Gun Violence Is No Easy Problem To Quickly Overcome

Off the heels of my previous article discussing the rash of mass shootings it has been brought to my attention that I should first discuss the issue of gun violence. I mean, I touched on it in the last article. Those shooters weren’t using foul language, they were using guns. I know gun violence is a major issue across the board, but I also know it is not an easy fix. You can’t just slap a band-aid on it to stop the bleeding. There are a great many steps that must first be enacted on before addressing the gun issue. Just to be clear though, I am no expert. These are just my educated opinions, and I am blessed enough to have a platform with which to speak about them.
I think that yes there should be stricter laws as to who gets a gun. There should be extensive background checks on people’s mental health and stability first before than can even apply for a gun license. There should be a limit to what type of gun they can own. What ordinary citizen really needs an AR-15? People then will come back saying that it’s an infringement on their rights. True, but what their b*tching about is something that can end other’s lives. I’m a firm believer in doing whatever makes you happy if it is not hurting others. The problem is a whole lot of people who have access to guns have no business with them and are in fact hurting others.
They say the gun violence is more prevalent in impoverished communities. Take the guns away they say. Let’s look at the root of that problem though. The government has withdrawn funding to many communities (mostly populated by Black and Brown people), thus making them impoverished. They’ve taken away factories and eliminated jobs for the people (mostly Black and Brown) leaving them in an insecure financial state. They’ve taken away good food sources leaving these communities as essentially nothing more than food deserts. They’ve gotten rid of mental health facilities, and after school community centers. The government has basically put people in unlivable environments that now become rife with violence and crime due to the circumstances out of the people that live there’s control. So, I say to the government instead of spending millions on police to instead put that money back into the community. Create more jobs, more schools, more educational opportunities. My guess is after that there will be nary a need for more police because the gun violence will have been addressed the RIGHT WAY. Instead of combating this horrible issue with more violence, which wouldn’t solve a thing, you’d instead tackle the deeper issues at the source. Voila, it’s nature versus nurture. Doesn’t take rocket science to figure that out.
Next, let’s talk about those same police. They too need a vastly superior set of background checks on mental health then the ones that they had thus far. Too often there are incidents with untrained police having itchy trigger fingers, and killing a poor kid who had a toy gun, or a man who was reaching for his I.D.(after being directed to do so by the cop in question). These people in blue, whether you care to admit it or not, are as much of a factor in the gun violence plaguing America. They are untrained in handling tense situations and are too bull headed that they escalate the situation that more often than not calls for a vast de-escalation.
Finally, let’s talk about the major issue behind gun violence. It’s the gun companies. They are the ones profiting from the violence. While people are out there dying due to gun violence they are laughing all the way to the bank. The US raked in 28 Billion dollars last year in gun sales. Do you think they want less gun sales? They see all these deaths as dollar signs. The more people feeling threatened by gun violence, the more people will go out and buy guns to protect themselves.
As I said earlier, I am just one man with an opinion. I’m not speaking gospel truth (although the governments disinvestment in Black and Brown communities is true). I feel that yes there is a gun problem out there, but people have the wrong idea on how to stop it. I think as long as people are of a good mental state (not a wacko white supremacist or maniac that just wants to kill) then they should be allowed to own a gun. Barring they are trained properly and follow safety protocols. Just recently I read about an 8-year old boy bringing his mom’s gun (which was not locked up) to school and accidentally shooting another kid. Had she adhered to proper safety protocols and had her gun locked up her son would have never of gotten a hold of it.
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