently.
Just this weekend there were two deadly shootings that happened in the U.S. One in Buffalo New York, and one in Orange County, California.
The United States has a higher percentage of gun related homicides than Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia combined.
Many times guns aren’t even used for self-defense. This is the excuse that pro-gun owners always have.
They often talk about how they want to own their own firearm for protection and to hunt wild animals. “In 2022, there were 289 incidents in which a gun was used in self defense,” data found by Heritage Foundation research.
There are currently only 21 states that require background checks or permits to purchase handguns.
People who care less about gun laws can exploit the loop hole where people can purchase guns at gun shows or online.
“Current federal law doesn’t require background checks on sales between unlicensed parties,” Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund said.
Of course, even with background checks nobody ever knows what an individual’s true motives are. An increase in restrictions will likely bring the mass shooting numbers down.
“States that go beyond federal law and require background checks for unlicensed gun sales are associated with 10 percent lower homicide rates, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund said.
An underlooked aspect of gun control is saving the lives of those that are suicidal.
“For every 10-20 removal orders issued, one suicide is prevented,” The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (EFSGV) said.
A person that wants to kill themselves would likely use a gun instead of a knife.
“Females are more likely than males to attempt suicide but males are four times more likely to die by suicide,” EFSGV said.
If they’re in a state that has strict gun laws this might sway them from committing the act. “In the past decade more than 200,000 people were lost to firearm suicide,” EFSGV said.