Blog Stage 7

A prevalent issue affecting the U.S. national government is the debate on gun legislation and control. Despite mass shootings which have plagued the U.S., little has been done to prevent such instances occurring in the future. Largely due to the national Rifle Association (NRA), Congress has been unable to pass bills to make it more difficult for individuals to own firearms. In order to resolve this issue, drastic actions need to be taken. Whilst this issue cannot be solved overnight, it can be solved in stages. The first stage would be to prevent bump stocks being available to civilians, as these are able to turn semi-automatic weapon into what is effectively an automatic weapon. This could reduce the body count in mass shootings; for example, the death toll of the las Vegas shooting can largely be attributed to the shooter’s use of bump stocks. Next powerful weapons should be removed from the market; this includes shotguns and semi-automatic rifles. Finally, pistols could be removed. This process of disarmament will allow U.S. citizens to slowly adjust to a world without guns. Gun removal programs have proved to be extremely effective in other parts of the world, such as in Australia where the same process occurred in wake of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre; since then there have been no mass shootings in Australia. It is important to note that the Second Amendment was written over 200 years ago at a time where people needed to protect their lands and the weapons available to them were not capable of massacring many individuals quickly and easily. The Second Amendment can, and should, be amended, to protect our citizens for future generations.