By Zachary Conatser–
A total of 10 people are dead in the wake of a mass shooting that happened in Douglass County, Oregon at the Umpqua Community College. Nine students were murdered, and at least nine others were wounded.
Among the dead is the shooter himself, Chris Harper Mercer, a name one would wish to never speak of again after all of this is said and done. We shouldn’t give him the recognition he thinks he deserves, which is what the world tends to do after something like this happens. No, we should leave him behind in the dirt. He doesn’t deserve our recognition; he deserves to be forgotten.
This shooting is one of many this year alone, and yet as a country we’re all about anybody owning a gun because it’s in the Constitution. This is an issue that’s touchy for most, and some are fanatical about it.
The individuals who are committing these mass shootings all seem to have either a mental problem, or they’re convinced that whatever they’re doing is the right thing to do. Sometimes, they have no prior record, and are young students themselves. They were ridiculed, shamed, shunned and ostracized by their peers. Sometimes they’re raised in a life of full of stereotypes and negative public opinion, either from their parents or relatives, friends, or as of late, the internet and social media. Some motives are well known, but exact reasons for most are still a blurry topic.
Once again, the Umpqua shootings have ignited the gun control issues at hand. Sadly, a lot of people are convinced that President Barack Obama is trying his best to take their guns away, and it’s that kind of ignorance and mentality that can lead to these situations. Radical thinking and brainwashing can do some real harm if not corrected.
No, Obama is not coming to take your guns. However, trying he’s best to put more regulations on the selling of arms, to be sure that whoever has the possibility of becoming the next killing machine doesn’t have any negative background and is mentally stable enough to own a firearm in the first place.
Our founding fathers couldn’t be able to fathom the weaponry that’s readily available to almost everyone nowadays. With such easy access and readily ample supplies of ammunition, anybody with a gun can narrate their own stories. To be honest, people have no real need for a heavy weaponry unless they are active military, in a combat zone, or just happen to be a simple collector. If you need a fully automatic to go hunting, you’re doing it wrong.
“I think the whole thing is tragic, but it’s only another example of what primitive gun sale regulations can lead to”, said biology major Laiken Bickett. “There needs to be more a more rigorous application and testing process when it comes to buying a gun, especially at unregulated gun shows. Understandably, the constitution says we have the right to bear arms, but that was written back when we had single shot muskets and pistols. I think guns have changed since. The technology is greater, and the killing power is nowhere compared to the guns our early ancestors had.”
The overwhelming fascination with guns has become a nationwide sensation, and an ongoing argument that looks as if it has no ending in sight. With all of these mass shootings occurring, in which the perpetrators all have a mental issue and easy access to guns, there still isn’t any “letting up” from the gun nuts. Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush was even quoted saying, “Stuff happens.”
To them, it’s freedom. To them, it’s always a just a random basket case with a gun, and an ill will towards humanity—and shouldn’t taint the idea of firearm ownership for all. That may be the truth, but without the guns, what harm could they have really done?
