In this May 23, 2018, photo, Seattle Police Crisis Response Team Sgt. Eric Pisconski displays guns seized from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. Mass shootings keep happening; JayMac argues that knee-jerk reactions aren't the way to stop them. (Greg Gilbert/The Seattle Times via AP)
How do we stop mass shootings from happening over and over again?
Mass shootings have almost become the norm in America. This weekend, 12 people were killed in Virginia Beach after a disgruntled former city employee opened fire in his workplace.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, has an idea to fix the problem after Friday’s shooting. On Monday, he called the Virginia General Assembly into a special session to pass more gun laws, including a bill to ban silencers, which was used in the shooting.
I don’t think this is the right answer, though. Silencers in real life are not like silencers in the movies. A gun with a silencer is very easy to hear. For example, West Valley City company SilencerCo’s product brings the sound of a shotgun down to 150 decibels, which is still as loud as a jet engine at takeoff.
Other politicians called for limits on high capacity magazines. This seems like a reasonable idea, but would it actually save many lives? Switching out a magazine is a very quick motion and doesn’t slow down a potential criminal by much.
Even if these laws existed, the Virginia Beach shooting would still have happened.
Whenever a tragedy like this happens, we need to seek to take away the rights of the abuser, not the abused. When we approach issues like gun legislation, we cannot forget the second amendment and rights of those who aren’t committing crimes.
I support red flag laws, which temporarily keep guns away from those who could misuse them. This allows the innocent to keep their rights while keeping guns away from those who shouldn’t have them.
Some argue that we need to try anything to get a handle on shootings. I disagree. We don’t have to aimlessly pass laws that won’t make a difference. We have to take time to seek out and debate gun legislation. This is the only way that we can punish those who commit a crime while protecting the innocent.