Gun control and regulation has been a heated, controversial subject within our country for a number of years now, but the heat over the issue is ever-rising. Obama made a recent statement about the issue after the recent shootings that have taken place this past month at Purdue University, a Shopping Mall in College Park, Maryland, a middle school in Roswell, New Mexico, and several other incidents across the country within only this past month alone.
The statement he made over this recent rise in gun violence was, “This will be difficult.” “There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical all-out assault on liberty. Not because that’s true, but because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves, and behind the scenes they will do everything they can to block any commonsense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever.” (Barack Obama). The president realizes that the subject is touchy, since it is a protected right under the Constitution to be able to bear arms. However, there is no way to deny that the trending rise in gun violence has gotten out of hand, and that there is a need for reform, in order to make it more difficult to obtain automatic weapons.
The NRA responded back to the president’s statement with their own opinion on the topic which was, “We look forward to working with Congress on a bi-partisan basis to find real solutions to protecting America’s most valuable asset – our children. Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation,” the NRA wrote. “Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy.” (NRA).
The NRA feels as if the recent trend in gun violence has been due to some outside source, and feel as if regulating firearms more strictly would, in fact, compromise the safety of this nation’s children and all of its citizens. However, data suggests that within the last few decades, violence within schools has been steadily rising. Between the years of 1990-1999 there were 38 school shootings, between 2000-2010, there were 55 school shootings, and even within the short period of three years from 2011-2014, there have been 65 school related shootings. The issue whether to enforce stricter gun laws or not within our country will continue to be a heated topic within the next few months. The president’s administration will be analyzing all options, trying to find a road that most American’s will agree with, and which will keep us safe as a nation for now and for generations to come.