Gun Control Issue

Every person in the US now lives in fear of another mass shooting, never knowing where the next victim will be found. Over 30 mass shootings have occurred in American history; the most recent one occurred at the Mandalay Bay Resort during the Harvest Music Festival. Stephen Paddock carried off a shooting spree in which 58 people died and numerous others were seriously and moderately injured (Ahmed). Looking back at all the random shootings and major shootings that happen every day, the political topic of gun control measures keeps coming up. After every event on indiscriminate killing of American citizens, the government officials, starting way back with Obama presidency and now Trumps, raise up the issue, but nothing much is achieved by the end of the day.

Broken Promises on Gun Control Measures

During Obama’s governance, he initially focused more on gun rights than their control. In 2010, he signed a bill that allowed Amtrak passengers to carry guns in their luggage as well as bringing loaded guns at national parks (Frederick). However, additional gun control restrictions were a non-starter among lawmakers and gun rights activists. Again, during his re-election, Obama promised to reintroduce federal assault ban claiming that weapons designed for police did not belong to the street. Disappointingly, Obama’s administration did nothing but have heated debates on guns control which yielded not results that the Americans wanted or at least expected to hear. All the Congress and government did be to give void and broken promises on the issue of gun control. Such a fruitless effort by the government during the eight years it was in power made me lose faith in such a government. Rather than finding a lasting solution to a problem that often leaves the whole of America grieving and anguishing whenever such killings happen, the Congress at large politized the issue for their selfish gains.

The same issue is not new to the current government under Trump. Initially, Trump advocated for a ban on assault weapons and also a more extended waiting period when a person wanted to obtain a gun. Trump at some point supported Obama view on tighter gun control measures after shootings at Sandy Hook in 2012 (Fair). However, his stands on the issue have gradually taken a different position. During his 2016 campaigns, he even advocated that people should carry guns to bars when he was referencing to the Orlando mass shooting at a club. In a move that seemed that Trump was in a political competition with the former president, he signed a bill that allows mentally disabled people to bear firearms, which is a reverse of a law approved by Obama. In response to the recent mass shooting during is president, Trump only offered condolences to the families of the victims but did not provide any policy solution to the issue (Fair). Instead of addressing the problem that all the Americans were eagerly waiting to hear, all the president did was to shower praises to people who responded first on the crime scene. He only said that gun control issue would be discussed at a later date, and this is more likely to turn to fake promises like those given in the former regime.

How Gun Control Policies Have Shaped My View Towards Politics and Government

The manner in which the government tosses around the issue on gun control has made me a skeptic and doubtful of its stand on the interests and safety of the Americans. Am now suspicious and unconvinced when the government promises security to Americans. Taking a closer look, the government has currently channeled all its energy into flexing military might with nations like North Korea and instead forgot that internal security is equally important. There is no way that a president can convince Americans that he is ready to protect ten when he allows mentally ill people to own guns. I do not support a total ban on gun control as it is evidently clear that the bad guys have many loopholes in obtaining the firearms. My point is that in spite of allowing people to own guns, at least there are individual cases and exceptions that should be made, for instance denying the mentally ill to own a gun. To some extent, the government response to gun control policies has made me cynical and forced me into believing that maybe some of the influential people in the country own the gun shops in the country hence there is no way that the ban on the purchase or owner of the arms would go through at the Congress.

Political Socialization Agents Shaping My Political Opinions

When I was growing up some years back, my family usually sit in the table room and watch television, and in the process, my parents and any other person who had an idea of the political issues would chip in various political talks in the house. Therefore, my family was the primary influence on my political values and attitudes as I grew up. Another agent that has profoundly influenced my political opinion is the media, ranging from print media to television, radio and also the internet. While browsing through various internet platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, I usually come across a lot of opinionated information, and this has profoundly influenced on how I reason about and view political issues. Lastly is education. As a Political Science student, political issues are the center of most of class discussions and topics, always enlightening me and presenting different angles to political matters experienced in the country. Education, as compared to the aforementioned political socialization agents, has the most impact in shaping the formulation of my political opinions. In one way or the other, whenever faced with a political issue, I find myself refereeing back to some aspects that I have learned in class over the years.

Conclusion

I feel that those who are in the government see some issues and events happening to and affecting the citizens at grassroots levels for their interest. Instead of finding solutions to matters of national importance, the government officials try to outsmart each other, and by the end of it all, Americans continue to suffer under the government that swore allegiance to protect and safeguard their security. The more the various government continues to dodge on the different important matter, the more I keep losing faith in the system. I am a patriotic citizen, but I do not support a government that turns a blind eye as more citizens lose their lives in the undue course. From the gun control issue, I have come to know just how much citizens are powerless in their government since they continue to suffer as those who control policies continue to enjoy their political power.





Work Cited

Ahmed, Saeed. "2 Of The 5 Deadliest Mass Shootings in Modern US History Happened in The Last 35 Days." CNN. N.p., 2017. Web. 17 Nov. 2017.

Fair, Julia. "Timeline: How President Trump's Positions On The Gun Control Have Evolved." USA TODAY. N.p., 2017. Web. 17 Nov. 2017.

Frederick, Susan. "President Obama’S 2015 Executive Actions On The Gun Control." Ncsl.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2017.