Days after the Parkland, Florida shooting, I shared a video with my friends which showed a little girl receiving a rifle from her parents as a birthday present.
We thought it was ridiculous.
But I also thought, what would be the purpose of raising the legal age to buy weapons if those who are of legal age could just purchase a gun for a minor?
Guns will always land in wrong hands, and age has nothing to do with it.
Instead of focusing on raising the age to purchase firearms, our country should focus on teaching our youths about guns and gun safety.
In school, no one ever taught me about the risk of guns or how to own a gun safely. I knew a lot of my friends’ parents had guns and that they had access to the key to where the guns were stored. Others simply admitted that their parents kept their weapons in drawers, and they had easy access to them.
According to an article published by Everytown titled “Analysis of School Shootings,” in cases where minors caused a shooting, above half of the guns involved were from inside the home. Most incidents were also started by verbal arguments.
Even though purchasers are subject to thorough background checks, guns still somehow enter the wrong hands. There are also illegal gun sellers who don’t check who they’re selling to.
According to Giffords Law Center, the statistics show that more than half a million guns are stolen and sold illegally, most being handguns.
It is our right as Americans, as stated in the second amendment, to bear arms. Creating more regulations would violate that right. It is up to us to be responsible enough to own guns and keep our kids safe, but the government can only step in so far before violating our right to own weapons.
Taking away guns will not decrease the amount of crime in America.
We all know of people who are under 21, though they drink alcohol. If more gun regulations are put into place, they will work the same way. Raising the age to obtain a gun will not keep people from finding a way to kill or hurt others.
According to Gun-Control.ProCon.org, Mexico is an example of this.
“[Mexico has] the strictest gun control laws in the world, and yet, in 2012, Mexico had 11,309 gun murders.”
Raising the age to obtain guns is not going to fix the gun violence problem. Guns will still be available illegally, and those who wish to obtain them will. Kids should be educated about guns so that they can make smart choices, and counselors and parents should be aware of the issues and feelings facing adolescents, to prevent a tragedy.
