Why America Must Act on Guns
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After yet another horrific gun massacre in America, there are calls from Americans to do absolutely nothing about gun control.
At least 59 people have been killed in Las Vegas and 527 people have been injured with many reports, as acknowledged by the White House yesterday, of people protecting each other by shielding loved ones with their own bodies.
The sheer number of those killed and injured in this thoroughly senseless attack brings to our attention the fact that more people have been killed by firearms in the US since 1968 than the total of all Americans killed on battlefields in every war in history. 1,516,863 have been killed by firearms while 1,396,733 have been killed at war, The New York Times published today.
These numbers beg the question of why America hasn’t done anything to control the number of guns distributed in the country. The answer is usually that it is Americans’ ‘right’ to bear arms. This pathetic excuse is based on the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution – introduced in 1791. It was brought in during a time when muskets were used in battle, not automatic weapons that can maim and kill hundreds in just fifteen minutes.
Some Americans are hesitant to restrict their ‘rights’ to carry a weapon capable of committing a massacre, but are quick following a so-called Islamic terrorist attack to call for a ban on Muslims travelling to the USA. Where’s the logic in that?
Either way, it shouldn’t be a political position whether or not anyone off the street can just walk into a supermarket and buy a gun, as you can in Nevada, the state where this most recent atrocity took place. It should be a matter of principle that someone’s right to life and safety should be protected far more than an ancient constitutional law in this specific case.
If President Donald Trump really cared, he would make owning a gun across the whole United States a whole lot harder to do. Otherwise, it’s clear he’s quite happy for more of these unnecessary massacres and terrorist attacks to happen on his watch. It’s time to change, America.