In light of the shooting at Northern Illinois University yesterday afternoon, you have to wonder... where is the issue of gun control in the 2008 election? If an unstable 27-year-old can walk into a store and purchase two handguns on the same day, and then six days later burst into a lecture hall killing 5 students and himself... why aren't the candidates talking about gun control laws?
The issue is nonexistent on both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's list of issues. Apparently, the issue is either not important or too uncomfortable for the Democrats to talk about. According to CNN.com, both support limiting the sales of handguns to one per month among other gun control laws. Is gun control such a taboo topic that even after a gunman shoots 21 people in a lecture hall, the candidates are still too afraid to tackle the issue?
Senator John McCain opposes gun control legislation, but at least he's talking about the issue. Mike Huckabee also addresses the issue on his site, saying how he supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. The problem on the Republican side is that, as we've seen in the NIU shooting, even law-abiding citizens can be dangerous with a gun in their possession.
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A place for the Butler community to share opinions and ideas about current topics.
Welcome to the Dawgnet Opinion Blog
This blog is designed for the Butler community to share opinions, ideas and thoughts about current topics. This semester we will focus our discussions on the 2008 election process, but other current debates will no doubt find their way into this blog. Feel free to make comments, suggestions, observations or anything else that comes to mind.
2 comments:
I just don't think gun control can prevent something like Virginia Tech or NIU from happening. Just because you can't legally buy a gun doesn't mean that you can't find one to use. Look at underage drinking and smoking, both practices are illegal but most of us have found ways around the barriers.
I agree with that. I mean I'm not saying it could completely prevent it, but I think the laws governing gun control are not strict enough to make a difference. The framers of the Constitution put the Second Amendment in there so that people could protect themselves from a tyrannical government, not so we could all have the right to buy guns and shoot each other. Guns are no longer a protection measure. They're used to frighten and harm others, and that is not why the right to bear arms is protected by the Constitution.
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