The Middle Way
In Buddhism, the term “Middle Way” refers to the Buddha’s “…conclusion that an individual who seeks enlightenment in his pursuit of Nirvana needs to avoid both- sensual self-indulgence as well as self-mortification.”* This idea of living one’s life in the middle (and not the extremes) might be good advice for the US regarding mass shootings/gun control. Maybe we could gain some ground by leaving the partisan politics at the door and working together on an answer for this issue?
What are some ideas about how republicans and democrats can work together in reducing mass shootings? Put another way, is there a middle ground we can pursue to help reduce mass shootings?
*https://www.zen-buddhism.net/buddhist-principles/middle-way.html
I saw a devastating news online saying 17 students and faculty members were killed in school shooting incident in Florida. It made me and all the citizens on U.S think about gun safety issue once again. It is a sensitive issue. Those laws should be fair for responsible gun owners and at the same time, it should be able to prevent those who have chance of hurting innocent people from having guns in their possession. Excessive gun control will definitely decrease the number of mass shooting, but those who have been responsible and lawful owner of gun will suffer great losses. In my opinion, the fact that majority of the people who committed mass shooting has mental problem, should be considered importantly. At the stage of purchasing the gun, the proof saying that this person is free from any mental disease that has a likelihood of hurting anyone should be required. It may look like an inconvenient rule to some, but there has to be a middle ground where everyone has to agree, or else, tragic incidents will reoccur and make more victims.
The recent Florida mass shooting has sparked a lot of thoughts. I personally think if it was harder for people to access guns that may help. Although it is very easy to buy guns off the street, it should not be that easy to get a M-16. There are no real ways to actually help it if there are no gun laws in place. You can order weapons online and have to show no verification of age at all or if you have any mental illness. Since every time a school shooting happen they claim the person has a mental illness there should be a check on that. Also the FBI should be tracking when and who are purchasing weapons and take tips more serious. Also investigate into the “kids” who are “playing” like they are going to harm someone because they might actually do so.
The student’s affected by the mass shooting are doing an incredible job at advocating for gun control. I think the term gun control has a very negative connotation- many thing that the purpose of gun control is to take away all the guns, but its not. I think the best solution is to meet in the middle, we need to let people legally obtain a gun if they choose but we need to enact stricter requirements. We need to do better back ground checks- including social media profiles-, mental health screenings, and set age restrictions. Since many of the recent mass shootings have been done with an AR 16 I think we do need to have the talk about what guns civilians should and should not be allowed to have. It just does not seem necessary for someone to have an AR 16, at least not with out intense back ground checks and gun safety education courses.
Finding a middle ground is going to be almost impossible for this subject. The key to reducing mass shootings is gun control. Ensuring proper background checks on all purchases of guns is paramount to keeping our population safe. This would include online and individual sales of guns as well as guns bought from licensed suppliers. If we could pass a law enforcing these checks it would significantly reduce risky gun ownership. Not only that, but if both Republicans and Democrats could agree that assault weapons serve no purpose in our society than we could also reduce mass shootings. Sadly, for any of these countermeasures to be taken we would need a new lineup in Congress. Any attempt, no matter how small, by Democrats to pass gun regulation laws have been immediately shot down by our largely Republican Congress.
If we could all agree (both Republicans and Democrats) that the way we manage gun sales is not working right now, maybe we could pass the much-needed laws that could prevent mass shootings. Until then I guess we can just keep ducking behind cover every time we hear a loud sound go off in public.
I believe there can be steps taken to try and reduce mass shootings. Owners of the weapon should be held more responsible. There should be a limitation on how much ammunition a person can purchase and that should be tracked. Banning of purchasing guns, ammo, and accessories online. Also mandatory background checks on all gun sales public and private. It should be harder for people to have access to these types of weapons. If laws were put into place and enforced it could help. Also educating people on gun safety and having schools, work places, and other public business go through training, drills, and procedures when it comes to threats and mass shootings/gun violence.
This is a very controversial topic and in the wake of the recent school shooting, it is also very emotional. I have one thought on what the middle ground could be and it has consistently been my thought after each mass shooting and I apologize in advance if I offend anyone. I’m just being honest when I say that we need to arm our schools. Our teachers need to be armed and trained and/or we need armed servicemen in our schools. These kids are dying because there is absolutely no one to protect them. This is the same for other mass shootings besides schools where guns were prohibited in the building. If someone with a concealed carry license had been allowed to carry a firearm in those buildings, would as many lives have been lost? It is the same thing over and over again, mass shooting, people start screaming about gun control, the government makes minor changes that in the end only succeed in making sane, law-abiding gun enthusiasts feel like criminals. We need people control not gun control. The middle ground would be that the children would be better protected and so would our civil liberties.
