Connecticut School Shooting- What does it Teach Us About Violence in Society

The Connecticut school shooting is the last straw for America. It’s very sad that such an incident is finally what woke Americans up to the violence in society and their need for change. The need for change regards the gun laws and regulations in the United States. I believe that is the key factor in the recent acts of violence. There have been too many incidents in the United States involving a person wielding an easily accessible firearm and causing such a gruesome event similar to this. In my opinion the gun regulations and laws in the United States as a whole is way to lenient, yes some states have stricter gun laws than others but overall the laws aren’t strict enough. In the states according to the second amendment all Americans have the Right to Bare Arms. This amendment dates back to 1791, at that point in time it was felt to be necessary for all Americans to be armed and prepared to defend their country; it was a country of minutemen. In this day and age it is completely unnecessary for every citizen to be armed to protect their country, the US has one of the worlds best militaries. The debate can be made that the 2^nd amendment applies to security of person and defending ones home. I do not oppose the idea of protecting ones home and family within reasonable limits. Hypothetically if an aggressive perpetrator was to invade someone’s place of living and in this place of living there was a family (a wife or husband, possibly children) I don’t see a problem with protecting ones family within reason from the opposing danger if the danger is immanent. What I take issue with is the feeling that it is necessary to own military grade weapons. There is absolutely no need for an m16 to be possessed by the general public. Here in Canada you take a 10-hour course for non-restricted (long guns-shotguns and rifles) and another course for restricted (handguns). These courses teaches you safe handling, safe storage and some history of guns; after passing the test at the end with at least an 80% your paper work gets sent to the firearms office of your province, your name and some paper work then goes to an RCMP office and you undergo a background check once approved and licensed you are allowed to fire arms that fit the category of course you took. In the states it is much simpler to obtain a fire arm for example in some states you can walk into a Wal-Mart and simply purchase a firearm or in some cases you can simply get a rifle just by opening an account at a bank as featured in the documentary Bowling for Columbine. In my opinion the Connecticut school shooting was likely preventable just as a lot of violence in society relating to firearms is. With safe and proper storage of firearms, proper handling, and the allowance of reasonable firearms (not military equivalent) violent acts in society with firearms are preventable not by adding more guns to the situation like some people believe should be done (by this I mean the idea of armed guards in school or arming teachers), but by creating stricter policies and abiding by them.