CHARLIE PENVARI

President Obama’s executive action to quell gun violence in America is one of the biggest steps that he has taken to reduce the number of gun deaths in the US.

According to the White House, more than 30,000 adult Americans are killed by a firearm each year, and more than 20,000 children are also killed. The US is one of the most gun friendly countries in the world, and we also have the highest number of murders per capita in the developed world.

Almost immediately comes reactions from social media and most notably the 2016 presidential candidates. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton thanks President Obama in her tweet on January 5, “Thank you, @POTUS, for taking a crucial step forward on gun violence. Our next president has to build on that progress—not rip it away.”

However the Republican candidates responded in a much different fashion. Dr. Ben Carson, the Republican frontrunner also responds on twitter saying that “Any executive order President Obama signs that regulates firearms transactions will merely regulate the freedom of law abiding citizens,” and Jeb Bush went so far as threatening to repeal the executive order if he reaches the office. “Today Obama proved again why he’s 1 of most liberal & divisive presidents in history. I’ll repeal his exec orders & protect 2nd Amend,” Bush tweeted

Just seeing the response from conservative politicians and gun rights organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) who tweeted “President Obama’s executive orders will do nothing to improve public safety. #2A #fact.” When really, Obama’s gun control executive order can only help Americans.

One of the main things outlined by President Obama was that all gun purchases will need to go through background checks, a necessary step so criminals won’t get firearms. President obama also increased funding for the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agency, in order to contain the illegal black market of firearms.

How are these things affecting the 2nd Amendment? Is it wrong that we do something to try to save 30,000 American lives every year? The US still has the most number of murders (and murders by firearm) of any developed nation, due to our inability to change and adapt. Gun activists like to use the statistics of automotive deaths which outnumber firearm deaths in the US, and that we need to regulate or ban cars. The matter of fact is that we do regulate safety standards and the vehicles that we drive. For example, drivers need to take tests and lessons to drive, but where are the tests to own an AR-15? Why isn’t there an age limit to who can shoot a gun, so something like the nine-year-old in Arizona who killed her instructor with a fully automatic weapon doesn’t happen?

Dear America,

Yes we can change. Just because we regulate something doesn’t make it violate the constitution. We regulate things in America because we want people to be safe.

-From, everybody who wants to potentially save thousands of lives every year.