By Johannes SortoSPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
It seems that two to three times a year we hear news reports that there is a mass shooting. These events occur so often that we have gotten used to them and are beginning to ignore the problem. This is extremely concerning and should be used to motivate Congress to take action. Republicans will argue that it is President Obama’s fault and Democrats will say that the Republicans are to blame. Regardless of which side you are on, action needs to be taken to prevent these mass shootings.
It is also important that while we seek to reform our system, we preserve our principles as well. In this case we have to maintain the Second Amendment, which grants the right to own a gun. At first glance, this seems to be contradictory. How is it possible to reform our gun laws if every citizen has the right to own a gun? How else can we fix this problem without banning guns? We do not need to ban all guns in order to bring security. It is possible to create effective reform that will save hundreds of lives as well as preserve the principles on which this country was founded.
To those who support a ban on all guns or even a ban on assault rifles, it is important to recognize that the gun itself is not why mass shootings happen. If that were the case, you would see mass shootings occur in states with very lenient gun laws like Florida, and not those with stricter ones, like Oregon. What causes these tragedies is the person behind the gun. Therefore, to have any effective reform on gun laws, changes need to focus on the person buying the gun, not the gun itself.
An effective legislation must have background checks. This does not take away gun rights because as long as you are a law-abiding citizen you are allowed to have a gun. However those that have committed a serious crime would not be allowed to obtain a gun. Along with background checks, there need to be mental health inspections to ensure that anyone who obtains a gun does not have any psychiatric problems.
This does not infringe on gun rights, and these are policies that both sides do agree on. Because of this, Congress and the President should take action and pass legislation.
Johannes Sorto is the President of the Hofstra University College Republicans.
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