Guns Have More Rights Than My Vagina
There are many people in this world that have latched onto the idea that mental illness, not guns, are to blame for the gun violence. Labeling mental illness as the cause of gun violence oversimplifies a complex problem. When dealing with violence, we want to quickly and easily understand who’s to blame, so pointing a finger at the mentally ill makes that “easy.”
It’s pretty ironic to me that we, as a nation that largely ignores, delegitimizes and under-funds mental illness, suddenly draw it into the spotlight when it’s time to blame someone other than ourselves and our outdated laws. Putting the spotlight on the mental health system and implementing laws that would red flag “potential threats” is arguably a step forward to prevent violence against people of all ages, but it’s a drop in the bucket in my opinion. It really turns our attention away from the real problem, which is gun accessibility.
My family has always been a family of hunters. There was always deer meat, squirrel meat, or fish in the freezer at any given time of the year. Growing up, I was always surrounded by guns. My step father had a small room in the house that was full of guns. He spent time engraving quarters into them to make them more unique. But there was a reason why there were never any accidents involving guns in my house and that is because my parents kept everything away and locked up. See, locked up. AWAY.
The bottom line that I am making here is, whether someone has a mental illness diagnosis or if they are angry, vengeful, or have a history of emotional instability, why not make it challenging for any person to purchase a deadly weapon? As we have seen in the recent news that anyone can “snap” and take their frustrations out on others. And, if the AR-15 and other assault rifles were not available easily available to purchase, lives would naturally be saved.
Even if all potential mass shooters did get psychiatric care, there is no reliable cure for angry people who harbor violent fantasies. While it is true that many shootings are carried out by individuals with some form of mental illness, most mentally ill, like most people in general, never commit a violent crime. We live in a world where you need a prescription to get a 30 day supply of Prozac, but buying 600 rounds of ammo is easy. Guns have more rights than my vagina and I think it is time to figure some shit out, America.
In conclusion to todays blog rant of mine, do I think that people with mental illnesses are the only cause for gun violence? No. Do I want the government to take away your right to bear arms? No. Do I think there should be a more drawn out and protective process to have access to guns? Absolutely. Americans have the right to bear arms, but children should also have the right to become adults. It is time to put common sense into gun laws.
It’s pretty ironic to me that we, as a nation that largely ignores, delegitimizes and under-funds mental illness, suddenly draw it into the spotlight when it’s time to blame someone other than ourselves and our outdated laws. Putting the spotlight on the mental health system and implementing laws that would red flag “potential threats” is arguably a step forward to prevent violence against people of all ages, but it’s a drop in the bucket in my opinion. It really turns our attention away from the real problem, which is gun accessibility.
My family has always been a family of hunters. There was always deer meat, squirrel meat, or fish in the freezer at any given time of the year. Growing up, I was always surrounded by guns. My step father had a small room in the house that was full of guns. He spent time engraving quarters into them to make them more unique. But there was a reason why there were never any accidents involving guns in my house and that is because my parents kept everything away and locked up. See, locked up. AWAY.
The bottom line that I am making here is, whether someone has a mental illness diagnosis or if they are angry, vengeful, or have a history of emotional instability, why not make it challenging for any person to purchase a deadly weapon? As we have seen in the recent news that anyone can “snap” and take their frustrations out on others. And, if the AR-15 and other assault rifles were not available easily available to purchase, lives would naturally be saved.
Even if all potential mass shooters did get psychiatric care, there is no reliable cure for angry people who harbor violent fantasies. While it is true that many shootings are carried out by individuals with some form of mental illness, most mentally ill, like most people in general, never commit a violent crime. We live in a world where you need a prescription to get a 30 day supply of Prozac, but buying 600 rounds of ammo is easy. Guns have more rights than my vagina and I think it is time to figure some shit out, America.
In conclusion to todays blog rant of mine, do I think that people with mental illnesses are the only cause for gun violence? No. Do I want the government to take away your right to bear arms? No. Do I think there should be a more drawn out and protective process to have access to guns? Absolutely. Americans have the right to bear arms, but children should also have the right to become adults. It is time to put common sense into gun laws.
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