Guns Don't Kill People; Apathy Kills People

By Tyrone L. Heppard

On July 19, I was watching the late night airing of AC360 on CNN at 4:25 a.m. when they cut out and flashed the ‘breaking news’ logo across the screen. Initially, I didn’t think much of it; these cable news channels love calling anything breaking news just to grab my attention for a few seconds.

    “Jesus, what’s going on now,” I thought to myself. Did a high-profile Wall Street guy turn himself in? Was Bashar al-Assad captured in Syria? Did Mitt Romney finally release his tax returns? That would be news that could make me smile.

    But when they showed live video a movie theatre in Aurora, CO, I knew that something was seriously wrong. It turned out that a 24-year old named James Eagan Holmes had shot up people at the Century 16 theater watching “The Dark Knight Rises”. I would later learn that 12 were killed and over 50 were injured; the youngest victim around 4-months old.

    Of course, this is a tragedy, and there’s no room for politics when something like this happens. Democrat or republican, everyone feels sickened and saddened when innocent people are killed for absolutely no reason. In addition, when events such as these take place, citizens and politicians; the elite and the working class alike are all compelled to offer their prayers and deepest condolences. Although, while everyone’s heart is in the right place, we all fail to recognize one thing: stuff like this happens all of the time.

    First there was Columbine in 1999. Then there was Virginia Tech in 2009. We can’t forget Tucson, AZ where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head last year. I’m from Binghamton, NY. You may or may not remember the American Civic Center shooting in 2009 where a Vietnamese immigrant opened fire killing 13 and wounding 14.

Image of the Columbine shooters

    On a personal level, when I was in high school, a close friend of mine, Dave, was killed in a gun-related incident. Add up all of these senseless acts of violence that have taken lives all over the country (most recently in Oak Creek, WI at a Sikh temple), and it seems our country has a problem that we just can’t ignore.

    So now you have the Aurora Massacre with the dubious honor of being the largest domestic genocide in American history – this year. What infuriates me more than someone being so reckless and downright diabolical, is the fact that we as Americans have refused to do anything about gun control in this country.

    Whenever something like this happens, we all go through the motions: the news covers it for about a week. People offer their prayers and condolences. Victim’s families are interviewed (most of the time they say they don’t understand how something like this can happen or that they didn’t see it coming). “Experts” tell us how we should feel, and we all shake our heads before we all go on about our business. But it’s painfully apparent that our ‘prayers and condolences’ aren’t enough to stop these kinds of violent acts in our country. The only people who can do anything proactive are our politicians; and they refuse to do anything. 

    As a liberal, I could point fingers at republicans and the NRA. I could rant about how their ‘lust for guns’ are the problem. However, despite allegations from Tea Partiers that Obama has a plan to take everyone’s guns away, democrats haven’t touched the issue. In fact, I don’t think they feel gun control is something worth spending time or money on.

    The fact of the matter is that no one has (to quote pro wrestler, Mick Foley) the ‘testicular fortitude’ to do anything about the obvious problem: it’s WAY too easy for ANYONE to get their hands on a firearm. I think it’s disgusting that the people charged with protecting the safety and interests of the country shy away from doing so either for a paycheck or to win an election.

    Politically speaking, democrats and republicans are equally at fault. And as an aspiring journalist, I don’t hesitate to say that the complacent attitude from the media isn’t helping either. As a citizen, I think it’s important – perhaps now more than ever – for us to at the very least discuss gun control in the US. It’s honestly that simple.

Crime scene photos after the Aurora massacre

     For example, look at our current laws. What about the fact that anyone one of us can walk into a gun shop and – so long as we don’t have a criminal record or a history of mental problems – we can walk out with a police-issued shotgun or assault rifle? I’m sure someone out there is yelling something like, “2nd Amendment rights, buddy!!” or, “Right to bear arms, guy!!” at their computer monitor right now. Alright, fine. Let’s take a look shall we? It states:

“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State. The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

    Okay, I see the part about the ‘right to bear arms,’ but I also see the bits about a ‘well-regulated’ militia and the ‘security of a free state’. As of 2007, federal law says you have to be 18 or older to buy long gun ammo, but you have to be 21 or older to buy handgun ammo. That’s regulation? REALLY? Also, I watch a lot of news, and I’m pretty sure your state isn’t being invaded by anyone right now. If it is, email me and tell me where you live; I think someone at the Pentagon should know about this.

    Please understand that I’m not hating on guns right now. I like guns just as much as the average guy in our country; “Lord of War” with Nicholas Cage rocked! However, just because I appreciate them doesn’t mean I NEED to own an AR-15 or a Remington or a Glock. Do YOU really need an M-16 to hunt? Do YOU really need a Mac-10 to protect your home? Perhaps in post-apocalyptic North America, but not in the United States in 2012; you know it and I know it.

    So go ahead, gun owners. Tell me it feels good to cock and fire a sniper rifle or that you love the sound of shell casings hitting the ground as you open fire on a shooting range. I won’t even argue when you say you have the right to do so. Just don’t tell me you NEED military-grade weapons outside of a war zone. When you say things like that, you sound delusional. Seriously. 

    Now, I’m no soldier, I’m no cop, and I’m no expert. I’m just some dude who’s VERY sick and tired of hearing about people losing their lives. Meanwhile, a majority of us sincerely believe we shouldn't discuss gun control because of one sentence in the Bill of Rights. Some of us don’t even think there’s a problem at all. Tell that to Dave or the 4-month-old girl in Colorado. Oh, wait….

    I’m not naïve. I know horrible people will find ways to do horrible things, and I don’t want anyone to take anything away from anyone else. I just figured that with all of the blood that’s been spilled, we’d be willing to give something up voluntarily or at least talk about a solution. How silly of me.