http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t3#/video/us/2012/02/28/piers-bill-maher-guns.cnn
In the aftermath of the school shooting that took place in Ohio earlier this week, Bill Maher brings up what I consider to be a valid question. Why is it that so many Americans adore their gun rights? Yes the second amendment gives U.S. citizens the right to bear arms, but why is the number of individuals that choose to exercise this right so large? (There are over 300 million firearms in circulation in our country.) And why is it that many of the people that own one or more guns value them so much? Maher argues that guns are a religion to a large portion of the United States and feels that we need someone that is willing to stand up to the gun lobby. While it would be impossible to get rid of all the guns in the U.S. he emphasizes the need for someone to highlight the bad relationship that our country has with guns.
I tend to agree with his overall stance. If people feel the need to have a gun for protection that's their right, but I feel that it should be concealed in a safe location and knowledge of its existence need not be broadcast to others. It's often the case that the individuals who carried out a shooting, did so with a gun they stole from a relative. Now I'm not saying that a family that owns a gun needs to hide this fact from each other, but the way that it is made known should be carefully considered. Much of our society has the mindset that guns are cool and when young kids learn that their family owns a gun, many of them like to share this information with their friends. This wouldn't be much of a concern if everyone stored their guns in a safe place where they couldn't be easily accessed, but obviously this isn't the case. I feel that it would be possible to create some kind of storage requirements for firearms that wouldn't restrict the right of individuals to bear arms. It might be impossible to enforce any such requirement, but I feel that our country's adoration of gun rights needs to be countered in some fashion.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thanks for bringing up this issue Kira. When I was in France with a host family one thing we discussed at length was America's right to bear arms. As you may know France's citizens don't have the right carry arms or own automatic weapons. My host family's portrayal of America was a scary place where anyone could have a gun. This sounds to me like the picture Bill Maher paints. While he rightly brings up the challenge presented when children get involved with weapons, it should be possible, as you mention, to have the right to bear arms that are secured and protected. This doesn't, however, seem to be something that we are able to accomplish easily. So how do other countries do it? In Japan for instance, people can only have certain types of guns, must pass a written test and are subject to police check-ins every 3 months. Would this work in the United States? Would it be worth the time to regulate gun ownership? Do checks? Do annual reauthorization?
ReplyDeleteIf you ask the people in Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, I think you'd hear a resounding yes.