Should America prohibit the open carrying of firearms in public?
By Roger Caldwell
As America grapples with the murder of 9 Blacks in Charleston, SC, President Obama is sick and tired of the violence with guns in this country. In Chicago, during the 4th of July holiday, there were 14 citizens killed with guns and 82 injured with gunshots. Violence with guns is a pervasive sickness in our society, and firearms must be removed from the streets.
Americans think gun ownership is a right guaranteed by the second amendment, and nothing can ever change with firearms. But in 2015, there is a solution to gun violence, and it begins by making gun ownership heavily regulated and tightly controlled by the law. At the present time in America, there are 270 million guns legally in circulation and the number of illegal guns being used is off the charts.
“I’ve had to make statements like this too many times because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun. Now is the time for mourning and for healing. But let’s be clear; at some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries,” says President Obama.
In Japan and Switzerland there are .05 percent deaths by guns per 100,000 people and citizens and their families feel safe when they travel around the country. In the United States there are 5.0 percent per 100,000 deaths by guns and that number is increasing. The police admit at this point they cannot control the gun violence in the inner cities, and it is an epidemic.
Gangs and thugs control certain neighborhoods in the inner cities, and problems are resolved by killing. Everyone is carrying a gun and most of them are illegal. Guns are a way of life in the inner cities, and at any time you can be killed for flashing the wrong gang symbol.
With America’s fixation on guns, supporters think everyone in the country should own a gun and they should be taught to shoot at an early age. This kind of thinking is creating a battle ground in the streets, and vigilante groups are stock-piling weapons for a domestic war. Guns have become a public safety issue in certain communities, and the police have lost control.
In order for the police to win back the streets, gun ownership must be heavily registered and tightly controlled by the law. In China and Japan, private citizens are not allowed to possess guns and firearms, and penalties for arm trafficking is imprisonment for 14 years, and includes death. Guns can be used by law enforcement, the military and paramilitary, and security personnel protecting property of state importance, financial institutions, storage of resources, and scientific research institutions.
There are very few exceptions to these laws, and the citizens understand that public safety is the reason for these rules. It is time for America to catch up with other advanced countries of the world, and not let millions of American in public carry guns and firearms. Citizens, parents, children, seniors, and families should not have to worry if the person openly carrying a firearm in public is a good guy, or a nut.
It is time for the Second Amendment to be repealed or changed, to reflect the realities of today. There are 325 million Americans trying to live together in harmony and safe communities. All firearms and guns should be prohibited in public, and laws should be strictly enforced, and followed. Americans can stop gun violence and mass killings if we follow countries around the world where gun violence is not a problem.
