Legislative Approach to Ending Gun Menace in the U.S.

Addressing Weapon Menace

Supporting Federal Senate bill S1539 on revoking licenses of weapons owned by convicted fellows of domestic abuse and stalking alone does not warrant end to shootings in the US but proper legislation and change of tact can.

On March 17, 2018, bloody day in Parkland, Florida. Nikolas Cruz, 19, former student caught many unawares and overwhelmed at the halls of his former school. Armed with a rifle, he executed a massacre that left 17 feared dead. Earlier, in October 2017, 64 year old Stephen Paddock opened fire to crowds at the Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. Estimated fifty-eight people were confirmed dead and left more than 500 scores of injury. One of the deadliest mass shooting recorded in modern US history.

As if that's not enough, back in 2016, an ambush at Pulse nightclub in Orlando left 49 people dead. Four years back in 2012, Adam Lanza was on spot in Newtown, Connecticut, killing his mother and later slay 26 students and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School; in 2007, 32 people were killed in the Virginia Tech massacre. This statistics are worrying and calls for collective effort to combat.

While the US senate is on a mission to stop shootings, some of the bills being debated derails further the process of combating gun menace rather than checking on the worrying school attacks. A road map to cease fire should start with the country opposing Concealed Carry Reciprocity, a bill under deliberation that would allow convicted individuals, citizens with no safety training and offenders of domestic abuse to carry loaded hidden weaponry in public.

America has remained to be a leader across the world on matters of security and civilization and it will be mockery to compare US to Maasai, a tribe in Kenya that is allowed to carry a sword as a mark of identity defined by their tribe's fighting spirit that earned them a name; Moran or warrior in reference to youth in maa region of east Africa. Despite high levels of illiteracy, we are yet to witness a single case of attack with their crude weapons.

If Maasai, a community in Africa knows that the sword they carry is not for attack but protection and identity, then its so sickening that we talk of mass gun fire killing in a country that civilization is at its best.

In his campaigns, Trump wanted to make America great but barely a year in office, we have witnessed high number of deaths resulting from gun killing in American history.
For us to unsurp this problem we need to know where the rain started beating us. The reasons are well known but legislative arm take it as a mystery. Excessive freedom on ownership of weapons costs lives of hundreds in America every year with positive moves on curbing the I'll being scrapped off the constitution. In 2017, Trump signed a bill that scrapped Obama error regulations on gun ownership that barred mentally ill citizens from acquisition and possession of guns. Originally, the regulation was aimed at controlling use of guns after efforts in curbing the menace failed to advance in the congress.
America does not make 5% of the world population but gun distribution is more than 88.8%. According to Pew Center study, every 4 Americans in 10, own guns or have interacted with it in their homes. A report by the National Institute of Justice(NIJ) dated 2009, approximates 310 Million civilians to be owning guns in the US and the number keeps growing on a daily basis. Following closely is Yemen a war ton country with rampant civil wars. India comes third, and it has attracted worldwide criticism on killings in protection of cows that are deemed sacred by the Indian community.
Proper legislation has proved effective in control of weapons in other parts of the world. Between 1987 and 1996, Australia introduced tough measures that saw shootings decline after the country confronted one of the deadliest gun massacre.
A controversial intervention on consideration of proposals to arm teachers after Florida attack will not solve school shootings but raises fear among the students and stakeholders in academic circles. Around March 2018, Trump held a discussion with victims of gun attacks at the White House and hinted on approving a proposal to arm teachers. But a solution to American gun problem lies with the lawmakers and Americans.
Nicole Hockley, a parent who lost his six year old son in Connectcut Elementary school shooting opposed the move and suggested that they arm teachers with knowledge on responding to attacks than assigning them guns. Its important to note tha there's need for US senate and Congress to move with speed and legislate for urgency in mass gun buyback and repossession a move that worked for Australia in 1996/1997 when the country confiscated 650,000 privately owned weapons.
Shootings contribute to negligible fraction of America’s gun deaths, resulting less than 2 percent of such deaths in 2016/17. But in a CNN documented report, America witnesses a lot of frightening events. America confronts more public mass shootings compared to their developed counterparts with a host of 31% of global mass shooters to have been reported.