While I was still supportive of a gun ban, my line of reasoning was that if American society could not responsibly care for its guns, than American society was not worthy of owning them. I inspired by toddlers, in the sense that when you have a misbehaving toddler who misuses a toy by smacking a fellow toddler with it, one doesnt leave the toy with the rude child. The toy is completely removed from the situation. Neither the child who misuses it, nor the child who suffers the misuse are allowed to continue interacting with said toy because one toddler cannot act civilly. Something I realized, however, when debating with my friends, was that the removal of one of societys toys does not address the deep seated issues of which gun violence is only one effect. I believe gun violence is a symptom of some societal malaise, of which mental illness seems to be only one of the causes, that we have allowed to take root and spread. Taking everyoneΒs guns away will not solve whatever ails America, nor will it address issues that we believe are the root cause of this violence. Unfortunately, this means the problem is much more complex than most, and myself previously, believe, and thus requires a solution just as complex.
Though the media has focused on the negative outcomes of gun ownership, there are many, if not more positives. However, the positives are only present when gun owners are responsible adults who have received training and acquired a license that permits them to own and operate a gun safely. Unfortunately, gun laws as they are now are far too lax to support responsible gun ownership. This is supported by Dr. Branas, a gun violence researcher with the University of Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, who, despite little funding and support, has continued to recognize that when regulations are not sufficiently strong enough to promote safe and responsible gun ownership and use, the laws instead promote their unsafe and irresponsible misuse. Dr. Branas is not alone. A professor David Hemenway from Harvard Chan School of Public Health also states that weak gun laws are, though not a cause of gun violence, definitely facilitators for gun violence. A possible short term solution to gun violence isnt to take guns away from everyone, especially from those who love and enjoy them responsibly, but instead to make it more difficult for those who would use guns for violence to have a harder time getting a hold of them.