“Guns don’t kill people! People kill people!” That is true. Nikolas Cruz did kill people. He killed 17 innocent people in Parkland, Florida on February 14. But he killed those people using a gun. A semiautomatic gun to be exact: An AR-15 that I believe holds no place in civilian society.
We can all agree, no matter our political allegiance, that mass shootings in America are a major problem. Most of these shootings can be traced back to semiautomatic weapons and more specifically, the AR-15.
Supporters of this mass murder weapon say that it is not the weapon’s fault for being the most popular gun of choice amongst mass shooters, to which I say this: Why are mass shooters even being given the choice? As much as I would love to see the United States take sweeping measures like Australia after the Port Arthur Massacre, I know that our current government would not be able to handle taking such a large yet responsible step in the right direction.
So, for now, I am willing to compromise. I simply ask that two steps be added in the process of obtaining a gun in America: universal background checks and mental health evaluations.
Some may argue that these steps will infringe on privacy rights; however, in light of the countless mass shootings, the responsible thing to do with someone about to purchase a deadly weapon is to determine whether or not they are a criminal and if they are mentally stable. I would rather that measures be in place to protect the public than hear that my younger brother had to hide from a shooter who was able to buy a semiautomatic rifle despite having a history of violence.
Someone with a history of domestic violence, has a felony on their record, or has unstable mental health should not be allowed to own a firearm. Unfortunately, just a background check alone will not always catch potentially dangerous buyers, as Nikolas Cruz’s lack of a criminal record before February 14 allowed him to pass a background check. However, if a mental health evaluation was added to the process of obtaining a gun, he most certainly would have been barred from buying one and 17 people would still be alive today.
In Japan, the process of just getting a license to own a gun can take months. One of the steps in this extensive process is visiting a mental-health professional who evaluates whether or not you are fit to be in possession of such a dangerous weapon. If someone is clearly not in the right state of mind, they should not be allowed near something that could hurt themselves and the people around them.
Even President Trump agrees that red flags should be noted and, in light of the recent Florida school shooting, tweeted that it is unacceptable that “the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter.”
The FBI receives an unprecedented amount of threats of gun violence daily, some of which are serious and some that are not. With so many threats so often, it becomes hard to sift through the reports and things can slip through the cracks, as was the case with Cruz.
Having universal background checks and mandatory mental-health evaluations would be a step in the right direction. This two-step process to getting a gun will filter out the people unfit to possess a firearm. The mere fact that one would have to potentially wait months to even get permission to get a license is a deterrent of its own. If one were to still manage to pass these tests and an alert were to go out to the FBI then they would actually be able to allocate resources to investigating.
Gun control is not gun confiscation. It is the regulation of dangerous weapons and the protection of innocent people. I’d list all the names of the victims of American gun violence in this year alone (take note, we’re just in the second month of 2018) but I don’t think there would be enough room to list all 60 names. And that number will most certainly go up unless we work to make changes to our current system. Call your senators and call your state representatives. Let Parkland be the last.
Faith is a freshman intending on majoring in legal studies and journalism. What do you think needs to be done to prevent mass shootings? Are you for or against gun control? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
