In class we have been discussing the natural rights versus civil rights, and victim Alison Parker’s father explains how there should “sensible gun control legislation.” In class we looked through the Declaration of Independence and The Bill of Rights and somewhat came to the conclusion that we all have natural rights and civil rights that cannot be broken. Andy Parker however, believes that these natural and civil rights that we have been given should be strengthened and stricter. We have the right to bear arms, but Parker wants these rights to be tougher to uphold. I can’t help though, but to agree with his point. Even though I know that we all have rights and we can bear arms, we see these tragic incidents and shootings and nothing is ever done. We have the right to bear arms, but shouldn’t there be some sort of limit? That again takes us back to civil rights and natural rights. How can you limit rights to one person and not another? Rights are given to all humans, or “we the people,” they aren’t only given to the ones who the government sees fit. It’s a difficult situation and begs the question of whether or not we can have restrictions on our own rights.
The article also displayed a video about how Flanagan sent a 23 page suicide note to ABC news just two hours after the shooting. He said in his suicide note, that there were some comments made at the station that felt racist. One includes, “Where’s should I swing by for lunch?” Despite this phrase not displaying any racial remarks, Flanagan still interpreted it that way. While we haven’t discussed race in class, we have touched on equality. This incident created a situation in which the “race card” was used. This can undermine real racist situations because non-racist and non-derogatory remarks are made out to be racist. While I’m aware that racism is still prominent in our country, especially since the election of our first black President, I still believe many of the racist events that are popular in the media lack substance. Most of the media related racism is not the worst racism our country sees.
With both the equality and civil rights aspect, I thought this article would be perfect to discuss with classmates as it relates to most everything we are learning about now. Should we have stricter gun laws? Should mental illness be a more prominent factor in gun distribution? Was race a factor in the shooting? How and why have our racial tensions increased?
The right to bare arms always pops up when when gun control starts to get out of hand. Like Parker said in the last few paragraphs, when is it going to actually stop? After so many events, especially Sandy Hook which touched the lives of many Americans who have young kids going to school, never would think that one day their child won't be home for supper. I don't think banning guns is necessarily the right thing to do but some regulation needs to occur. Background checks need to be issues more often and actually taken seriously. How many more events like these have to happen in order for some change to occur? I don't think that this shooting had anything to do with race.
ReplyDeleteWhenever a tragic event happens involving a shooting, the topic of gun control always comes into the news. We are given the right to bear arms, but this right needs to be stricter. There needs to be stricter background checks when it comes to purchasing guns. People purchasing guns should be checked to see if they are mentally stable. I am tired of hearing of these shooters going to court and pleading that they are mentally ill. If you are not in the right state mentally, you should not be able to obtain a gun. In this situation, I do not believe that race was involved. Overall, I believe that this instance is another example of why the right to bear arms needs to be enhanced. It will better protect our country and hopefully eliminate tragic shootings like this one.
ReplyDeleteThe father of the reporter said something that I found very interesting. He said that people look at a tragedy like this, and other similar ones in the news, and talk about how awful it is but never take actions. The greatest human right anybody has is their right to their life. When this is taking away by something so horrific and public, change must occur. I agree that there must be a change to the civil law of the right to bear arms. There has to be a restriction to prevent these shootings to happen. It is not right that a person in this country has to fear walking down the street now because of these constant reminders of swift, unexpected violence.
ReplyDeleteWhen does a person challenge a civil right? Only when a human right is affected. There must be a change to this policy for the better of our society.
The issue of gun control is coming up more and more in society these past few years and after reading this post along with many other articles and watching the news story it's hard to argue with some of the ideas of stronger gun control. I feel as though it can go both ways. Many believe with stricter gun control, there will be less violence when in fact that most likely won't be the case. Other's believe that it's not the gun thats the issue, it's the person. I've seen a metaphor relating to gun control and it talks about a kid failing his test and him blaming it on his pencil as if the pencil failed the test as a gun would kill a person. In reality the real issue is the person behind the weapon. I agree there should be certain restrictions for the purchase of guns but people have to remember that just because there would be more restrictions on gun control, this won't solve the issues of the crazies. If someone is not mentally stable and they want to kill someone, there isn't going to be much that will stop them from somehow getting their hands on a gun whether there are stricter laws put in place or not.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the many horrific events that has happened in the U.S. regarding gun control. People should have the ability and right to protect themselves. To me, that is what "The Right to Bear Arms" means. But these sick people that twist their right and law to commit horrific crimes should be punished; harshly. Beacause people like this take their right to bear arms and twist it, there should be stricter gun control. People should be evaluated in a variety of ways, so that no one background check is the same. Mental illness should be a HUGE factor to consider. I'm not making fun of them or discriminating against them when I say that when they are angry or upset, sometimes they do not know how to handle themselves and can lash out; very violently. Since they are mentaly disabled, being extremely violent is the only way they know how to express themself. Race was not a factor in this shooting. People always jump to the conclusion about race and equality when they do not want to get to the real issue at hand. In this case it is stricter gun control. Racial tensions have increased because hearing about an incident people are quick to judge to see if it's a white vs a black man. That's how the media portrays it, white (cop usually) vs black (teen/male). It's sad to think that our country has come to this.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that race was a factor in the shooting and I think too many people now jump to the conclusion that race must be at the root of every issue. Going back to the issue of whether or not there should be stricter gun laws, goes back to the rights that we are guaranteed to all people in the second amendment. If there are restrictions such as background checks that regulate who can or cannot have guns, does that not violate the second amendment? Also another thing to consider when making new laws and regulations is that are those committing crimes and shootings following the law? Those already going to commit a crime are not going to follow stricter laws and gun regulations. That being said, something should be done to curtail the tragedies our country seems to be plagued with while maintaining our constitutional rights.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that race was a factor in the shooting and I think too many people now jump to the conclusion that race must be at the root of every issue. Going back to the issue of whether or not there should be stricter gun laws, goes back to the rights that we are guaranteed to all people in the second amendment. If there are restrictions such as background checks that regulate who can or cannot have guns, does that not violate the second amendment? Also another thing to consider when making new laws and regulations is that are those committing crimes and shootings following the law? Those already going to commit a crime are not going to follow stricter laws and gun regulations. That being said, something should be done to curtail the tragedies our country seems to be plagued with while maintaining our constitutional rights.
ReplyDeleteThe Second Amendment, which is the right to bear arms, was created to allow citizens to have the liberty to own guns to protect themselves when people are illegally taking their civil liberties. People are abusing that right, too many people are using their second amendment right to but guns and are using them for a terrible reason. This calls for a reform, it is the government's job to protect its citizens and the only way that they can do this is to impose stricter guns laws. I believe that part of these laws should be a stricter background check which includes a psych test to prove that people buying guns are of sound mind. Also, I hate the fact that every time something like this happens, the first thing that the media says is that this was racial violence or racial discrimination. I believe that the media is making race relations worse rather than trying to fix the problem. Finally, these tragedies need to come to an end and the only way I see that happening is with change.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that having the right to own guns is the origin of the conflict. I think this because in Mexico, people don't have the right to own weapons, unless they have a hunting license and buy regulated guns. Even if they don't have the right to own weapons, tragedies like this occur anyways. What I understand from the Second Amendment gives them the right to own guns in order to protect their civil liberties. If this amendment is not going to change, then the government should work harder and implement stricter laws. The act of violence was going to happen anyways, but it happened to be that the one who committed the act possessed a lethal weapon. If it wasn't that easy to get a weapon, maybe the act of violence would have still occurred, but without the use of fire weapons and the outcome less tragic.
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