Gun rights activists have taken to the streets to protest efforts to introduce stricter Gun Control measures. Some of them carried firearms and ammunition. Their chief complaint is that introducing such measures will threaten their Second Amendment right which allows them to possess these weapons relatively unencumbered. There were hundreds of supporters who participated in the peaceful protests and listened to the speakers.
The general theme was a fear that any restriction on ownership of firearms could go against the guarantees under the Second Amendment. They refuse to acknowledge that stricter regulations will ensure fewer chances for Gun Violence.
Organizers of the rally in Augusta, Maine, told reporters, at the Los Angeles Times, that the people who came to the rally felt that regulations could pose a limit to the rights of citizens to carry guns.
The Parkland school shooting
The latest incident of gun violence was in Parkland school, Florida. An ex-student walked in and shot dead 17 people. It sent shock waves around the country and people remembered earlier instances of mass shootings like that of Sandy Hook.
They took to the streets in protest for their lives and their safety.
Such mindless violence can take place anywhere and its victims can be related to those who are against gun control. They must remember that the survivors can remain traumatized for a long time. The horror of seeing blood and death all around them will be difficult to erase from memory and will haunt them forever, especially if they are children. The activists must realize that if there were strict gun control laws, including background checks, tragedies of this nature could be avoided.
It is a necessary evil
Incidents of gun violence, reported in recent times, indicate that those who conducted the crimes suffered from a mindset that was not normal.
Therefore, if strict controls are introduced and background checks are made mandatory, these might act as deterrents to this senseless slaughter.
The protests, by the activists, have been steady now after hundreds of thousands of people marched in Washington, New York, and in many other states demanding tougher gun laws after the tragedy in Parkland, Florida. Their demands were for banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and also to introduce background checks on would-be gun owners.
The activists must weigh all the pros and cons before pursuing their demands. They must realize that a gunman might be waiting, around the next corner, to launch another attack and one of his/her victims could be someone near and dear to you.