Gun Control and Civil Liberty

After the shooting incident of Arizona Congresswoman Giffords earlier this month, when she was shot through her head and almost lost her life, two more shooting incidents happened in Washington state and Michigan state, respectively claiming three lives and injuring six people. Other than the two perpetrators in both incidents, another innocent civilian was killed.

A series of vicious shootings has again brought up the debate on gun control — a long-forgotten issue in American society.

The opposition calls on the government to regulate gun ownership to prevent innocent people from being killed in similar incidents. The supporters, on the other hand, quote deteriorating public orders and argue that members of the public need guns more than ever in order to defend themselves.

The United States is the world’s first and only country in which all the people are armed. In an old book about U.S. guns history, published in 1975, it says: “The gun is a symbol of order and protectionism.” Hence, guns to Americans are not merely a tool, but also a civil right. This is why the controversy over gun control has never stopped for the past 200 years.

In fact, other than civil liberties, gun control involves a huge interest group that manipulates from behind. And that is why the hot issue of gun control will, in the end, be sidelined each time. Chicago had passed a law to ban guns, but it was ultimately overturned and abolished by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

Because of this, the incidents and shootings keep recurring, claiming the lives of innocent people. According to the statistics, the number of Americans shot to death from 1979 to 1997 has exceeded the total number of soldiers who have died in overseas wars since U.S. independence. The figure clearly shows the impact of gun shots on social stability in the U.S.

Of course, those who support or are against gun control have their own reasons and arguments. However, with the increased occurrence of gun shootings, shouldn’t Americans put aside their prejudices and re-examine the whole situation? Is civil liberty more important, or personal security?