Why gun control legislation won’t fix the problem
Esther Wickham, Washington Examiner, 6/13/22
Since the devastating events that took place on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas, many people have called on Congress and the president to enact legislation that will restrict gun laws to prevent events like this from happening again.
However, this call for action is not addressing the real problem.
In emotionally trying times, one’s natural instinct is to find the root of what caused the issue and take preventive measures to avoid history repeating itself. In this case, some have deemed the “root issue” to be guns. Specifically, how much freedom there is in gun laws.
So, for those who see guns as the root issue, the natural solution is to take them away. Restrict them so that unjust gun behavior does not happen again.
In theory, this seems like a plausible remedy, yet it overlooks the real problem that is staring everyone in the face: the gun’s owner.
Laws are only helpful insofar as one chooses to follow them.
Law-abiding citizens are subject to those who find no problem breaking the law. Enacting gun control legislation will only hinder those who wish to follow the law while increasing their vulnerability to lawbreakers.
For example, on June 9, two Florida siblings proved that if someone wants to obtain a gun, they do it through any means necessary.
The two boys, ages 11 and 14, were arrested after breaking into a gun shop and stealing firearms and ammunition, including an AR-15. They were seen running from the store, “armed with multiple handguns, ammunition, magazines, and long guns,” Cape Coral police said.
The siblings were charged with 22 counts of grand theft of firearms, along with armed burglary and resisting arrest. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the 14-year-old suspect has done this.
Fox News reports, “He was also previously arrested for making threats of harm with a weapon to another juvenile on social media.”
Thankfully, all of the firearms were recovered, and no one was harmed, yet the same principle applies: A gun can only be dangerous in how a person chooses to operate it. Harder restrictions on gun control will only strip law-abiding citizens of their constitutional rights. Those who wish to do good will be unable to defend themselves or now see guns as dangerous and have no desire to use them for protection.
For example, since the events of Uvalde, around 4,000 K-12 teachers in Texas were asked, “Do you want to be armed?” in a survey conducted by the state’s teachers union. Seventy-six percent of the teachers responded by saying no. Yet 90% of Texas school employees fear a shooting will happen at their school.
Those who wish to see practical change must be willing to be a part of the process to ensure better protection and security, rather than living in fear and hoping a piece of legislation will magically fix everything.
People that intend to hurt innocent lives will merely view the law as a small threshold they have no issue crossing. People will continue to hurt other people. Without someone to fire it, a gun is simply useless.
Esther Wickham is a summer 2022 Washington Examiner fellow.