Opinionated MePolitics

The Second Amendment is no excuse.

The second amendment to the Constitution gives Americans the “right to bear arms.” Now, as I have stated before on my blog, times change, attitudes change; the Constitution and laws need to reflect those changes. This is not 1775, the government is not taxing you without representation, it is not taking your raw goods and shipping them to the motherland, it is not housing soldiers in your quarters against your will. There is no need for an average individual to own a gun, much less the kind of artillery (a AR-15 semi-automatic assault weapon with a 100 round drum, along with two hand-guns and a rifle ) the Aurora killer had.  
The tragic shooting spree at Aurora, Colorado left 12 people killed and injured another 58  people. Some might say that this tragedy happened because these people were deranged. Perhaps this is true… it most certainly seems to be the case for James Holmes. However, there are deranged people all over the world (sad but true). Every country has them. Do they have the same percentage of shooting per capita as the USA? Most certainly not.
Most of us are not hunters so guess what? That is not a valid excuse either. There is an unhealthy and untrue attitude towards guns in this country, as if having a gun will protect  you and make  you safe, and that it was how the Forefathers had wanted it. That is another lame excuse. The Forefathers were very smart men, who took time to debate and reason. I highly doubt that they would agree with the gun laws in this country today. We are not in the threat of government takeover. This is a much different America than during colonial times. The military, yes they need guns. Regular Joe Schmo, my next door neighbor? Not at all. I would argue that if they were around today, the Forefathers would have been for tighter gun control. They would have outlined who had the authority to buy guns, where they could be bought, and imposed penalties for those that had illegal guns, and illegal gun-selling.
It is time to face reality… it is time to provide justice to every person who has perished due to gun violence… when all they were doing was going to a movie, or going to school, buying a pack of Skittles, or walking in the street and hit by a stray bullet…what kind of a country can we be if we cannot protect our vulnerable citizens, under the guise of the Second Amendment?  Is it OK that you can go to Walmart and purchase bullets with your groceries? Is it OK that you can purchase all kinds of weapons online? Is it OK  that it is easier to get a gun permit in some places than it is to get a drivers license? Guns are not toys. They should be extremely regulated. That’s right. I said it. We need GUN CONTROL. REGULATIONS. Stop using the fear of “big government” to protect gun manufacturers, gun sellers, and illegal gun trade (not to mention deranged people with an agenda—or plain old crazy) Get over it already. The government is not out to get you, they aren’t going to come strip you of  your belongings, or take you away… the government should protect the people, its citizens… this should not be a partisan issue.
Guns kill all types of people: Republican, Democrat, Independents, old, young, white, Black, men, women, children. The time for gun control reform is NOW. Not tomorrow, not when another massacre occurs... It is now— so Congress needs to pull themselves together, suck up the partisan nonsense and get to work to protect and serve its citizens. That is after all what it is *supposedly* there to do. Let’s not wait for another Columbine or Aurora for real reform.  Gun Control and reform now! 
Diana Limongi
Diana a mom, activist, nonprofit professional, podcaster and writer from Queens, NY. She writes about motherhood, activism, raising my multilingual kids, culture and travel. She and her multicultural family live in Queens, NY.

Leave a Response

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.