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Letter to the Editor

Letter: Gun Control

Many countries have been victims of mass shootings but reacted swiftly, why cant we do the same?

The article titled “New Zealand Took 6 Days to Plan New Gun Laws. Here’s How Other Countries Reacted to Shootings” shows just how lax the United States has been in effecting gun controls. With public shootings becoming rampant, more has to be done to curb the menace. So many lives have been lost; so many families have suffered over the senseless and brutal murders of their loved ones by deranged gun-wielding monsters. All because some people feel that owning a gun is their constitutional right, and their rights trump human life.

Many other countries have experienced shootings within their boundaries, the most recent of which was a shooting in a New Zealand mosque in March of 2019. It only took the prime minister a few days to announce gun reforms in the form of banning some types of assault weapons. Such swift action deserves applause. Australia did the same after the shooting of 35vpeople in 1996 and has never experienced a gun-related tragedy of such magnitude since. Britain has an even more impressive record; nearly all handguns are banned from civilian ownership since 1997. Canada has had trouble with gun policies but made an effort.

It is therefore shocking that the United States cannot agree that guns are dangerous. The most tragic part is that so many of the lives lost are those of school and college kids, in a place that is supposed to be safe for them. Reforms have been blocked by constitutional provisions. It is high time that sweeping changes are introduced to put an end to pointless murders of innocent civilians and children. Many of the shooters have a mental illness, a fact that should have been considered during the sale of firearms. Background checks should be implemented on all gun owners to prove they are psychologically fit to own a gun.