Stop Using The Second Amendment To Justify Childrens' Deaths

America's gun statistics are simply ridiculous. When compared to other nations, our gun death rate is higher than all but 7 or 8 nations and is the highest of any developed nation. This includes all gun-related deaths, from homicide and suicide to self-defense and accidents. Because America has by far the largest population of any of the top ten nations, we also have by far the most gun deaths.

The most startling statistic is the frequency of school shootings: the United States has 57 times as many school shootings as the other G7 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the UK) put together. In the past decade, hundreds of children have been killed at school, making the job of student more deadly than that of active-duty soldier.

The same party that doesn't allow women to get abortions (while simultaneously touting individual liberty) doesn't seem to care about children dying in school shootings, because expressing such concern would be a slight inconvenience. They also tout the Constitution while ignoring that it is a 230-year-old document that counted slaves as 3/5 of a person and only allowed white men with property to vote. We the people only came to include blacks, Native Americans, women, and other oppressed groups through the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, and other amendments, and, as the passage and repeal of Prohibition reveals, the language of one amendment can be repealed by another.

The second amendment was passed when America was a barely-developed nation with no unifying roads or canals, a minute standing military, and a capital that gave the entire government an outbreak of cholera every year. The proponents of strict Constitutional interpretation conveniently ignore that the primary purpose of the amendment was explicitly stated to be a "well-organized militia" in an era in which the only military defense was the average citizen and his musket. In the War of 1812, future presidents James Buchanan and John Tyler joined the National Guard and the British were able to burn the White House.

Another blatant reality is that the advancement made in weaponry has been more than that of just about every other field. The Democratic Party is in no way against owning weapons for self-defense, and I plan on owning a handgun myself someday. However, the only purpose of assault rifles is the mass murder of human beings, and no citizen need own one. Nobody has ever used an assault rifle in self-defense because the idea of being able to carry one around is simply absurd.

     Other nations have successfully balanced gun control with individual liberty and in the process have saved countless thousands of lives. America, despite being the sore spot of the lot, refusing to learn from others and protect the children and, quite literally, the future.