Blog Stage Seven: Original editorial or commentary #2

On October the 1st of this year a gunman killed 58 people and injured hundreds more at a country music festival in Las Vegas. Just over a month later, another gunman killed 26 and injured 20 others at church service in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A year ago 50 people were killed in Orlando's Pulse nightclub. After every mass shooting (which are becoming more frequent and more deadly) there are brief appeals for new gun laws. Gun rights advocates immediately bristle at any mention of the tightening of gun laws. Their arguments are almost always the same. They say things like, "guns aren't the problem, people are the problem", or "if there were more guns everyone would be safer".  But mostly they quote (often incorrectly) the Second Amendment. They say the Second Amendment gives them the right to own any firearm the want; a right that was given to them by the founding fathers of this great nation. Yes, the Second Amendment protects individual gun ownership but it is not an unlimited right to own guns. There have always been restrictions on firearm ownership in this country. There was gun control in the American colonies before the United States of America was even a country. For example, loaded guns were not allowed in homes in Boston and it was a crime to transfer gun ownership to a Catholic. Contrary to what many want there are also limits to gun ownership today. The National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Firearms Protection Act of 1986 restricted the private ownership of automatic weapons (machine guns), short-barreled shotguns and some types of short-barreled rifles. Why is it so incredibly difficult to pass any new laws further restricting gun ownership? Why after the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre of 2012 were we not able to pass any new gun legislation? Why even with the images of 20 murdered six and seven year old faces fresh in the minds of every legislator in this country was there a lack of will to go up against the gun lobby? The answer is simple, job security. No legislator, especially no Republican legislator is willing to go against the NRA because they see it as a death sentence for their political career. They may be right. Speaking up against the NRA might spell the end their political career but what could it accomplish? What could standing up to the gun lobby do? What change could it make in our country's history? Who is willing to make such a sacrifice for the good of this country and it's future. Manal al-Sharif said, "The rain begins with a single drop". Which of our politicians is willing to be the first drop that hopefully starts the rain? Who is willing to truly embody their job title and be a public servant? Who is willing to put America, its citizens and its future first? Until someone steps up the status quo will remain. Until someone steps up, our country will continue to be plagued by preventable mass shootings. Until someone steps up, we will continue to awaken to the news of our countrymen, women and children being murdered by the tens if not hundreds. Who will step up?