Long time no see! I’ve just been working again/exams/uni stuff/general stress. It’s so great. I just thought I would write a short bit about gun laws.

Here in the UK, we have strict laws controlling the use of guns. It would take me ages to explain all the different laws, so heres a wiki article about UK firearm laws which will explain everything. My point is, as a result of these strict laws, we have one the lowest gun crime rates in the world. Shocker isn’t it! In fact, apparently in England one in a million is killed annually by gun violence. Multiply that by 160, and you get the number killed by guns in America annually.

Honestly, this picture is quite helpful in terms of understanding everything

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It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out that all these shootings that happen in America are awful and disgusting, but some of them, maybe even just one of them, could’ve been prevented if proper gun laws were in place. However, according to wiki “The right to keep and bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution”. I get that the U.S. constitution is very important to very few/some/all Americans (I’m not too sure who cares about the constitution), but it can be amended! Because I don’t think things are going to get better without proper laws in place. And it’s a chain reaction- a shooting happens, so people get scared and buy guns to protect themselves. Before you know it, everyone has a gun, and you could do some very stupid things with it if you aren’t thinking rationally. Imagine how much the gun rate would decrease if laws were very strict. The media also feeds into people’s fear, which also plays a part in the unnecessary use of guns, but how do you feel safe knowing that the man sitting beside you on the subway may have a gun in his briefcase???? And he’s not some psycho, he’s just an atypical business man, but that’s what I have an issue with. This whole idea of weaponry has become normalised in the USA, at least that’s the impression I get. And I know what I’m saying might be a bit extreme, but still- I know I’m not American but it doesn’t seem very healthy for anyone to be carrying a gun. Also, if you think that guns would be useful for self-defence, I’m not too sure about that. According to Procon.org, “Of the 29,618,300 violent crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.79% of victims (235,700) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm, the least-employed protective behaviour”. Slightly out of date, but still relevant. If they are being used in anything other than self defence (but even in this case sometimes its not needed) then clearly its unnecessary. What are they used for then? Suicide, mass shootings etc.

I’m just trying to make a point. Everyone talks about how the millennial generation are going to be the one to implement change- so lets start now. Get rid of guns. If we don’t question things, then we are effectively being enablers to a dangerous situation will only get get worse. It probably won’t fix everything, but its definitely a start. Write a blog post, join a protest, or just actively voice your opinion face to face with people.

Hope you learnt something, and maybe, just maybe, it inspired you to do something. Or maybe you don’t care. Either way, hope you enjoyed reading. I promise I’ll try to be more regular.

Stay Fresh,

Minty xo

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