The Conversation Around Gun Control

By Danny Solorzano

They are more concerned with life in the wombs of women than they are with the lives of actually-breathing children

The victims of the Uvalde mass shooting were let down by the police of Uvalde. According to Yahoo News, phone calls were made, and children screamed into their devices, crying for help while officers waited outside for 40 minutes. And Republicans are trying to tell us not to worry about this? To not advocate to prevent another incident like this?

The Republican Party has no effective solution to this problem, and Republican legislators continue to resist any effort to pass any measures to stop mass shootings across America. Why does it have to be put in the schools to protect the children but not the police, not the government? These institutions were set up to protect the citizenry, and time and time again, these institutions have let their citizenry down. How many more people have to die before Americans wake up and realize that ordinary citizens don't need automatic rifles and that assault guns are only going to cause more harm than good? Right now, it seems that the goal of the Republican Party is to leave children defenseless whenever a mass shooter arrives to come and take their lives. They would have children sacrifice their lives, so that Americans can continue to go to shooting ranges for the sake of pleasure. And while they might say teachers should serve as guardians and protect their students by carrying guns, back in 2018, a teacher who had a gun with him held his entire class hostage with it, according to CNN. Should students now cower in fear that their teachers might do the same?

The Republican Party likes to call itself the party of the family at nearly every convention and every public meeting they have, but as of late, they have done nothing to protect the family. They try to say the police will be there to protect the citizenry, but as evidenced by Uvalde, the police are not dependable. They are more concerned with life in the wombs of women than they are with the lives of actually-breathing children. The Republican Party does not want to have the conversation around banning assault weapons because Republican leadership has proven that they value their guns more than they value human lives. They show that they care more about guns every time they advocate for more weapons in schools and less gun restrictions. They hide behind the excuse that criminals will get their hands on weapons illegally even though guns on the black market cost more than double than guns legally obtained at pawn shops, according to Buzzfeed.

And if the Republican Party thinks human lives matter more than guns, they are clearly not demonstrating their thoughts in their policies. It's far past time for the American people to hold both political parties accountable because right now, the Republicans and Democrats in both Houses have a responsibility and duty to the American people to pass more restrictive gun laws in this country, or the cycle of mass shootings will never come to an end.

According to CNN, another mass shooting just happened in Houston, yet another shooting in Texas nearly a week after the Uvlade shooting. And according to Yahoo News, nine people were killed and seventy others were injured in mass shootings over the Memorial Day Weekend. This can not continue to be the new normal. The Republicans and Democrats in Congress must act immediately.

According to Reuters, polls show most Americans are in favor of gun control, and most Americans believe that a person trying to build a gun should have to pass a background check first. So when is legislation requiring background checks going to pass? When is the Democratic Party going to stop hiding behind excuses and actually do something? Just because doing the right thing is not easy does not mean it should be done in the first place. And yet, the Democratic leadership wonders why their position of power is always so vulnerable every election. They wonder why they don't get enough voters to the polls and why a good majority of Americans have a low opinion of the Democratic Party. According to The New York Times, it’s because the Democratic leadership is so eager to give up on the American people and because the Democratic Party does little for everyday citizens.

If the Democratic Party hopes to retain their majority in both houses, they have to show they are willing to pass legislation around gun control immediately, and they have to show that effort every day until the midterms. Every day Americans have to support gun control organizations, donate to said organizations, and protest on behalf of the victims. If they don't, nothing gets done. Pick up and protest!

According to MSN, New York is passing legislation to combat this issue, and Florida now has red flag laws in place to prevent those who might be a danger to others or themselves from getting guns, as reported by CNN. But it’s enough that some states in the US are taking the responsibility of gun control into their own hands. Gun control must be taken up at the federal level, or else mass shootings will continue in this country until America decides that human lives matter more than automatic rifles. The Blue Cavalry will continue updating on this story.