How many times do Americans need to see headlines like Boulder shooting: 10 dead, including police officer Eric Talley; suspect in custody? It’s too many to count. However, it happens when you combine uncontrollable emotions with a gun.
I, like many, take going to the grocery store for granted. It seems like a harmless place to go. You’d think it would be relatively safe. Under normal circumstances, it is. However, some residents in Boulder, Colorado lost their lives on March 22, 2021, from being at and inside of a grocery store.
Thoughts and Prayers
When events like these occur, the gleeful gun owners offer their thoughts and prayers. However, they are the same people who oppose tougher gun regulations and oppose women having the right to have an abortion.
If you believe abortion is murder but think it’s okay for a person with uncontrollable emotions to own a gun, something is wrong with your thinking. You either value life or you don’t.
Thoughts and prayers are great words to say when you’re offering your condolences. But, America needs more than thoughts and prayers. It needs action.
Background Checks
Too many people with unresolved issues are walking around with guns. These aren’t your concealed carry guns like a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm. They are carrying AR-15 style rifles.
Why would a person need to own an AR-15 style rifle? Some are enamored with their look and the feeling of the power it gives them. Others use AR-15s to kill others in a rage. The damage these guns do to human bodies is devastating.
Gun laws vary from state to state. This is a scary practice when you consider the loopholes that potentially put a gun in the wrong hands.
The NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) primary purpose is to protect people from harm by keeping guns out of the hands of the wrong people. However, loopholes like the “Charleston loophole” allowed the shooter in Charleston, South Carolina to obtain a gun and kill members at the Emanuel AME Church in 2015.
Under current federal law, a gun seller can proceed with a sale if the FBI hasn’t concluded the background investigation within three business days. These sales are known as “default proceed” sales. They’re also known as the “Charleston loophole.”
America Needs Tougher Gun Laws
Any life lost to gun violence is one life too many. It’s heartbreaking to hear the horrifying details of a mass shooting. Some people discount these events as unhinged people gone crazy. However, it’s deeper than that. Ultimately, it goes back to keeping guns out of the wrong hands.
A person with a mental condition or anger issues shouldn’t have access to a gun. When is it an accepted practice to shoot someone when you’re angry? Obviously, it’s not legally acceptable. However, when you have lax gun laws in some areas of the country, you run the risk of these individuals obtaining guns.
Bottom line: America needs tougher gun laws nationwide. Innocent lives are at risk.
