AMERICA’S OBSESSION WITH GUNS

IS IT RIGHT TO CONSIDER OWNING A WAR GRADE, SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE A SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHT?

Repeated recent massacres of innocent people with war grade, semi–automatic weapons have become an epidemic in America. Together with the deadly coronavirus pandemic, it has created the worst health care crisis of the century in the USA.

Let’s look at some relevant statistics related to gun violence to better understand the calamity of this crisis. Since 1975, more Americans have died from gun violence than in all the wars in the history of the United States- amounting 1.5 million. This figure includes suicides, murders, accidents and police shooting.

According to FBI statistics, in 2019, nearly 40,000 deaths occurred involving gun violence in America. 60% of these dead were due to suicide, 30% to homicide and the rest were due to accidents and police shootings.

The USA now is estimated to have 400 million guns in the hands of the civilian population. This is more than the total US population of 330 million.

So, it is reasonable to ask, if gun violence is killing so many Americans why then is nothing being done by the government to control gun ownership or the type of guns in civilian hands to reduce and/or prevent gun violence and mass killings?

The majority of the American public, gun manufacturers, the NRA (National Rifle Association), lobbyists, and right-leaning politicians believe that gun ownership is the Second Amendment right of every American. For this reason, regardless of what happens or how many Americans die each year, no significant and reasonable gun reforms could ever pass through the Congress. Any politicians or organization for gun reforms are immediately labeled as a ‘gun grabber, seeking to take away our Second Amendment rights, opposing the US Constitution.’

Normally, when people lose their temper, they scream or worse they punch someone. But Americans often tend to pull a gun. Could it be that this behavior is a part of violent American psyche?

Let’s now see what the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United State says about the right of gun ownership. The Second Amendment, ratified in 1791 (230 years ago) was proposed by James Madison to allow the creation of a civilian force that can counteract a tyrannical government. Anti-Federalists of that time believed that a centralized standing military, established by the Constitutional Convention, gave the Federal Government too much power and potential for violent oppression of the public. The Second Amendment states, “A well - regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of people to keep and bear arms.”

When Founders proposed and ratified The Second Amendment rights in 1791, the available guns were slow and front – loading muskets. It is very hard to imagine that Founders with their admirable wisdom, envisioned that the right of well -regulated militia should also include futuristic, war – grade, semi – automatic, AR – 15 and AK – 47 types of assault rifles.

I believe that there is never a place in civilized societies for war-grade weapons in civilian hands.