The shooting has focused the nation’s political dialogue
on our country’s gun laws. Some have felt that we need stricter gun laws to
prevent tragedies such as this from happening. According to Senator Dianne Feinstein, “weapons
of war don’t belong on our streets”. Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper,
expressed skepticism that tougher gun laws would’ve prevented the tragedy
stating, “If there were no assault weapons available – this guy’s going to find
something right?” Senator Ron Johnson agrees, “I don’t think society can keep
sick, demented, individuals from obtaining any type of weapon to kill
people. Somebody who purposely wants to
harm another individual is going to find a method to do so”.
I’ll be frank – I’m torn on this issue. I don’t come from
a family that owns guns. I don’t think I
would want one in my home. That being
said, I strongly support the U.S. Constitution and the people’s right to bear
arms. I just think there should be better background checks, waiting periods,
etc. I think the real problem here is a
lack of mental healthcare in this country – which might be a whole other blog.
I know I don’t have all the answers, but it’s clear to me that something must
be done to stop, (or at least try and stop) this senseless violence.
So my question to you this week is, “How do you feel
about our country’s gun laws? Do you
think they should be stricter? What should the government’s responsibility be,
if anything, in preventing crimes like this in the future?” Answers are due no later than Sunday, July 29th. My thoughts and prayers go out to anyone
affected by senseless violence, especially the community of Aurora, Colorado.
I believe that the gun laws should be stricter. On the other side is people are always going to find things illegally no matter what. Even if the laws are more strict they might rebel a little bit more than anything else. It would be a sticky situation either way.
ReplyDeleteI personally stand with England on this issue and I think we should ban guns all together except for police and military personell, but seeing as it would go against the 2nd amendment I think the government should at least limit public ownership of guns to handguns only. I also think they should require each citizen to go through a week long one on one training course to obtain your gun and permit/license then have to take a one day refresher course annually to renew your license/permit.
ReplyDeleteI believe we should have stricter gun laws. Some type of mental assessment, gun training and or classes should be taken before people can get guns. I do believe that people have a right to bare arms for protection but to a certain extent. Guns shouldn't be able to be purchased off of Ebay or the web at all. They should be sold in a face to face setting where the buyer expresses his need. Afterwards maybe some type of monitoring or something take place... I DUNNO! This whole happening is WHACK! The gov't should have better control on who is buying what, what is made available and get how and why guns are being purchased!! Connor's point is a good one!! Handguns if any and that is it. What does the Average Joe need with an automatic weapon/shotgun of any kind?? Bit over the top if you ask me...
ReplyDeleteEven if we did make gun laws stricter those who intend to do harm can still find a alternate weapon or even make homemade weapon of their own, I think the government should find ways to make it so that public areas had protection procedures in place for the public's safety.
ReplyDeleteThis is devastating tragedy and my heart goes out to the families that have been affected by this incident. But to me making the gun laws stricter will cause even more unexpected tragedies to happen constantly. Think of all the different people that buy's a gun illegally everyday and caries it illegally. It's already hard to get your licence to carry. Making this law more strict will cause more people to not even go through the process of receiving there gun licence and carrying legally. If they were to change this law in anyway they should make the person that is trying to receive there right to carry legally to prove why they should have there licence to carry, prove that they had made a police statement multiple times, and prove that they are in danger including the back ground check but it still shouldn't take a month or two to receive your licence you never know what can happen so suddenly. A person that wants to harm someone will do it and plan and plot until the have a successful plan on how and when to do it. These tragedies are thought out weeks maybe even months before the incident happen's. These killers are smart people. They plan every step of the killing. To the point my thought on changing the law, if they make the law more strict it should be well thought out. Goodnight :-D
ReplyDeleteOur country's gun laws are okay the way they are and are strict enough. There is absolutely no way that we as a people or as a government can stop the distribution of weapons throughout this country. We just can't. Like one of the Senators said, if someone wants to get weapons of mass destruction and kill people then that's just what they are going to do. This is just a whack stupid crazy murderer psycho indivisual who needs to go to prison on death row. I guess the only way to try and prevent these crimes is stricter security and better exit strategies.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to say. This is one I defiantly tried to avoid. It is very tragic indeed. My heart and prayers go out to these families.
