The recent Las Vegas gun massacre again brought to the forefront the reckless and liberal use of guns to murder people in cold blood. Concertgoers who were enjoying a country music show never knew or could possibly prepare for the onslaught of bullets that rained down on them, killing 59 and wounding over 500 others. Buying a gun, especially in the United States, has become as mundane as buying a chocolate bar or a package of gum.
The Las Vegas murderer had even purchased the bump stock accessory just so he could kill a greater volume of people during the show. There have been many mass shootings in the United States: Columbine, Sandy Hook and the Pulse nightclub are just a small sampling. Constant efforts by former president Barack Obama to find a way to legislate gun control seem to have had very little effect and have not been a deterrent for more of these horror shows.
Buying a gun, especially in the United States, has become as mundane as buying a chocolate bar or a package of gum.
In my opinion, the only people who need to own guns are the military and the police. Hunting, after all, is basically a sport and a form of recreation, not a necessity. The so-called right to bear arms in the American Constitution is not an inalienable right. Whose rights are we really denying when we take away the so-called right to own a gun? Aren’t the right to free speech and race equality more acceptable rights?
People will stand on a soapbox and argue that people kill people, not guns. But I would strongly suggest that making guns so readily available exacerbates a situation where guns are a convenient and brutal opportunity to carry out such crazy ideas as mass shootings. The National Rifle Association wields a powerful influence when it comes to the availability of guns. There is also a financial incentive for them to pursue this ideology and way of thinking.
Is money more important than people’s lives? Does that question even need to be asked? It’s time to disarm.
Barry Ploughman
St. John’s
