During the last week, I, like many Americans, have again been forced to dwell of the mass shooting epidemic of this country.
When I saw the headlines, I was horrified — but not shocked. That was the worst part; it was not anything new. It was something that has happened time and time again. I knew that the cycle would begin: a day of grief and social media posts asking for thoughts and prayers, a call for gun control action, some affirmations of solidarity (but no clear promises) from government officials and then a gradual forgetting until the next time we are forced to remember the U.S.’s gun violence disease. That cycle has become the routine.
Our country has a routine for dealing with mass shootings. We have a school shooting routine. Something as terrible has a mass shooting has become a routine event in our country. This is unacceptable. There should not be a next time. There never should have been a first time. Enough is enough; there has to be change.
Gun control should not be a partisan issue. It is a human issue. The lives that have been lost are human lives. The time for thoughts and prayers has passed. Thoughts and prayers are not going to solve the problem. We must together solve the problem by changing the laws.
This is about the point when someone brings up the Second Amendment, so I’ll bring it up myself. Were the Founding Fathers wise? Yes. Were they revolutionary? Yes. Were they even inspired? Maybe. Could they see the future? Absolutely not.
Guns as the Founding Fathers knew them were muskets that used gunpowder, were tedious to reload, often misfired and were often inaccurate. They could not envision semi-automatic weapons being brought into schools, or concerts, or clubs and being used to shoot countless individuals. No one has the right to bear that kind of arm. No one has the right to take away the lives of countless club-goers, music lovers, teachers, students, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, parents and children.
If you want to talk about inspiration in the Constitution, talk about one of the greatest achievements of the Founding Fathers — the amendment process. Our Founding Fathers, in their great wisdom, created a document that could be changed. They knew that there was no way for them to know what the future had in store, so they created a document that could grow with the times. And the times certainly have changed.
The Constitution is a living document. If you think that the Constitution is sacred and not meant to be changed, then you are saying that the president shouldn’t have a two-term limit, that the voting age should be 21, that women shouldn’t be able to vote, that we shouldn’t have free speech, that slavery should still exist. If you think that the Constitution should not be changed, then you think that the Constitution is dead. I don’t believe that. I believe that change can occur, that change needs to occur.
We do not deserve to live in a country where mass shootings are a routine event. People do not deserve to die by gunfire. We are lucky enough to live in a country where every citizen has a voice, where laws can be changed, but if we do not begin to change now, then we don’t deserve that either.
We cannot wish away gun violence, but we can enact laws that will initiate greater levels of gun control and spare lives. The time for thoughts, prayers, and vague promises is over. The time for change is now.
Brianna Hall grew up in Bountiful and is currently a freshman at the University of Michigan studying English. She plans on becoming a English teacher.
