This country is on the verge of a civil war. Or at least that’s what extreme Second Amendment advocates make it seem like.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, President Obama’s executive actions, and suggestions to Congress about improving gun laws, there has been a drastic uproar from gun advocates, for no reason.
The President’s proposals are not only necessary, but they are moderate.
No one is proposing that the government strip all citizens of every weapon they own. In fact, no one is proposing to strip any law-abiding citizens of any of their guns.
Obama’s main focuses are improving knowledge and awareness through research and structured emergency plans, improving background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, improving law enforcement work, and increasing the structure that limits who can have what type of gun. Nowhere in his plan does it say that Obama is going to take over America as an insane dictator, in the fashion of Adolf Hitler.
Yet this is still the attitude that many in the far right have taken. Throughout the entire debate, the Internet has been littered with horrible messages from radicals daring the government to try to take their guns.
I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in the right to own weapons. I believe in the right to defend oneself, one’s family, and one’s property with deadly force if necessary, without fear of being thrown in jail. I believe in the tradition of hunting, gun ownership, and marksmanship getting passed on from generation to generation.
What I don’t believe is that mass murderers should have the ability to kill and maim dozens of men, women, and children within minutes just because some Americans, who think it’s fun to go shoot thousands of rounds from assault weapons on the weekend, are baselessly feeling threatened by the government.
The current administration is only trying to do their sworn duty to protect the citizens of the U.S. from harm. The administration can’t do its job if the American people won’t come to a sensible conclusion on this issue.
People need to understand that if these measures are implemented, the government will not raid law-abiding citizens’ houses nor strip citizens of their rights.
Gun advocates need to be less focused on the number of rounds in their magazine and more focused on what is best for the safety of American citizens.
Bryan Doherty is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.