Gun laws

RIP to the innocent victims of the Newton, Connecticut shooting.

This is just the latest in a long and unnecessary line of mass shootings in the United States. When is the US government going to wake up and realise that it shouldn't be about an individual’s right to bear arms, but about a society’s right to be safe. Their job is to protect their people, create a country in which everyone can live with the right to be safe and treated equally. Yet time and time again they prove that the antiquated right to bear arms is more important than the right of an entire nation to safely leave their house and take part in day to day activities that a lot of us around the world take for granted and don't think twice about. The Constitution was created in the 1700's. This is the 21st century and it's high time that the US government stopped treating this document like the be all and end all and understand that like anything else it has to evolve with the times. Just because something was relevant in the 1700's does not make it relevant in the 2000's. Move forward; don't get stuck in the past to the detriment of society and their safety.

Yes it is people killing people, but they are using guns and it’s high time that ease of access was removed. In Australia on 28 April 1996 one of the darkest days in our recent history occurred in the form of the Port Arthur massacre where 35 people lost their lives and 23 people were wounded. The Australian government made it their mission to ensure that this could never happen again and gun laws in Australia became strict and civilian guns were recalled. The Aussie people voluntarily gave up their guns and tight licensing policies were put in place. Cops, military and farmers are allowed to own guns and last I heard if a farmer leaves the land they must forfeit their gun and their license. Australia has not seen such an event since these laws were put in place. Laws put in place by a government who understood that society as a whole were more important than the individual beliefs of those who think that they should have a right to have a gun. In Australia you cannot just walk into a shop and buy a gun or ammunition and you most certainly cannot just get your hands on an automatic weapon. That is simply unheard of.

I don’t want the right to own a gun. I have never met anyone in Australia who wants the right to own a gun. In fact as a kid my brother and I were not even allowed toy guns and nor were we interested in them. So why is it that there are still enough people in the United States in the 21^st century who’s belief it is that they have a right to bear arms that they can basically control and manipulate the government into not making a decision that is necessary and beneficial to the safety of its people. Governments need to stop listening to individuals on certain issues and instead put society’s interests, safety and rights first. That’s their job; that is why we elect these people into a position of power, to do what is right by us. And what is right by society is that they can safely leave their homes without the fear that some gun wielding maniac with a grudge is going to open fire. That they can go to school, the shops, the cinemas, etc and not have to wonder if someone is going to kill them. I can’t imagine living in a country where I didn't know if doing these every day activities meant it could be my last day. Welcome to the 21^st century America, please join the rest of us.