What is gun control, and why is it associated with reducing the freedom of American people? Gun control is mostly mistaken for taking away the right to bear arms and eliminating the second amendment. The U.S. already has firearms regulations but what some student are protesting for is more strict gun laws. Many countries in Europe and all around the world have already come to the conclusion that gun control helps to reduce mass shootings.
Let’s look at the example of the country of Georgia in Europe: Before 2003 and the Rose revolution in Georgia the country was turned into ruins and still could not rise up after the collapse of Soviet Union. People were doing whatever they wanted and everyone had guns. Going outside had become extremely dangerous, but after the Rose revolution and choosing a new president everything started changing. Gun laws became far more strict and the number of police officers increased. In Georgia the legal age for owning a firearm is 23, but from 21 you can purchase sporting and certain revolver handguns. And those who want to own a gun are obligated to pass an exam on weapon safety and rules of purchase and owning a firearm. Additionally before being granted a license to get a gun the person has to undergo a special check to determine their mental state of mind, which will help authorities to determine to grant that person a gun license or not. Further, people who have ever committed a crime, an administrative offence, including minor offenses, drunk driving, and resisting police, will never get permission to own a gun. And people who were trying to get a gun unlawfully will go to jail for 4 years and the people who carried a gun illegally will face 4-6 years of imprisonment. In doing so Georgia has become one of the safest countries in Europe and safest country in the region. Meanwhile in the U.S. we are hearing about mass gun shootings nearly every week and the government doesn’t seem to be doing anything to solve this problem. And while debating whether gun control is the issue or mental health, elected leaders are lowering the funding on mental health. So what should be done to eliminate this problem still remains as an unanswered question. People in U.S. say that if we make it harder to get a gun people will still be able to get it illegally, but with stronger regulation and peoples trust in the law enforcement this fear can be extinguished as well. If Americans make it harder to get a gun, good people will still be able to get guns with no obstacles, but also it will be much harder for bad people to have access. After the Parkland Florida shooting people were waiting for the federal government to do something to solve the problem, but they have done nothing. They made no move towards making it harder for the people to get a gun, and barely discuss the role of high capacity semi-automatic weapons at all. While government is not doing anything, the shootings have become like weather forecasts that we are hearing about every week as if they’re a normal occurrence. When elected representatives do nothing,it’s time for people to take action. It’s time to unite and speak out against their inaction and the injustice. As Mahatma Gandhi said “we should all be the change we want to see in the world”. The new generation has already taken their action all around the U.S. On March 14 students at Fremont High School are joining hundreds of thousand of their peers to do their part. But it’s time for the adults to participate, because they are the ones who can make a change today. While the students are the leaders of tomorrow, they are not yet voting. So today’s voters, it’s you who can make the change in November. Join the students in solidarity or even call your representative and tell them that you support common sense firearms regulations. That’s how the change will happen. Soso Chikhladze, exchange student from Georgia, and Aidan Petz. Fremont High School students Comments are closed.
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October 2024
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