On Saturday, Sept. 12 two football players from the U became the latest victims of lax gun regulation in the U.S. Luckily, there were no casualties, and the shooting didn’t happen on campus during class hours. Although this event is just another chapter in the story of preventable shootings that occur in the U.S., it shocked the U community. Gun violence is not just a problem that affects those who live in notoriously impoverished communities, and our regulation policy should be strengthened, both at the local and national level.
One of the primary reasons for our country’s lax gun regulation is a refusal to encroach on the Second Amendment, which states that “a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Even the act of screening or regulating potential gun owners is completely out of the question, despite the fact that the Constitution also says a “well-regulated militia,” implying that there should be some sort of regulation. After all, people would actually have to wait to get their guns and maybe even get rejected due to criminal or mental history. In an age where instant gratification is the norm, this is clearly unacceptable. Or, at least, it might be, if not for the fact that people’s refusal to just wait a couple of weeks has resulted in the loss of an alarming number of innocent lives. According to PolitiFact there have been 133 mass shooting incidents in the U.S. from 2000-2014. In total, shooting incidents in the United States left 487 dead and 505 wounded over that time period. There are only three other developed countries with comparably high rates of shooting incidents.
Lax gun laws are also partially caused by misinformation that is spread by powerful organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA). These organizations would have us believe that background checks are simply ways for the government to seize citizens’ firearms regardless of whether the owner is actually qualified to own guns. This fear-mongering, which has misled many to believe their guns will be unduly confiscated by the government, has also led people who might normally support background checks to virulently oppose any effort to control who owns guns.
Another reason the U.S. has such lax gun laws is the fear that people might get stuck in a situation where they are faced with a shooter and have no way to defend themselves. The problem with this argument is that the exchange of gunfire could kill individuals who are unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire, causing even more loss of life. This is extremely clear when you examine the situation on Saturday. According to The Utah Chronicle, the shooting took place at a crowded party — meaning there was no way an individual could have returned fire unless he or she was at the front of the crowd. Even if an individual did manage to return fire, they were likely to be tackled by a person near them since bystanders would have no idea if they were planning to turn the weapon on the crowd. Police would also have no way to tell which shooter posed a greater threat. An easy solution to these problems would be to ensure that individuals who possessed the weapons were not going to go on a shooting rampage in the first place.
As citizens of this country, it is our responsibility to ensure that our actions or lack of actions don’t result in the deaths or injuries of those around us. It is our responsibility to find a solution to ensure gun violence decreases and innocent lives are saved. Although there is no way to tell whether stricter gun control would have prevented the horrific incident on Saturday, there is a chance it would have made a difference. Even if that chance is small, it’s still better than no chance at all. In order to give those around us a chance to live a life free from gun violence and grief we must pass legislation both at the state and national level designed to create a way to regulate the sale and distribution of guns. A great way to start would be to repeal the law allowing concealed firearms on campus. If we don’t, we are inevitably inviting another shooting that claims even more victims in the future.