With the outbreak of mass killings during the past year, many legislators across the country are turning to gun control as a solution to the violence epidemic.
According to a news report by The Town Talk, Louisiana’s Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu was among those who voted April 9 to move forward with a proposal to implement more extensive background checks for gun sales. The bill has earned considerable opposition in Louisiana since its introduction to congress. Sen. David Vitter voted against the measure, fearing a universal gun registry would later develop.
On April 8, a pro-gun rally was held on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol in defense of the Second Amendment. According to a press release, Tuesday, May 7 the Louisiana senate passed a bill that will prohibit Louisiana from enforcing any federal restrictions on semi-automatic weapons. The bill was approved by a 4-1 vote.
Despite such strong statewide opposition of stricter gun control laws, professors and students pointed out the potential consequences that could result from allowing unrestricted access to firearms. Sociology professor Rebecca Hensley believes that the Second Amendment is outdated and no longer a necessity in modern society.
“We were living in an era back in the 1700s and early 1800s where we really were on our own,” said Hensley. “We really needed a rifle. Now, we’ve been so used to that, that we don’t realize that the rest of the world has left us behind in that sense.”
Mason Castello, a freshman nursing major and gun owner, believes that more extensive background checks should be implemented when allowing citizens to purchase weapons. Castello owns a Bushmaster .223 semi-automatic rifle, the same model used by Adam Lanza in the Newtown, Connecticut shooting.
“I don’t believe that [guns] should be banned all the way, but gun control definitely needs to be strengthened,” said Castello. “I think that a background check should be applied to anyone who tries to buy a weapon. It doesn’t matter what kind of weapon. Any criminal record or any type of mental problems that could affect the person using the gun, they shouldn’t be allowed to buy.”
When asked about the consequences that resulted when a rifle of the same model as his own fell into the hands of Lanza, Castello said, “Lanza was never qualified to own a gun like that. He couldn’t be trusted with a pellet gun. Guns don’t kill people. They don’t organize massive killings. It’s the idiots that are allowed to purchase guns that do that.”
Professor of history Samuel Hyde agreed that some restrictions on access to guns should apply, but that completely eliminating guns from the market and confiscating guns from current owners would be unconstitutional.
“When you’re talking handguns, especially small handguns that can be concealed in pockets and things like that, they’re really only good for one thing: killing and shooting people,” said Hyde. “They’re the ones that we see most often used in crime. I certainly don’t want to see people that have guns have them confiscated, but I don’t know if it’s not a bad idea to be limiting how many people are getting their hands on assault rifles.”
Hyde said that many politicians propose stricter gun control laws and background checks, but have no concrete plan on how those should be implemented. Hyde stated that it is necessary that politicians have a rational discussion about how to establish enforceable gun control laws.
“It’s going to be hard to evaluate people and say ‘This person is mentally competent to own a gun. This person is not,'” said Hyde.
Hensley pointed out that laws made under a Democratic government are idealistically meant to preserve the “common good,” and that this concept should not be forgotten when deciding whether or not to enforce stricter gun control laws.
“If they want to have AK-47s, they’re going to have to convince the American public that that is in the common good,” said Hensley. “If they can do that, then that’s the way a Democracy works. If they can convince the population of this country that it’s in their common good, that the mass population is going to be best served by having people walk around with weapons that can kill twenty-five or thirty people without reloading, then they are going to have to live with that.”