Gun control won't work. This is my opinion only, of course, but that is how I feel. When horrific things happen like they did in Charleston and too many American cities before, that is what people yell for, gun control.
It's never going to happen. If it was guaranteed that making guns or certain types of guns illegal in this country would decrease violent crime and murder by 75% or more, the US government would have made that happen a long time ago.
2nd amendment! you cry. OK, sure. Well, it is 2015 and it is the 14th amendment that has finally granted the LGBT population to marry legally in this country. I don't know how long that amendment has been on the books and I'm not going to pretend I do. What I do know is that in my 34.5 years on this earth, the amendments have been thrown out in favor of or in disfavor of shit the entire time. But if we could cut violent crime in a major way by violating one amendment, the US government would have done it.
Our government is not stupid. No one, including me, is going to agree with every decision and there are certain things that our government and governments around the world will be responsible for that are horrible (war, poverty, hunger) but I firmly believe there is no chance the US would not have outlawed guns if they knew that would solve our murder/crime issue.
Do you know when people call for gun control? When some white person takes a gun that was either legally acquired by that person or was taken from the house where that person lived (i.e. they took a gun that was legally acquired by someone else). We don't scream for gun control every day of the week when people of all races shoot each other and kill one another. Google gun death in America and check the results.
Guns aren't, actually, the problem. Nor are people, not in the "outlaw guns and only outlaws will have them" sense.
Let's consider the bulk of people who get involved in long term criminal activity. OK, before we proceed, here is my disclaimer: people of all colors can come from horrible, shitty, impoverished circumstances and make a better life. People of all colors come from wealthy, privileged circumstances and do shitty things. The element I am speaking of is that element that is raised in poverty with no hope.
We all have hope, Simply! We all have a chance because of education and whatever else you want to throw at me. That is sort of true. You can come from a shitty home and have great teachers but if you don't have anyone at home to help and encourage you, it can be difficult.
That is part of the reason gun control will never happen in this country. The "criminal element" is mostly made up of people who have a choice of either crime, which will bring a great paycheck or non-crime which will bring shit. Children who grow up in poverty with families who grew up in poverty and either don't care or don't know how to support and encourage education are the ones that fall through the cracks. That is why it kills me that this country doesn't want to fund education more. "My kids are out of school." "I don't have kids". Bitch, who do you think will be the doctor taking care of your old ass when you are dying?
The reason gun control will never actually happen is because no one wants to focus on the real reasons. We need to have more money towards public education, not just so that we have decent teachers, but so that we can programs for after school. It is not a child's fault that his/her mother/father isn't a great, encouraging parent. No child is responsible for having an absent or negligent parent. Yet, as a society, we expect those children to take care of themselves and make the right choices and get what they need in order to be contributing members of society.
That isn't fair. You tell me, right now, that a child from the age of 5 or 6 is responsible for his/her education and all that goes with it. That is bullshit. Children do not ask to be born and it is not any boy or girl's fault that some asshole had him/her and figured that was their end of responsibility. An adult who decides to live by riding the welfare system and teaches their child to do so is the one to be angry with.
But tax payers don't want to hear that. They don't want to hear or understand that in order to bring violence down in this country, we need to bring opportunities up and that means money. We need to pump more money into PUBLIC schools and PUBLIC programs, those free programs for all kids so that they get not only an education but mentors who help them understand that no matter where they come from, they write their own stories and can be so much more. We need safe places for kids to go to where they can live and learn and just be humans. That sounds ridiculous but let's face it, even in this country, there are children who are not given any chance.
If we start there, if we start by providing education and other opportunities to kids, those kids will have actual, viable alternatives to crime. Where do you think a lot of kids learn this shit? They see older kids doing whatever on the street and they get taught. Remember those kids who would sell Now n Later or whatever at school? A lot of them were being groomed to sell drugs. Because the people they had to look up to were drug dealers.
If we had programs to help kids from every walk of life learn and improve, to help them out and find the right path (liberal art's degree, business science degree, trade school, etc) we would do a lot towards bringing down gun violence because we would be giving our children another choice.
But Americans don't want to pay for it and no politician is going to suggest raising taxes. I don't have an answer for that beyond this: I believe Senators and Congressmen make at least $200,000 a year. I make $50,000. Let's cut their salaries to match mine and start with that for this fund.
