A topic that is rarely spoken of by either President Obama or Governor Romney is gun control. Around 30,000 people are killed from being shot each year, and according to Gail Collins, a writer for the New York times, "there have been 43 American mass shootings in the last year." These numbers are clearly very high, and while, yes, there are other issues that are important for the candidates to talk about, gun control should be somewhere near the top of the list. Whether or not the candidates want to talk about the issue or not, it is necessary that it be discussed.
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Nina Gonzalez, an undecided voter, asked President Obama at the second presidential debate, "During the Democratic National Convention in 2008, you stated you wanted to keep AK47s out of the hands of criminals, what has your administration done or plan to do to limit the availability of assault weapons?" Obama went about answering this question by giving quite a general answer; he said that he does think that the ban on assault weapons should be reintroduced and changed topic soon after. Romney also avoided discussion of gun control, speaking a scarce 42 words on the topic before switching subjects. Romney's reason for trying to stay away from the subject could likely be that as the governor of Massachusetts, he was in favor of new gun laws, but in an effort to be elected, his role on this issue has been reversed. As Gail Collins states, "When it comes to gun control, both presidential candidates are strongly in favor of quality education." In other words, nobody really knows where either candidate truly stands on the issue or what they will do to help control it because when asked about it, they just simply avert into an off-topic matter.
The second amendment states that citizens have a right to bear arms, but with all the harm that this has caused in our country, where should the line be drawn? What limits should be made, if any, so that the people in America feel safe from assault weapons, but also have their second amendment rights protected?
To read Gail Collins' full article click here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/opinion/collins-the-least-popular-campaign-subject-gun-control.html
I definitely think that the American public really does not know where either candidate stands on gun control. I think that because its such a controversial issue, they may not want to bring it up to scare off any voters. Especially with all of the recent gun violence, I think that a line needs to be drawn that limits people from getting assault weapons. From the shooting at the movie theater in Colorado to a US House rep Gabby Giffords getting shot, gun control is becoming a much more important issue, I think. There needs to be stricter rules on who can purchase an assault weapon as well as harsher punishments if you are caught illegally with one. But it will be hard to pass these laws because of the second amendment.
ReplyDeleteI agree Lily, the Second Amendment is very controversial in recent years. The Second amendment states that, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". It is now very disputed because of the many mass shootings as a result of guns getting in the hands of dangerous people. Even in the past Presidential Debate, the question about guns did not elicit lengthy responses. I agree with Lily that the candidates should focus more on this issue because it is a very big controversy today.
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