cmrogersonWith the recent emergence of footage showing a nine-year-old accidentally shooting her Gun Instructor in a supposedly safe and contained environment,I delve into the need for guns in the United States of America.
Charles Vocca was teaching the young girl how to use an Uzi gun at his work place, “Bullets and Burgers” in Arizona, when the trigger was accidentally pulled. The footage was cut after the gun went off. The very fact that the shooting range is so casually called “Bullets and Burgers”, in my opinion, expresses America’s laissez-faire attitude toward guns. The gun specific laws from the US Government allow anyone aged 18+ to own a long gun, such as a riffle, or a hand gun. Of course, there are some restrictions and red tape. Full mental health and criminal background checks are put in place to prevent possible dangerous or unstable people having weapons. however, the criminal background only seems to exclude people with domestic related convictions or those who have already committed a crime whilst using a gun. Many Americans who purchase a gun often learn how to use it first and say that they will use it “for protection”. But with “My first gun” being available in pink or green camouflage from their local superstore, do Americans need to learn how to use a gun in the same way they learn how to play baseball? Obviously, the States is a vast place with varying levels of primal threats, for instance, bear attacks. Yet studies show that you are 12 times more likely to die from a wasp sting than be killed by a bear. You’d have to be a pretty good shot to shoot a wasp. Also there is a higher mortality rate of accidental shootings than premeditated, children thinking the gun is a toy, people thinking there is an intruder but its a member of their family.
In my opinion, guns are a vicious cycle in America. A child’s school is subject to a shoot-out so they feel that they need to be armed for protection when they are older, but maybe one day they forgot to but the safety one? Or they are driving through a rough neighbourhood and feel unsafe because of the recent occurrence of gun crime? Finally, if the UK and other countries can cope without excessive amounts of legalised weapons then why can’t the US? The answer- the constitution. And you don’t question the constitution.