Registration Should not Be a Blanket!

Media in America rushes to the scene of violent acts and reports to viewers all the information they can, whether fact or not. Once it is determined a firearm was used, everyone on both sides of America’s gun debate start adding their two cents. Before all the facts are known, questions begin to be answered. Those questions are usually the same. Who did this? Why did they do this? How did they get the gun? What should we (America) do?

What typically follows is a mixture of emotions and political agendas intended on ensuring “this never happens again”. Many times over, the wrong decision is made in haste. The United States lawmakers begin campaigns fueled is some way by emotion, personal agenda or maybe job security. Amy Hetzner recommends, "lawmakers also need to evaluate the effectiveness of legislation passed in the emotion of a moment", which is supported by the tragedies in society that prompt sharp gun control debate.

After the repulsive tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut, new gun laws were rapidly passed. Many citizens and parents were still grieving over the murder of twenty children, six teachers and the killer’s mother on December 14, 2012. The murderer used firearms capable of what many people feel as using high capacity magazines. The media and politicians threw terms out on the American people such as assault weapons, expanded background checks, background check loopholes and high capacity magazines. (Krouse). One of the solutions Connecticut has resorted to is the registration of certain firearms and high capacity magazines. What needs to be understood is gun registration does little to prevent mass shootings.

This spurs a common argument against gun registration. Criminals won’t re...

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While gun control and gun rights invoke different emotions and opinions, everyone should agree on laws that protect American’s lives and freedoms. Plenty of research still needs to be done to understand many aspects of gun violence. Gun laws should be constructed on evidences found through sound research. Analysis of such tragedies as the one discussed having taken place in Tuscan Arizona. Seeing that whether or not the forearms used in these tragedies were registered would not have prevented them. Proper information entered into databases may ensure background checks only authorized citizens under current laws to possess a firearm. On the other side of the debate, great carefulness should be used to ensure ineffective gun laws, such as gun registration, are not passed based solely on opinion but on whether they could actually make a difference.