ReplyDeleteThe gun laws as they stand now..... I do feel that there can be more done to help get illegal firearms off the streets. Maybe screen the mental health of the people trying to purchase a firearm or the right to carry one? I don't really know what else to say. This issue has kind of rendered me speechless.
I do feel that places that are public like this where people gather in masses should have a few clothed and undercover officers walking amungnst the people(meaning employ more officers) Just for their safety.
My thoughts & prayers have been with these injured people and the families of the victims all week. What a tragic end to something that was suppose to be light hearted and fun.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, guns have always kind of scared me. I remember being little, and even when the D.A.R.E officer had one on in the classroom, it still made me nervous. I wish there were very strict laws, and that law enforcement was the only ones with them. However reality stands, and there are times where citizens need them for defense. I agree with Senator Ron Johnson, there will always be a way to harm people, if that is the goal.
It always comes as a shock when something like this happens. Just a few weeks ago a friend of my family was shot by her husband. The almost nonexistent time between these two tragedies give me a very complex view on the gun laws. It would be so wonderful if you could read into what each person would really do with the gun they bought, but we do not have the technology to foresee the future. James Eagan Holmes was mentally ill and it was obvious that he was planning this for some time. The man who shot my friend acted on a split second impulse and was immediately remorseful afterwords. I believe, like you said, that there needs to be more qualifications for those that will receive a gun license. There are so many factors that tally into these acts of violence, but there is really no way to prevent them.
ReplyDeleteI feel like guns should be used for military & law enforcement only. But coming from a town where hunting for deer/duck/etc is a popular past time, I think every one there has at least one gun in their house. It is scary to think that everyone is able to have a gun and even if they aren't allowed to have one, or don't have the money, there are MANY other ways they can get a hold of one.
ReplyDeletePeople are going to be hurt in every kind of event or venue we have in the US and now they're making these places security like those of airports, which seems quite ridiculous to go to the movies and get your bags searched. There are many other ways to hurt people and the bad people out there will use them.
As far as anything goes, improving to make things better could never hurt. I agree with the quote in the original blog "somebody who purposely wants to harm another individual is going to find a method to do so" , so making the gun laws stricter would just make it more difficult and practically safer for individuals without particular reasoning. In this situation I feel that improving the gun laws would be an ideal idea, but I honestly think it could simply start by people getting checked when entering. There honestly should be no need for the weapon to be brought into a public place like that. If it were to help prevent situation like that in Aurora, Colorado from occurring, would we be willing to do searches/pat-downs before entering to ensure safety?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the gun laws should be stricter. I understand the whole right to bear arms and such but to an extent it should be a little stricter than it is. There is nothing to say that if we had stricter rules this wouldn't have happened. People will do their power to plan out any situation they plot out in their heads. Knowing how the government works these days we may have pat-downs, searches and metal detectors just to enter movies in the coming future.
ReplyDeleteThoughts and prayers to Aurora.
I personally dislike the use of guns and knives but I feel like there are reasons for someone to own one. Guns and weapons that were built for war, however, have no reason being sold to everyday citizens.
ReplyDeleteIt's said he had a bullet-proof vest, and was armed with tear gas, a shot gun, an AR-15 assault rifle with 100-round magazine, and a pistol. Those kind of weapons are not made for everyday protection, hunting, or for any type of sport; they were made for war. No need to be selling them. Yes, if someone was truly determined to obtain any of these, even if they were illegal, they could find it. But making it harder for them to get their hands on a weapon, like an AK-47 or AR-15, could possibly prevent a lot more tragedies such as this one.
I do think that our country's gun laws should be stricter. I feel that if you do own a gun, you are more likely to be tempted to use it. It causes people to feel secure, or even more powerful. I think they give us reason to be violent. It is true that mentally unstable people will find a way to obtain weapons whether there are more restrictions on guns or not, but if it was more difficult there would be less violence. I have no advice for our government on the situation; we have done it to ourselves. It's written in the constitution that we have the right to bear arms. Taking that away from the people would just cause a riot.