Mass shootings are taking over our social media and nightly news broadcasts. It is a topic that everyone has an opinion about, thus it makes it extremely controversial and emotionally heated. Congress needs to work together to come up with a solution. I do not believe that gun control is the answer though. Republicans will not allow for their 2nd Amendment rights to be given up. But, Democrats will not let the gun control topic go, until Republicans work with them on it. Therefore, there needs to be a middle ground found. Not everyone will be happy, but it will be a step forward instead of a stand still. I do think allowing our teachers to be armed, if they would like, could be an option. Although, it is just not the schools that mass shootings are happening at, so that will only solve a portion of the problem. Furthermore, those individuals committing these shootings are not going through the proper background checks now- so there is no point to add more barriers for law-abiding citizens.
The school shooting in Florida has defiantly stirred up the pot for discussions and debates. There needs to start being some steps made for individuals to get guns such as background checks and have them go through a mental heath exam to make sure these individuals who get guns are not mentally insane. The problem with this is that the democrats and republicans don’t see eye to eye on gun laws which will make it difficult to pass any law that deals with guns. I believe if they can some how meet in the middle on an agreement. There will be less shootings in the US and schools and other public places can feel safer. I strongly believe that certain teachers should be armed and go through training and background checks so that they can carry a gun on campus. While making sure no-one knows what teacher owns a gun.
I think it will be very hard for Democrats and Republicans to come to an agreement and if they do, it will be quite awhile on from now. What the students have decided to do with their walk out I think is a very loud message saying that something needs to be done soon because we continue to say something will be done, but nothing has changed. Because it is going to take a long time to come to a conclusion, I think there is at least something that can be done to prevent school shootings that can be temporarily put into place until there’s a better idea. Unfortunately since our country has come to this, I think schools need to have some sort of security, whether that be police or some trained security guard inside of schools, maybe metal detectors, locked outside doors at all times that are monitored by someone. It seems like a lot for a school mostly because of course no one should have to be scared to go to school, but I think just small increases in security can make somewhat of a difference and at least make students feel safer. It is a step up from where we are now and it could make a difference until the Democrats and Republicans come up with something better.
I believe that media has a lot to do with the hype put onto these mass shootings, and therefore, the collective conscience is shaken because of it. Almost everybody, no matter their political affiliation, has an opinion about the problem at hand. Republicans and Democrats have a hard time agreeing on almost anything it seems and with something this extreme, I don’t see that differing. Many people believe that having more “gun control” is the solution. In theory, it may seem like a logical idea, but the problem is that there is more to it than that. Outside of the restrictions that would be put onto people’s ability to purchase guns is the fact that “assault rifles” and their ammo can both be manufactured from someone’s home. Also, there has been much discussion about mental health being a factor in the mass shootings – while this may a consideration, I don’t think that it’s something that can be concretely stopped because I believe that if people want to shoot up a school, they will. All of this together brings me to the conclusion that I don’t think there will be a middle ground. It seems that the two main political parties would rather bicker back and forth about each other than to work together to find a solution, and until that simple bitterness ends, there won’t be a strong desire to come to a conclusion in the recent mass shooting and gun control debate.
America isn’t a stranger to the gun law and gun control discussion. I would be surprised if Democrats and Republicans could come to a compromise where both parties are satisfied. Some have speculated that the legal age limit to purchase any gun should be raised to 21. With school shootings becoming alarmingly not shocking as the year goes on, I really hope there’s something done to prevent future shootings. This is easier said than done because it’s such a complex issue, meaning it isn’t just about the attacker and their gun it’s about their motive behind the shooting. If both parties can work together there’s a higher chance of implementing laws that would potentially put more restraint or make it harder for school shootings to occur.
This topic I have been discussing for a while now since all of the shootings that has occurred at the schools. I think that republicans and democratic need to come to common grounds and make harsh punishment for those who are being killed. I believe that there need to be harsher punishment or longer time in prison for people who kill other people. For the most recent case in Florida, the young man is being stated as having a mental illness. Thats not an excuse at all, and it shouldn’t take the criminal justice system a long time to figure out his system. I also believe that the republicans and democratic need to up the age of having a gun because, the gun control is getting out of control. I mean its also hard as well because the younger generation found numerous of ways to get guns, so its hard to say. I think as far as school shootings they need to implement more security at all schools every morning to check book bags and needs to have security guards on stand by till after school programs are over.