Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People
In her recent article “After String of Mass Shootings, Democrats Begin New Push for Gun Control”, New York Times staff writer Sheryl Gay Stolberg explains that gun control will help solve America’s shooting problems. I disagree that increasing gun control is the answer. Preventing certain variants to be manufactured, stricter background checks, and fewer guns will not solve America’s gun crisis. The only way to resolve this issue is by changing the way our society thinks and by creating a more positive, empathetic culture.
During Congress’ first time back in the Capitol after their long recess in August, a bill that would prevent the manufacturing of large-capacity magazines was proposed. That only encourages citizens to buy more magazines, which increases profits for merchants while not affecting mass shootings. The magazine sizes are not the issue; the development of a selfish society that lacks empathy for others is the problem. A generation that integrates and normalizes this ideology is creating an environment that does not value human life and lacks a sense of morality. If you compare the number of mass shootings in 2018, to those in 1991, you’ll see that 2018 had more, but why? It wasn’t the changes in gun control, it was the faltered beliefs of our culture.
There was also a bill that was proposed in February to expand background checks for all gun buyers. While this is an excellent idea, and a great way to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands, the issue is that background checks can’t diagnose mental illnesses, they can’t determine the character of a human being, and they can’t predict if a “good person” will become a mass shooter. Although, I do agree that more elaborate background checks may aid in the effort of reducing fatal shootings, but only if they are designed to incorporate more critical factors about the individual that might foresee mental illnesses.
While many democrats push for stricter gun control, just more control alone will not eliminate mass shootings. Much like drug addicts finding ways to obtain illegal substances, if someone wants a gun bad enough, they will find a way to procure one by any means necessary. You could completely outlaw every single firearm, but people will still find ways to possess one. Similar to the scenario in Fahrenheit 451, where all the books were banned across the country, yet the citizens still managed to find and own those pieces of literature.
While changing the doctrines of today’s society is the only way to counter our gun crisis, the act of doing so isn’t as simple as it sounds. The best way to change our culture is to limit the abilities of our smart devices. While things like free one-day shipping with Amazon Prime is insanely convenient, and being able to amount hundreds upon hundreds of likes on Instagram feels very rewarding, and having the capability to have your groceries delivered to your door really saves time, and hiding behind your screen during online arguments gives you a sense of security, these things are depriving the generations of today of patience, empathy, and a sense of morality. We have become so desperate for instant gratification that we won’t even make the trip to the grocery store, and if our post doesn’t accumulate enough views, we delete it because people didn’t like it enough. We want to portray our “idealized” self, instead of our true self. Furthermore, when people contradict our ideals, we feel as though we can say whatever we want behind the security of our device with no regard for the other person’s feelings. It eliminates the confrontation aspect of a dispute, which diminishes our value of other humans and their emotions, resulting in these mass shootings.
While Ms. Stolberg mentions some convincing solutions for the United States’ gun crisis, I must disagree with her and the Democrats’ approach to resolving these issues. The main issue is not the type of guns, the number of guns, or the people who own guns. The major problem is the culture of our society and the beliefs it bestows upon the generations that have conformed to it. If we want to get rid of this conflict, we must change the way our society views the worth of others.
Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. “After String of Mass Shootings, Democrats Begin New Push for Gun Control.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Sept. 2019, 8:44pm, www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/us/politics/democrats-gun-control.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGun%2BControl.
During Congress’ first time back in the Capitol after their long recess in August, a bill that would prevent the manufacturing of large-capacity magazines was proposed. That only encourages citizens to buy more magazines, which increases profits for merchants while not affecting mass shootings. The magazine sizes are not the issue; the development of a selfish society that lacks empathy for others is the problem. A generation that integrates and normalizes this ideology is creating an environment that does not value human life and lacks a sense of morality. If you compare the number of mass shootings in 2018, to those in 1991, you’ll see that 2018 had more, but why? It wasn’t the changes in gun control, it was the faltered beliefs of our culture.
Year Total Shootings Total Injuries and Fatalities
1991 3 61
2018 12 150
(US Mass Shootings, 1991 and 2018. Data From Mother Jones’ Investigation)
There was also a bill that was proposed in February to expand background checks for all gun buyers. While this is an excellent idea, and a great way to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands, the issue is that background checks can’t diagnose mental illnesses, they can’t determine the character of a human being, and they can’t predict if a “good person” will become a mass shooter. Although, I do agree that more elaborate background checks may aid in the effort of reducing fatal shootings, but only if they are designed to incorporate more critical factors about the individual that might foresee mental illnesses.
While many democrats push for stricter gun control, just more control alone will not eliminate mass shootings. Much like drug addicts finding ways to obtain illegal substances, if someone wants a gun bad enough, they will find a way to procure one by any means necessary. You could completely outlaw every single firearm, but people will still find ways to possess one. Similar to the scenario in Fahrenheit 451, where all the books were banned across the country, yet the citizens still managed to find and own those pieces of literature.
While changing the doctrines of today’s society is the only way to counter our gun crisis, the act of doing so isn’t as simple as it sounds. The best way to change our culture is to limit the abilities of our smart devices. While things like free one-day shipping with Amazon Prime is insanely convenient, and being able to amount hundreds upon hundreds of likes on Instagram feels very rewarding, and having the capability to have your groceries delivered to your door really saves time, and hiding behind your screen during online arguments gives you a sense of security, these things are depriving the generations of today of patience, empathy, and a sense of morality. We have become so desperate for instant gratification that we won’t even make the trip to the grocery store, and if our post doesn’t accumulate enough views, we delete it because people didn’t like it enough. We want to portray our “idealized” self, instead of our true self. Furthermore, when people contradict our ideals, we feel as though we can say whatever we want behind the security of our device with no regard for the other person’s feelings. It eliminates the confrontation aspect of a dispute, which diminishes our value of other humans and their emotions, resulting in these mass shootings.
While Ms. Stolberg mentions some convincing solutions for the United States’ gun crisis, I must disagree with her and the Democrats’ approach to resolving these issues. The main issue is not the type of guns, the number of guns, or the people who own guns. The major problem is the culture of our society and the beliefs it bestows upon the generations that have conformed to it. If we want to get rid of this conflict, we must change the way our society views the worth of others.
Works Cited
Follman, Mark, et al. “US Mass Shootings, 1982-2019: Data from Mother Jones' Investigation.” Mother Jones, Mother Jones, 31 Aug. 2019, www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data/.Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. “After String of Mass Shootings, Democrats Begin New Push for Gun Control.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Sept. 2019, 8:44pm, www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/us/politics/democrats-gun-control.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGun%2BControl.
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