Let’s get clear on the gun crisis in America, and the assault weapons ban. Let’s talk about it in depth.
History of the the Assault Weapons Ban
The legislative and political reality is clear. In 1994, when Joe Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Congress passed the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act; the assault weapons ban. This was in response to a shooting in CA. In typical Joe fashion, he did what he had to to get the bill passed. In this case, the concession he had to make was a 10 year expiration. Unfortunately, the temperature of the country was different in 2004. A rise in militarism due to 9/11, and the republicans in power allowed the Act to expire and the profit bonanza was on. Typical corruption and greed ensued, and the gun manufacturers have made billions since, on assault weapons alone.
Today’s Gun Crisis in America
This has led to our street being littered with weapons of war. Add to it the mental illness epidemic in the country from social media and dystopian times, and you have the consistent, senseless shootings you are seeing today. The fact is, there are many factors, and politicians can argue all they want about which is right. The answer is that all of the factors are contributors, and not addressing one should not be a reason for not addressing another. One of those factors is gun regulation, including an assault weapons ban. There are a number of common sense steps that the vast majority of the American people agree on, like universal background checks, red flag laws, etc. The passage of those laws is being precluded by corrupt republican lawmakers who are beholden to the gun making industry. Just look at the voting records. They don’t lie.
The Media and the Gun Crisis
The last aspect I want to discuss, it the media. Whenever these tragedies occur, the media swarms in. They mesmerize their audience with ongoing suspense and poring over the heart wrenching details. Well, they also use the high viewer volume to advertise incessantly, and garner huge profits. It makes me think of the “Are you not entertained?” moment in “Gladiator”. It is a sad reality of our times. The 2nd Amendment never envisioned weapons of war on the streets and these absurd mass shootings. Such a thing was unthinkable back then. Accordingly, the 2nd Amendment arguments are for those who have likely never actually read and studied the Constitution.
If we want this to end, there are a number of legislative steps we can take to dramatically change this trend. That will happen if a democrat is elected president, and both chambers of Congress are controlled by non-republicans following the 2024 election.
-Rondym Kiefe