Blog Post #5

So far in this blog, I have discussed few interesting topics and have had the opportunity to critique a blog from a completely new perspective. But I have not had the chance to write about my own experience and thoughts on a topic I was passionate about. After brainstorming for a while, I was inspired by the recent shooting which occurred in California 3 days ago. In this blog, I want to write about the importance of gun control in the United States. At the moment, I believe that the government hasn't done much to control gun usage. Instead they fall into the hands of the NRA and create laws that are designed to protect them instead. The very first point I will make is that background checks should be preformed on any person willing to purchase a gun. This part of the process of buying a gun is crucial as it determines if you are capable of handling a gun. According to ProCon.org, Con #7 says that background checks are an invasion of privacy stating "Background checks would require government databases that keep personal individual information on gun owners, including name, addresses, mental health history, criminal records, and more." This in my opinion is stating the obvious as you are purchasing a weapon not a toy. The government needs to take precaution when selling weapons as they are aware of the potential devastating effects. Mental health history and criminal records are the main things that should be checked when doing a background check. I will admit that even if these checks pass clear, it doesn't necessarily mean that the customer will abuse his/her weapon. Safety is another risk when having untrained individuals carrying weapons. A true case of hypocrisy is when the NRA banned guns at the annual NRA gathering in Dallas during a Mike Pence speech for safety purposes. This is a clear double standard. If guns have been banned just for Mike Pence's safety, why can't the same action be taken against all people? People talk about gun control laws limiting the power of the second amendment but considering the time period in which it was created, it made sense. I think our society has evolved enough to take a step towards the safety of our people and put into action gun control laws which I believe will directly impact the amount of deaths caused due to guns.