Be Smart About New Gun Regulations!!

Due to recent tragic mass shootings, there have been multiple proposals to add new regulations on the use and ownership of firearms. Gun-right advocates fear that this will result in arduous limitations on their right to bear arms or even the elimination of the second amendment all together. However, their desire to keep things how they are now is out of the question. Not only has the current gun regulations proven to be ineffective, keeping things as they are would be asking for more tragedies. That said, we must find a balance between public safety and the second amendment rights.  

While there are many ideas being thrown around on this issue there have been a few that are at  the top of the list. Many are arguing for a ban on assault weapons all together believing that with these types of guns off the market it will result in a major reduction of  mass shootings. However, this is not the most effective solution. While there have been plenty of times when assault weapons were used in mass murders, statistics show that high capacity magazines where used more than assault weapons to carry out these horrific actions. Even if one was to use assault weapons to kill people, what really made them effective was the size of the magazine. Taking away assault weapons would not solve the problem or make it harder for one to commit a crime or kill someone. With only 10 or 15 capacity cartridges, future gunman will have to switch magazines multiple times during a shooting, providing an opportunity for civilians to escape or do something to stop them. No matter what we do, crazy people will still get their hands on guns, and we will never be able to completely prevent future mass shootings. If we were to instead put a ban on high capacity magazines for all firearms rather than assault weapons, it would have a greater effect on lessening the number of casualties in future public shootings. While it may not provide an immediate reduction on criminals who obtain their firearms illegally, in cases like the one in Newtown the guns were purchased legally and therefore would of come with smaller magazines under the proposed regulation. A quote from Senator Murphy in a New York Times article sums it up perfectly; “if Lanza had to switch cartridges nine times versus two times there would still be little boys and girls alive in Newtown today.”

 As we move forward, we need to keep in mind that who we are regulating are the supposedly law abiding citizens. Very little of what we change will have little impact on criminal activity as they usually go outside of the system anyway. For those who buy guns legally the regulation that would have the biggest impact would be reducing the capacity of magazines. Whatever we do we need to make sure that these new laws are not too drastic and do not directly affect the second amendment.