ReplyDeleteI really do not think anyone outside of the military or law enforcement should have these high grade, semi-automatic weapons. I am all for people having handguns, shotguns, and rifles. I know many people want protection and shotguns/handguns would cover that perfectly. Rifles, I can see, because I like to go hunting now and again. I am only using that gun to kill one animal every now and then, but for a person to have an AK-47 is just ridiculous. I don't care what point you bring up, it does not make sense.
ReplyDeleteNow, if I were wanting to take down a herd of deer, I totally would go for an AK-47, but seeing as how I love having a lot of deer in my life, I am going to go on a mass killing spree using an AK-47. I CANNOT think of any situation where a person could use such a gun BESIDES killing many people. This is a weapon designed to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time. Having these weapons should mean that you are prepping to go to war, in my opinion, or you are on a SWAT team going in to a drug bust.
People should not have access to these weapons at all who are not using it in the military or police.
We should outright BAN any guns that are not a handgun, shotgun or rifle.
Of course, anyone with a bit of mechanical know-how can make a gun. Nonetheless, my point was this - there's no point for every day citizens to have anything beyond a handgun.
I feel that we should ban guns altogether except for police and etc. it seems to me that guns only cause harm to innocent people. At the same time though I feel like if guns were banned people would still find another weapon of choice to hurt/kill others. It just seems like a lose lose situation to me. I personally am not for citizens having artillery like that because it just seems too easy to get a gun permit. Since guns are available to the public they should at least be harder to obtain to avoid tragedies sch as this
ReplyDeletei do agree that guns used in the military or police force should not be able to fall into the hands of everyday people. I also agree that it should be harder to be able to own a gun, like mental evaluations and more extensive background checks. My thoughts really just come down to "since when has criminals followed laws?" Where there is a will there is a way and criminals will find that way. It really does suck to think people like that live in our society, but they do.
ReplyDeletePardon me... but since when did criminals follow gun laws in the first place? If guns laws are made to be more strict, then those that are purchasing a weapon for defense will have an extremely hard time getting their protection. Yes, the weapons that were used were variations of military weapons. These weapons are CIVILIAN rifles which means they are semi-automatic for a reason. Military grade weapons are fully automatic and are not available to the general public. However, CRIMINALS are more likely to be able to obtain more powerful weapons such as fully automatic assault rifles, so that argument is invalid. With that being said my heart goes out to all of those that were killed and injured in this travesty. The act of one mentally insane individual should not effect the ability of the general public to be able to protect themselves again sick criminals like James Holmes.
ReplyDeleteOn one last note...
Criminals don't care about gun laws, so wheres your protection?
I honestly don't think that stricter gun laws would help much when it comes to someone as demented as this guy. I personally will never own a gun only because I was never raised around one and they scare me. That being said, I do think that people have the right to carry one for protection. I don't think that should be taken away. However, I do think they should do more of a background check on people wanting to own a gun. But as sad as this sounds, humans that are that sick in the head I believe will do whatever it takes legal or illegal to get their weapons. It is just awful that people in this world are that set on harming innocent victims. I agree with you Stephanie that there should be more help out there for the mentally ill.
ReplyDelete-DeSiree Williams-Molin-
ReplyDeleteI feel for the trajedy very deeply. I truly agree on more healthcare, because being more strick on gun laws i dont think will help.
I think if you ban guns altogether, then the only people with guns would be outlaws.If your not comfortable with guns, TAKE A CLASS! Guns if used the proper way can be fun and a great way for protecting your family. My kids are 7 and 11 years old and I take them shooting every time I go. I have trained them on the proper use of weapons. My kids don't touch the guns until we are on the range and shooting because, they know exactly what guns can do, because they have actually shot them and can feel how serious they are. With all the knowledge they have, my kids respect guns and know they are not toys, but rather tools. I think the guidelines for gun regulations are enough.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that having stricter gun laws will really help anything, if someone wants something bad enough they will find a way to get it. there's also the fact, guns do not kill people, people kill people. Some people just choose to use guns to do it. Some people kill with things like knives or baseball bats. Are we going to get rid of base ball? Or put a bunch of chefs, or restaurant workers out of a job just because some guy killed people with one? Better, more healthcare would be the better option to go.
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