It's Time We Talked
Maybe if people paid even half as much attention to mental health and bullying as they do about their right to own guns, then gun related violence, esp in schools wouldn't be as big a problem as it is now. I'm glad we're finally starting a conversation about this that might actually lead somewhere.
I don't believe we should take away the right to "bear arms." However, I do think it should be regulated or, at the very least, discussed, so we can try to make it better. A lot has changed since the beginning of our nation. Guns and weapons have evolved since the writing of the 2nd Amendment. Now we have automatic weapons--weapons our founding fathers probably never even imagined. So, to blindly ignore that fact and claim that where we are now is exactly as intended, is irresponsible and disrespectful to the children, adults, and others affected by gun violence.
Our founding fathers knew we would have to make changes. [They wrote 10 changes themselves! (i.e. Bill of Rights)] The definition of an amendment is "a change or addition to a legal or statutory document." Nothing is perfect and nothing is set in stone. Circumstances are important. They are what separate murder from self defense, intent from accident, need from want. The right to bear arms was needed at the time it was written. Now, it's less of a need and more of a want/privilege. Clearly there is something wrong.
I'm not blaming the gun. If you're a drunk driver and you hit someone, we don't blame the car. The same goes for guns. So, we need to talk about the person holding the gun--how they got it. Because maybe it's the ease of access we have to guns in this country, the types of guns we have easy access to, and/or the lack of attention and care for those suffering from mental health or bullying or other experiences [that many people don't want to address or would rather pretend don't exist] that are the real root of the problem. And yet, people continue to ignore this or misunderstand.
What I keep reading:
"These kids are annoying and stupid"
"They don't know what they're talking about"
"They're trying to take away our rights"
"They want to ban guns"
These kids are intelligent human beings. Just because you don't agree with them doesn't make them wrong. And you're making assumptions about what their protests stand for. Has anyone outright said "ban all guns, forever"? No. They're starting a conversation. [Something for which I'm really proud of, by the way.] They're calling out our obsession with guns and violence. We should be questioning this. We should be trying to find the root of the problem and weeding it out.
Instead, we've been having the same conversation for years:
"Gun violence is getting worse. So many people have died."
"Well it's not the gun's fault. You can't take away my right to own a gun."
"...when did I ever say it was the gun's fault or that I wanted to take away your right to own one?"
"Go ahead and try to take my 21 guns from me, I dare ya."
"I'm not--I don't want your guns. I just want to talk about why gun violence is increasing and what we can do to prevent it. Taking away guns won't necessrily solve the problem."
"Exactly. So we understand one another. Let's move on to a new topic that doesn't concern guns."
" ... "
This is a bit exaggerated, but the result is the same. We've solved nothing and we've barely had a conversation. This is not an attack against our right to own a gun. It's a plea to pay attention to what's going on in our country--to see what gun violence is causing in our schools and our communities. There's a bigger problem here, but most people won't look past the gun side of the discussion or the fact that young people are the ones leading the conversation.
Let's try to see the problem for what it is. Let's have conversations. What can we be doing differently? How can we be better?
How many more children, young adults, and adults must die before we finally start taking this seriously and evolve our conversations?
#MarchForOurLives
