THE EDITORIAL BOARD
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
Gun rights have been a highly debated topic lately and for many years.
The two recent mass murders at a grade school in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 were killed, including 19 children, and at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., where 10 black citizens were shot and killed, have increased the debates.
Over the past few years, there have been other mass shootings where multiple people have been killed or wounded. Just say the word Columbine, and it sends chills up and down your spine if you know anything about that case.
Those who are avid hunters and collectors of firearms and those who are liberal are at odds over laws governing the right to purchase certain guns, especially automatic rifles that fire multiple rounds per second.
The Second Amendment was ratified Dec. 17, 1791, along with the other nine amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. While it is a very short amendment, its exact meaning in terms of what types of weapons are protected and what constitutes a well-regulated militia is still in contention today.
The text of the Second Amendment reads:
“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.”
Here in Appalachia, particularly in eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, there are many hunters and gun lovers. Many households own multiple shotguns, hunting rifles and handguns.
Several laws have changed allowing citizens to carry concealed handguns. In many states, you still must take a gun safety class and apply for and purchase a permit with the state and county to carry a concealed handgun. Some states honor concealed gun permits from other states if you cross the border, like the Mountain State going into the Bluegrass State.
The Second Amendment is important to most conservative thinking individuals and others who feel it is an American right to own and keep guns.
The horrific shooting of 19 children and two teachers in Texas, not even two weeks after the mass murder of 10 New Yorkers in Buffalo, is yet another terrible reminder that there is a problem of gun violence facing our nation.
If you look at the news, in large urban cities like Chicago, there are many murders every week. The criminals are better armed than the law enforcement officers who patrol our streets and countryside.
Can’t there be some simple solutions?
Why can’t there be some logic brought into the situation?
Both of the recent shooters in Texas and New York state were only 18 years old. The alleged murder suspects apparently had no problem buying automatic rifles like the AR-15 type they used. The young suspect in the Texas murders purchased 375 rounds of 5.56 ammunition. That should have raised a red flag for the business where he bought the guns and ammo!
A backpack with several magazines full of ammunition was dropped by the suspect near the school entrance, news reports said. What appeared to be seven 30-round magazines were also found inside the school.
How does an 18-year-old who can’t even legally buy an alcoholic beverage buy an AR-15?
How about making the legal age to purchase such a firearm 21?
How about doing a longer and more in-depth background check to ensure these individuals don’t have mental health issues and should not own such weapons?
How about holding the gun stores responsible for selling to an individual without really doing a background check?
That would be a start.
We are not saying law-abiding citizens should not be allowed to purchase firearms such as AR-15s. However, there should be a more stringent application procedure and a longer waiting period to ensure that someone is responsible enough to own such a gun.
It seems logical to make a few laws to better protect citizens from such horrific mass shootings.
We are all for the Second Amendment, but times have changed, and adding a few safer laws making it a little tougher to buy certain weapons and ammunition should not be so difficult.
This should not be a political issue. Those politicians who lean to the right and those who lean to the left need to find common ground and work together.
A bipartisan group of senators has been meeting to see if they can find common ground on any gun safety measures.
Let’s hope so. Your life or the life of someone you love may depend on it.