It's never going to happen. If it was guaranteed that making guns or certain types of guns illegal in this country would decrease violent crime and murder by 75% or more, the US government would have made that happen a long time ago.
2nd amendment! you cry. OK, sure. Well, it is 2015 and it is the 14th amendment that has finally granted the LGBT population to marry legally in this country. I don't know how long that amendment has been on the books and I'm not going to pretend I do. What I do know is that in my 34.5 years on this earth, the amendments have been thrown out in favor of or in disfavor of shit the entire time. But if we could cut violent crime in a major way by violating one amendment, the US government would have done it.
Our government is not stupid. No one, including me, is going to agree with every decision and there are certain things that our government and governments around the world will be responsible for that are horrible (war, poverty, hunger) but I firmly believe there is no chance the US would not have outlawed guns if they knew that would solve our murder/crime issue.
Do you know when people call for gun control? When some white person takes a gun that was either legally acquired by that person or was taken from the house where that person lived (i.e. they took a gun that was legally acquired by someone else). We don't scream for gun control every day of the week when people of all races shoot each other and kill one another. Google gun death in America and check the results.
Guns aren't, actually, the problem. Nor are people, not in the "outlaw guns and only outlaws will have them" sense.
Let's consider the bulk of people who get involved in long term criminal activity. OK, before we proceed, here is my disclaimer: people of all colors can come from horrible, shitty, impoverished circumstances and make a better life. People of all colors come from wealthy, privileged circumstances and do shitty things. The element I am speaking of is that element that is raised in poverty with no hope.
We all have hope, Simply! We all have a chance because of education and whatever else you want to throw at me. That is sort of true. You can come from a shitty home and have great teachers but if you don't have anyone at home to help and encourage you, it can be difficult.
That is part of the reason gun control will never happen in this country. The "criminal element" is mostly made up of people who have a choice of either crime, which will bring a great paycheck or non-crime which will bring shit. Children who grow up in poverty with families who grew up in poverty and either don't care or don't know how to support and encourage education are the ones that fall through the cracks. That is why it kills me that this country doesn't want to fund education more. "My kids are out of school." "I don't have kids". Bitch, who do you think will be the doctor taking care of your old ass when you are dying?
The reason gun control will never actually happen is because no one wants to focus on the real reasons. We need to have more money towards public education, not just so that we have decent teachers, but so that we can programs for after school. It is not a child's fault that his/her mother/father isn't a great, encouraging parent. No child is responsible for having an absent or negligent parent. Yet, as a society, we expect those children to take care of themselves and make the right choices and get what they need in order to be contributing members of society.
That isn't fair. You tell me, right now, that a child from the age of 5 or 6 is responsible for his/her education and all that goes with it. That is bullshit. Children do not ask to be born and it is not any boy or girl's fault that some asshole had him/her and figured that was their end of responsibility. An adult who decides to live by riding the welfare system and teaches their child to do so is the one to be angry with.
But tax payers don't want to hear that. They don't want to hear or understand that in order to bring violence down in this country, we need to bring opportunities up and that means money. We need to pump more money into PUBLIC schools and PUBLIC programs, those free programs for all kids so that they get not only an education but mentors who help them understand that no matter where they come from, they write their own stories and can be so much more. We need safe places for kids to go to where they can live and learn and just be humans. That sounds ridiculous but let's face it, even in this country, there are children who are not given any chance.
If we start there, if we start by providing education and other opportunities to kids, those kids will have actual, viable alternatives to crime. Where do you think a lot of kids learn this shit? They see older kids doing whatever on the street and they get taught. Remember those kids who would sell Now n Later or whatever at school? A lot of them were being groomed to sell drugs. Because the people they had to look up to were drug dealers.
If we had programs to help kids from every walk of life learn and improve, to help them out and find the right path (liberal art's degree, business science degree, trade school, etc) we would do a lot towards bringing down gun violence because we would be giving our children another choice.
But Americans don't want to pay for it and no politician is going to suggest raising taxes. I don't have an answer for that beyond this: I believe Senators and Congressmen make at least $200,000 a year. I make $50,000. Let's cut their salaries to match mine and start with that for this fund.
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