We have not, unfortunately, been strangers to news of tragedy. As citizens of the United States, we have been made aware of mass shootings on our own soil, according to the L.A. Times, at least once per week during this year alone. Week after week, citizens simply attempting to live the lives that they have been promised by the Constitution -- our country's governing and binding set of principles -- have lost the opportunity to fulfill themselves to the firearm. In May, according to Eric Youmans, a gunman opened fire at a Texas high school, killing 10 and injuring at least 10 more.
In a report by Politico, it is made known that President Donald J. Trump has condemned such horrid actions, stating that his administration will use all power vested in it to protect and secure schools and their students. Words, however, can only go so far. What is it that we have done to actually prevent disasters such as school shootings?
When will enough be enough?
Demonstrations for reform have been pervasive in recent years. In light of the Parkland shooting earlier this year, students of the school were even afforded the chance to debate with politicians and NRA (National Rifle Association) representatives over the issue of gun control. The NRA, affecting sympathy but still championing that which has destroyed and ended the lives of so many, has remained firm in its belief that it is our fundamental right, as stated in the second amendment, to possess a firearm.
According to Robert Sobel, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, while facing a student questioning essentially whether monetary political support was worth more than the many lives lost, would not even begin to suggest that he would refuse an endorsement from an organization promoting the ownership of firearms. Both the organizations in favor of the second amendment and the politicians, especially those of the political right, have uttered hypocrisies under the guise of understanding.
All the while, the voices of the governed have been muted. It seems as though we have been screaming in outer space, where wails and cries cannot possibly travel. Our pleas, though, do travel. It seems that they have fallen on deaf ears.
To those who vehemently cling to their second amendment rights, I ask: what do you suppose has given you these rights?
A piece of writing penned by men of a bygone era cannot possibly continue to govern a land that has remained in structure but changed in character. Firearms are no longer of the flintlock variety, but are automatic and can splay ammunition with greater velocity than the eye can see. Words on paper can be crossed out, and the framers of the Constitution took this into account when including the elastic clause. It does not serve us, failing to criticize that which has been in place for centuries. We are better served carefully examining and auditing existing powers to supplement flaws in the system and create meaningful change.
Addressing congress
It is time to do what is necessary and proper -- the reevaluation of rights afforded by the second amendment.
They have become far too damaging in recent years to overlook. When children, the purest and most innocent of us, are robbed of the option to pursue their ambitions, we must look to those in power and hold them accountable for every tragedy that they have failed to prevent.
The issue can no longer be about those of today who wish to pull a trigger. It must become about the generations ahead of us, whose lives we are currently failing to consider. It is not our future, but the future of the youth. It is simply our job to see this through. Without the lending of ears by the representatives who claim to serve our needs and interests, we cannot possibly say that we live under a successful set of rules and regulations. Functionality is key, and when a representative democracy fails to represent the demographic, it cannot be viewed as a success.
