Common Sense: A missed chance for gun control

It’s always been evident that America has a gun problem. In March alone, there was a mass shooting every week. I was so afraid, I couldn’t even go to the laundromat in my little hometown where nothing really happens. But despite the chaos, President Biden disappointed. 

Let’s be honest, the Second Amendment doesn’t make sense. We aren’t being invaded or fighting a revolutionary war. Sure, everybody interprets it in their own way, but even if “the right to bear arms” is really a pro-gun statement that allows someone to own a handgun for self-defense or a rifle for hunting, there is absolutely no purpose in possessing anything beyond that. Our gun laws are not just dangerous, but also outright embarrassing. Why do some states allow people to own automatic guns? I honestly don’t know. There is not a single reason I can think of as to why someone would actually need a machine gun, much less understand what difference it makes if it was manufactured in 1986. 

For someone with a long history of gun legislation, it was odd that Biden decided to focus more on his infrastructure plan rather than the policies that have been killing Americans every year. Almost anybody who has spent a good deal of their life in Connecticut will remember where they were when the Sandy Hook school shooting happened. A lot of us at UConn, including myself, were just about to enter middle school. But even after all those kids died, it was obvious that people cared more about their supposed rights rather than lives. Even today, we still see misinformation about what happened that day being spread to keep a fragment of our flawed constitution alive. 

It’s disappointing to know even though we’ve taken so long to really put this issue on the forefront, Biden did so little where he could have done so much. Even still, I don’t think he’s completely to blame. There are many who are reluctant to realize that gun-control is necessary in this country. But if there’s one thing I learned from statistics class, it’s you shouldn’t rely on YouTube comment sections for accurate information on policies you care about. Gun control, whether it is meant to push an agenda or not, is important. 

However, on a lighter note, the National Rifle Association is facing so many lawsuits that they’re bound to go bankrupt. CEO and Executive Vice President of the NRA Wayne LaPierre also couldn’t take the March heat and hid on a friend’s yacht, afraid of what all the threats he was getting meant for his life. But when that logic is applied to someone of a poor background, the NRA doesn’t care. The whole company is panicking regarding what their downfall would mean for gun laws. 

President Biden is expected to take long-awaited executive action on guns this week. However, critics say his policy changes won’t do anything since the weapons he seeks to ban won’t be covered by legislation. Others say all of this panic for banning in general is nonsense and authoritarian — a common and boring argument. If the growing number of mass shootings we’ve had over the years isn’t enough to show someone there’s a problem, what is? With the pandemic, many thought the numbers would go down, but March proved otherwise. Every year, the situation just seems to get worse. April has just begun, and we already have quite a handful of shootings. 

An issue like gun violence shouldn’t be taking years to fix. America has a problem. How many more thousands does it take to die in order for us to care as a nation?