I’ve heard some comments recently about gun control. It seems that there are some who believe that a government gun confiscation or “buy back” as it’s affectionately called, like they’ve done in Australia, would be effective in stopping the mass shootings.
Well, let’s review some comparisons, shall we: First of all, it hasn’t stopped the mass gun violence because there was a mass shooting in New Zealand last year. Let’s see, how many gun manufacturers are there in Australia? Very few. Next thing is that there is no immigration in Australia, period. Immigrants have no legal status, can’t own land, and no permanent visas are issued. Australia was founded and built by Convicts, not Puritans.
America, on the other hand, has an immigration policy that accepts about a million a year. Unlike Australia, The U.S. is a country with an enormous manufacturing sector in our economy. There are at least fifteen major weapons manufacturers that provide for the military and law enforcement of every kind, not only for America, but around the world. If China were to invade Australia, who do you think they would call upon for military aid first? Unfortunately, because so many firearms are produced here, some are bound to “leak” out into the wrong hands.
Now, let’s get down to basics. Like it or not, this country was founded by a bunch of religious fanatics. That is a good thing, however, because those religious fanatics wanted to be free from the Socialist tyranny and religious persecution in Europe, Great Britain in particular at first. In doing so, they had the wisdom and fortitude to create The Constitution and The Bill of Rights, which they hoped would forever secure the freedoms they so desperately wanted. The question was put to Chinese leader – “Would China would ever try to invade The U.S? He replied, “Never, because everyone there owns a gun, and door to door combat is not logistically possible.” The point is that the benefits of The Second Amendment far outweigh even these tragic events. Taking or “buying back” guns from honest responsible American citizens won’t solve anything.
The problem lies with verification, and Social Media’s ability to monitor content without totally trampling on The First Amendment rights of its users. When individuals threaten public safety, I believe they inevitably forfeit some of those rights. Just as we the public are asked if we see something, say something, the same should be applied to Facebook, Google, and any other social media platform. These companies are monitoring content anyhow for advertising and other information. Most, if not all these mass shootings are prefaced by some kind of “on line” rant. It’s time these social media companies stop hiding behind The First Amendment and expose these maniacs before the commit carnage on society.