by Elijah Lutz, Opinion Editor
In the wake of the senseless shooting that took place in Parkland, Fla., this past month, the debate of cause has reared its ugly head once again. Many liberals have taken up their mantle against guns and the National Rifle Association, while many conservatives have argued that the issue is not guns, but people and their mental health. Yet, it is my opinion that whether the cause be a gun issue or a mental health issue, not nearly enough is being done to help fix it.
Starting with the debate on guns, I am someone in favor of the Second Amendment. The Constitution 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.” I do not believe that the restriction of gun sales will keep them out of the hands of bad people, nor am I of the opinion that a gun ban will address the issues of gun violence in this country.
Yet in modern times, the need for a well-regulated militia has been met by the Armed Forces of the United States, not the everyday citizens, and that said, I find a lot of issues with the ability of regular everyday people to buy assault rifles without any hindrance. The modern gun owner primarily uses their guns for hunting and self-defense. An assault rifle is not something that is necessary to have for either. Something that has the ability to fire multiple bullets at a high rate of speed isn’t a good tool for hunting or self-defense; it’s overkill.
If the problem is a gun issue, Congress has done nothing to address it, nor is it my opinion that they will address it. Let’s face it: gun control is a hot button issue to be used in elections. Candidates run for office using their NRA gun grades, either to support their candidacy or to attack their opponents. Every year, the NRA gives exuberant amounts of money to legislators and their campaigns to garner their support for the cause. As long as candidates can keep getting money and can keep using it as campaign fodder, I doubt that any meaningful actions will be taken.
However, as I mentioned before, many argue that it is not a gun issue, but a mental health issue. Take the Parkland shooting, for example: Nikolas Cruz has been described as “broken,” “evil” and with a history of violent tendencies that went unaddressed; it is safe to agree that he was indeed mentally ill. This is also a factor that comes in to play with other mass shooters, and the idea that ‘one must be mentally ill to do something such as a mass killing.’
Alright, let’s say that mental health is the issue. Even then, mental health is a growing issue that remains to be unaddressed by this nation. According to a study published in Clinical Psychological Science, U.S. teens showing classic signs of depression jumped 33 percent between 2010 and 2015. More and more children and youth in the United States are developing identifiable mental health issues, but people are still unwilling to act. Many older generations feel as if a young person’s mental health issues are just “ways to get attention” or “excuses to not do anything” and, ironically, then do nothing to help the young people. As in the case of mentally disturbed people, such as Cruz, even if the issue is identified by several people, it still may go unaddressed by the necessary authorities. Further, the access of necessary treatment resources are still far too difficult or even expensive, and the funding given to the research of mental health issues is not nearly where it should be.
So, either way, not enough is being done, and we can do more. The United States has the full capacity to identify the issues at hand, and take appropriate actions to fix them. Yet whether or not we do anything is up for debate. I for one do not wish to see the same cycle continue to haunt us.
