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Gun Control
Nowadays gun control is a big problem, even in Japan. The
former mayor of Nagasaki
was shot with a gun. Yakuza use guns. However, the history of gun in Japan is very
short. So today I’ll tell you about gun control in the United States.
We remember two cases in particular made the public deeply concerned about this
issue: the 1999 Columbine killings and the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16th, 2007..
It is said that every day in America nearly 30 people are
murdered. Most of these crimes are committed with illegal weapons. Then where
and when were guns bought --- and by whom? Unfortunately the statistics show
that one percent of dealers sell more than half of all illegal guns. What can be done to stop this kind of gun
violence?
Historically the American constitution gives the people have the
right to keep and bear arms. In 1994, a broad anticrime bill including a ban on
19 specific models of semi-automatic firearms and other guns with assault
weapon features was passed. However, that ban expired on September 13th
2004. Since then, gun rights groups had
been pressing Congress not to renew the ban, while gun control advocates had
responded with a massive public relations campaign encouraging voters to tell
their elected representatives that Congress should renew it. Ultimately, there
weren’t enough votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate to renew
the ban. Most Republicans in Congress opposed it, and Democrats representing rural
areas kept mum on the measures.
Why? Money.
If
lawmakers are guilty of tiptoeing around gun control issues, it is because the
National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups wield an enormous amount
of influence in Washington.
The source of that influence is money. since 1989, gun rights groups have given
more than $17 million in individual, PAC* and soft money contributions to
federal candidates and party committees. Nearly $15 million, or 85 percent of
the total, has gone to Republicans.
The National Rifle Association has an
additional advantage over all other groups taking part in this debate. As a
membership organization, the NRA can spend unlimited funds on communications to
its 4 million members that identify pro-gun candidates.
Gun control advocates, on the other hand, have contributed less
money to Democrats. The leading contributor among gun control advocates is the
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, formerly known as Handgun Control,
which has given $1.5 million over the past 15 years.
Here is my opinion.
As long as such associations exist, the goal of gun control in
American can’t be achieved. Even if general people urged the government to ban
guns, its efforts would prove useless. I can’t understand the attitudes of the National
Rifle Association. I think that in super- modern, advanced state that is America,
protecting yourself with guns is out of fashion and unnecessary.
People should believe in their national law
and in the police.
* PAC: Political Action Committee. An organization that tries to
influence politicians so that they support the group’s aims, for example,
voting a particular way. (Ｓａｔｏｍｉ Ｏｋａ）
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