Finding Reason In Amendment II

An Opinion on what should be the single most effective short-term measure we can implement to see change now on the K-12 school shooting tragedy.

No National Gun Policy is a National Security Threat

The gun control issue in the U.S. has sadly become a world embarrassment, if only for our unwillingness to do anything about it at the federal level. Whether it’s due to the influential heaviness of the NRA padded pockets of our legislators; the pressures from their constituents who vehemently defend their obsolete beliefs over their fears of admitting their wrongs; or their fears over policy reforms hindering their own access to guns… because let’s face it — many normal people also suffer from mental health issues.

Requiring advanced background screenings for gun purchases could hinder access to too many people, many of whom pose no threat at all while overlooking yet a whole subset of the population, the younger population ages 18–21, which statically speaking are a higher threat.

One thing is crystal clear to me. Taking no action at all is a national security threat if only for the embarrassment and division that it brings this beautiful nation we call home.

Excuses For Inaction

Yes, it’s true many school shooters are mentally unstable at the time of the shooting whether because they snapped or were simply born a “bad seed” or “evil,” their behaviors find origins in years of social problems, trauma and conditioning. Many cite they were bullied in school. Many were raised in abusive and unsafe homes. And yet sometimes, they weren’t.

It would take a lot of monetary resources and inter-agency coordination to solve the K-12 school shooter problem with mental health and community-driven solutions overnight or any time soon. These costly programs, once successfully developed and implemented, offer long-term solutions at best to the big community problem that is gun access.

At Robb Elementary we saw years of active shooter training investments fail miserably. From that observation, I can admit relying on other people’s bravery and asking them to risk their lives for others at their expense is unreliable; we can’t predict how people will respond or not response in times of crisis.

Citing mental health as the single root cause of the school shooting problem in the U.S. is a cop-out because it’s usually justified with the sort of response that assumes there is nothing that can be done about it. The mental health excuse alone is a scapegoat for doing nothing.

But really it’s an excuse to continue excusing the wrongs of their preconditioned beliefs. Because no one is faultless no matter which side of the issue you defend.

Yes, there is something that can be done about the K-12 shooting tragedy in the U.S. This one simple thing alone can be done right now to kickstart the many years of local reforms that will likely ensue for us to start seeing these numbers fall on this chart below.

Most K-12 School Shooters are Under 21

The numbers don’t lie. History has shown us that the majority of K-12 school shooters are under the age of 21. To keep guns out of the hands of K-12 school shooters, restrict their access to these guns. And since most of them are under 21, the most logical response should be to establish a minimum age requirement for the purchase of guns. States can choose how to amend their laws accordingly while addressing this one change. Some states like good ol’ Florida will not need to do anything at all for they’ve already successfully reformed their gun laws to include raising the minimum age requirement for gun purchases. States without such laws could benefit from heeding Florida’s example.

While the U.S. does not have a national gun control policy, it does have a national tobacco policy. No one under the age of 21 has been allowed to enter a store in the U.S and legally buy cigarettes since December 2019. The passing of this amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act called the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 officially prohibited the sale of tobacco products to any person under the age of 21, further requiring that the FDA adopt regulations to implement this change.

So why is it that this same population (under the age of 21) cannot legally buy a pack of cigarettes or a beer at any store in the U.S., but they can buy a gun at any store in most states or as we’ve seen time and time again, the unnecessary military-style automatic rifle should they desire? It doesn’t make sense. If they can’t drink or smoke then they should not be allowed to purchase guns. Not applying this same age rule to gun purchases is senseless.

Our Second Amendment Rights Matter

Yes, the second amendment of the constitution, the right to bear arms, is in my opinion among the greatest insurances that we have in the preservation of our democracy. I cite the importance of this right in the example that is my parents’ homeland of Cuba.

The first thing the Cuban regime did when it imprisoned its people and forced communism upon them was to remove the people of their arms, thereby removing their ability to ever defend themselves. To this day they remain helpless against a repressive militarized armed world.

Yes, we need our second amendment rights; they matter.

What we don’t need are the consequences attributed to the irresponsibility of not having a sensible and reasonable national gun policy that can protect and save our children from senseless K-12 school shootings. We need a national gun policy to preserve the integrity of our second amendment rights.

Gun Ownership is a Big Responsibility

Why are we making it so easy for teenagers to access these potentially dangerous weapons? I mean let’s face it, kids are staying younger longer these days and I say this as a mother who has seen it with her own eyes. This is a much different world than the unplugged one I grew up in without the over glamorization of guns through video gaming. The responsibility of carrying a gun is huge and should evolve along with the world’s changes.

If they can’t buy cigarettes or rent a car, they should not be allowed to buy a gun or automatic rifle in any State in the U.S. Period.

Now, people might respond to this by saying that not all mass shooters are under the age of 21. That is true. But we know know that the majority of K-12 school shooters are all under the age of 21! Just look at those numbers through 2020. And these numbers keep rising as seen in the article Gunfire on School Grounds Sees Sharp Increase by Katharina Buchholz.

One Honorable Nonpartison Action

How could our legislators not perform the one simple action that can push the pendulum in the other direction of these tragic statistics?

Establish a national minimum age requirement of 21 years old for the purchase of all guns, with reasonable exceptions, of course.

I believe this one simple national gun policy change now — simply prohibiting the sale of guns to anyone under the age of 21 in all States as we’ve seen done with the national tobacco policy—can halt these numbers from continuing their upwards trajectory to no end.

Attempts to solve the country’s gun access problem with mental health solutions will get us nowhere any time soon and does nothing to honor or vindicate the lost lives of those 19 children and two teachers last week in Uvalde, Texas.

Raising the national minimum age for gun purchases to 21 is the one single action that most reasonable Americans will agree on; it’s the one nonpartisan selfless act we can do to honor the memories of those fourth graders and their teachers whose lives were senselessly lost last week.

Please keep these guns out of the hands of our children now by restricting their access to them. We must act responsibly to protect the integrity of our constitutional rights and in particular Amendment II. Establish a national gun policy today that simply prohibits the sale of guns to anyone under the age of 21. I think that is a reasonable concession on the gun control issue, don’t you think?

I don’t get political about American politics in my writings since ideologically I am never too far from the middle on the political spectrum. I find my balance right in the middle of it all. In fact, Balance is a theme I often write about.

So it is with this same neutrality that I write this article from the perspective of a mom of a fourth-grader and a public servant accustomed to analyzing social problems and exploring solution-driven ideas. Thank you for reading my Opinion article. Please feel free to read my other stories here on Medium at Michelle Marie Writes.