Tears literally ran down my eyes as I read about the teacher who threw herself in front of the assailant to protect her students (Std. 1). She did not duck or hide or ran away. She threw herself, at the certain death she saw in front of her. That is not just compassion and love, that is courage!
But the question is why does this keep happening in the US. Are these shootings, and there have been quite a few in recent times (Virginia Tech, the Gurudwara shootings, the Aurora Shootings etc) merely outlier events or are they an inevitable culmination of the much touted the US way of life. Is the US way or life responsible responsible for creating these outliers. Because whatever the motivation be for these shootings, one theme runs common - a lone gunman deciding to take life of a group of people (children), often for no apparent reason. What can be a reason to kill 20 kids?
For a large number of world population, it must sound crazy that right to bear arms is a fundamental right in the US, guarded by its constitution. I will not go into the merits or demerits of that. In spite of over 300 million guns held by US citizens, US is no pirate infested Somalia. But right to bear arms manifests itself in various forms during the normal day to day business in the US. Let me give just one example - If you are ever stopped by a traffic cop in the US, it is best to just keep calm, keep your hands where the cop can see them, not reach for your glove box without being told to do so, and not do any sudden movements. You may wonder why. What's the big deal. Well, if you don't do all of that, you might just get shot. Yes, it is that serious.
Why? Because the cop has to start with the assumption that you are carrying arms with you and any sudden movement threatens him/her. You can be shot for no good reason other than the fact that the Cop did not know whether you were reaching for your driver's license or for your gun. I am not making this up. It is in California's license handbook - when a cop stops you, no sudden movements. Period.
Goes back to "right to bear arms". Another example is that of a man (I forget his name) shot in New York for running with a kitchen knife, and not surrendering himself to Police. He was likely high as well. But here is the thing - if he was a wild animal, a tranquilizer would have been used (most likely). Because he was a man, he was shot down. After all, animals can't bear arms, can they. Phew!
Should the right to bear arms be revoked? I don't know. I don't know enough about the US, and its history/culture to suggest anything like that. But shouldn't getting a gun be made at least as difficult as getting a driver's license. That should at least be a start.
But the question is why does this keep happening in the US. Are these shootings, and there have been quite a few in recent times (Virginia Tech, the Gurudwara shootings, the Aurora Shootings etc) merely outlier events or are they an inevitable culmination of the much touted the US way of life. Is the US way or life responsible responsible for creating these outliers. Because whatever the motivation be for these shootings, one theme runs common - a lone gunman deciding to take life of a group of people (children), often for no apparent reason. What can be a reason to kill 20 kids?
For a large number of world population, it must sound crazy that right to bear arms is a fundamental right in the US, guarded by its constitution. I will not go into the merits or demerits of that. In spite of over 300 million guns held by US citizens, US is no pirate infested Somalia. But right to bear arms manifests itself in various forms during the normal day to day business in the US. Let me give just one example - If you are ever stopped by a traffic cop in the US, it is best to just keep calm, keep your hands where the cop can see them, not reach for your glove box without being told to do so, and not do any sudden movements. You may wonder why. What's the big deal. Well, if you don't do all of that, you might just get shot. Yes, it is that serious.
Why? Because the cop has to start with the assumption that you are carrying arms with you and any sudden movement threatens him/her. You can be shot for no good reason other than the fact that the Cop did not know whether you were reaching for your driver's license or for your gun. I am not making this up. It is in California's license handbook - when a cop stops you, no sudden movements. Period.
Goes back to "right to bear arms". Another example is that of a man (I forget his name) shot in New York for running with a kitchen knife, and not surrendering himself to Police. He was likely high as well. But here is the thing - if he was a wild animal, a tranquilizer would have been used (most likely). Because he was a man, he was shot down. After all, animals can't bear arms, can they. Phew!
Should the right to bear arms be revoked? I don't know. I don't know enough about the US, and its history/culture to suggest anything like that. But shouldn't getting a gun be made at least as difficult as getting a driver's license. That should at least be a start.
1 comment:
Priyadarshi,
To understand the importance of the Second Amendment to the constitution, you have to understand the historical context of why that amendment is there. The United States was the first country to be ruled by the people, not a monarch. Kings, including the King of England, ruled by decree. If you were out of line in the view of the King, he could have you arrested and killed, just because he said so. The colonists fought against this tyranny by the king. They did not want to have it repeat. So they granted men the right to bear arms. Since that time, we have seen many cases where kings or dictators have taken control of countries by force. This has never happened in the United States because so many people are armed. The same is true for Switzerland and Israel. The theory goes that if we have gun registration, or gun control, such as you suggest making it like getting a drivers license where the state would have a record of your gun ownership, then the state can come get your gun at some point in the future. Freemen, such as myself, do not want to give the State the tools to take our guns, should we have them. Unfortunately there are crazy people out there who use guns to terrorize and kill people. This is a very small price to pay for our freedom. In my family history, the US Federal and several state governments persecuted my ancestors and caused them to move from state to state several times, and then they left the US for a period. If they would have had sufficient guns, they would not have been so persecuted. Based on my own family history, I believe such extra legal persecution is possible and likely if the government can take away the guns owned by the people. It has happened before and would happen again.
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