Should The US Enact Strong Gun Control Measures?    

In America, where the Constitution is a quasi-sacred document, things are not so simple. So if 200 years ago someone put in a few vague words about a “well-regulated militia” in the Second Amendment, that means that today, in 2021, one can easily buy an assault rifle, or even print a gun on a  home 3-D printer. Why? It’s in the Constitution.

So although mass shootings have sparked the gun control debate time and time again in recent years, it seems that nothing will change under the Biden administration either.

Gun rights activists often argue that it’s people who kill, not guns. A firearm can and should be used in self-defense by someone living far from a police station to protect himself against a home invasion in the middle of the night, for instance. But over the years Second Amendment supporters have failed to back even the most sensible limitations to the right to bear arms. You’re not going to need assault weapons or large capacity magazines (capable of firing 50 to 100 rounds without reloading) to ward off a home invader. Why not outlaw those and reduce mass-shooters’ lethality? Oh, right, you can’t do that — it’s in the Constitution.

For decades the United States has been caught up in a shallow and demagogic debate in which supporters of the Second Amendment, who are in the majority, see every minor restriction as a slippery slope that will lead to the government “coming for your guns” (another claim I’ve often heard). Meanwhile, people continue dying because of outdated 19th century gun laws.