Why They Won't Change Gun Laws In America
Written in early June 2022
In the last couple of weeks, America has been devastated by two horrific tragedies involving gun violence. On May 14, 2022, a TEENAGED gunman walked into a grocery store in Buffalo, NY and murdered 10 Black people, some of them elderly. Three others were injured. In addition, he wrote out a 180 page manifesto detailing why he was committing this atrocious act; it was racially motivated. 10 days later, another TEENAGED gunman walked into an elementary school in Uvalde, TX and murdered 19 CHILDREN and 2 adults. This teenager also detailed what he was going to do via social media and text messages. Unfortunately, these horrific acts of gun violence are amongst 214 MASS SHOOTINGS that have occurred in America in 2022. (A mass shooting is classified as 4 or more people being shot at one time.) In addition, 17,300 people have lost their lives to gun violence in America so far in 2022. As of this writing, today's date is 5/28/2022. The year isn't even half over yet....
So here we are, in the aftermath of yet ANOTHER senseless act of gun violence in America, and what are we doing about it? Why, we're doing the usual; thoughts and prayers, pundits discussing it in the news cycle, Congressmen making empty gestures and promises about some type of gun reform but never ACTUALLY doing anything, Senator Ted Cruz showing the country what a heartless and clueless ass that he really is....this will carry on for the next couple of weeks or so until something else comes to dominate the news cycle, or until the next mass shooting occurs. This is the vicious cycle of violence that America is trapped in because of our refusal to enact common sense gun laws.
Now before I go any further, I'd like to say that as an Army Veteran, I am a supporter of the Second Amendment. I even once naively joined the NRA. (I'm no longer a member.) I am a gun owner, and I have a weapons carry license. I believe in the fundamental right to bear arms. However, I also believe in regulation. If it were up to me, I would implement universal background checks, a mandatory 5 day waiting period, a required gun safety class, licensing and registration, and, gun owner's insurance. We do it for the privilege of driving a car, why not do it for gun ownership? In addition, I would ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines for civilians. After all, why does an individual who is NOT a soldier need a military grade weapon?
Now, it's my understanding that the 2nd Amendment was written as a way to insure that the citizens would have the ability to defend themselves against governmental tyranny. It was about having a well trained citizen militia. The article below gives explicit details about the original intentions of the founding fathers....
But here's the thing; the 2nd Amendment was written in the 18th century. The types of weapons we have today didn't exist back then. In addition, there weren't as many people in the country; the America of back then didn't look like the America of today. The threat level of any potential enemy was comparable to the civilian militia. Today, the United States has one of the most well armed militaries in the world. As demonstrated by Ruby Ridge, IF the government suddenly decided to turn on it's citizens, even with assault rifles and a trained militia, citizens wouldn't stand a chance against the military.
So why doesn't things change in this country when it comes to guns? The answer is simple; gun culture IS American culture. Think about how this country came to be. Foreign invaders from Europe came here to this land and committed genocide against the native inhabitants, and then claimed the land as their own. How were they able to manage this? They used guns. Later, as they settled into their stolen land and began to populate and create industry, they introduced the system of slavery and white supremacy in order to further the growth of the country; they went to West Africa, and forced millions of Africans to come here through the TransAtlantic Slave Trade. How did they pull this off? They used guns. As their plantations thrived, and an entire economy was developed on the blood, sweat, pain, and suffering of Africans, they enforced their progress through the use of guns and violence against these slaves. In America, the gun represents POWER, and the American government craves power above everything. America was built by blood, murder, and oppression, and they used guns to do it. America is a gun culture; as a country, America worships guns. We have organizations like the National Rife Association, which essentially controls the Congress that creates the laws concerning the regulation of guns. We have an entire political party, the Republicans, that uphold the ideals of oppression and inequality through a system of capitalism, and the gun is their tool to insure that system remains in place. The lives of children, citizens, and in particular BLACK PEOPLE and other so called ethnic "minorities" are secondary to the maintaining of the system of capitalism, oppression, and white supremacy that rules America. It is my humble opinion that the only way we will see a real change in how guns are dealt with in this country is that there will have to be paradigm shift in the culture itself; starting with the removal of the Republican party from power. However, as white supremacy and oppression rules in America, and the Republican ideals which uphold it thrives among many of America's citizens, I don't see that happening anytime soon. Until that shift in the culture happens, until those who are in power have to deal with what the average American citizen has to deal with, until organizations like the NRA are stripped of their hold on the political process, innocent lives will continue to be lost through senseless gun violence, and the country will continue to deal with it through "thoughts and prayers", pundits, and complaining on social media. And that, my friends, is truly heartbreaking.
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