Can We Please Stop Defending Gun Ownership?

A week ago, a teenager in Minnesota had a plan to kill his family, set off bombs at a school, and shoot students. The 17-year-old boy was in possession of bomb making materials, which could have yielded a devastating event if it wasn’t for a suspicious witness who notified the police right in time.

Although this kid did not have a gun, it is another chilling reminder of the danger an angry, messed up individual who is looking to harm others as an outlet for their own mental instability and deep-rooted torment can hold.

This instance in Minnesota was a lucky one. Tragic events like the Sandy Hook Elementary and Columbine High School massacres were not able to be tipped off in advance. The other unfortunate difference? The mentally instable, enraged individuals who committed those heinous acts were able to get their hands on guns.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, unregulated gun ownership in this country is an outdated, outlandish, and frankly savage disease that is permeating our society.

Justifying their “right to bear arms” by a constitutional amendment that went into effect in 1789 (math check, 225 years ago??), gun supporters in the U.S. have successfully road blocked any gun reform legislation.

Leading the pro-gun endeavor is the NRA , who for years have been successful in lobbying their way through Washington to keep guns in the hands of Americans who stand by their “right” to own one.
But gun owners do not care about rights and the ethical considerations behind what’s “right” or “wrong”. No, no. They have bigger fish to fry with their pro-gun agenda. Fish like deep wariness towards government, racism, and hatred.

As one Atlantic writer poignantly put it, “the NRA offers an outlet for the right’s cultural anxieties that is clothed in a populist message of empowerment.”

For years, they have successfully expressed ethnic and cultural anxieties through their pro-gun agendas that are not overtly racist but when it comes down to it, are absolutely so. NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre outlined this agenda nicely for us when he stated, “We know, in the world that surrounds us, there are terrorists and home invaders and drug cartels and carjackers and knockout gamers and rappers […] I ask you. Do you trust this government to protect you?”

Nope! But the loyal folks who sleep with assault rifles under their pillow sure will, thinks every NRA-backer when they hear this propaganda.

Let’s stop making the gun debate about right vs. left, conservatism vs. liberalism, Republicans vs. Democrats. The safety of American citizens isn’t a political issue- it’s a humane issue. Our lack of gun reform should come as an embarrassment compared to the rest of the Western world where gun ownership is highly regulated.

And just because I can’t help to note, a message to the pro-gun citizens of the U.S. who are struggling to make it by financially: the pro-gun right in Washington isn’t concerned about your welfare, just so you know. You aren’t exactly qualifying for their tax-breaks. But keep on giving them the vote!