Wednesday evening, in an address at the 2012 National Urban League conference in New Orleans, President Barrack Obama spoke on the subject of gun-control, a sensitive political issue rekindled by last Friday's Colorado movie massacre. President Obama stressed on his belief in the constitutional right to bear arms, but said that there also is need for stricter background checks in order to prevent mentally deranged and criminals from procuring weapons.
"I believe the majority of gun owners would agree that we should do everything possible to prevent criminals and fugitives from purchasing weapons; that we should check someone's criminal record before they can check out a gun seller; that a mentally unbalanced individual should not be able to get his hands on a gun so easily...These steps shouldn't be controversial. They should be common sense," as reported on Yahoo News.
When James Holmes walked into the packed movie house in Aurora during the midnight running of the Dark Knight Rises, he shot over 70 people, killing 12 and seriously injuring 59. Was the act that was triggered by unknown reasons made possible because of his ability to access weapons? Could the incident have been prevented if one of those present had a gun of their own? Of course, when an unfortunate event such as this occurs as in the case of Columbine and Virginia Tech, the debate on gun-control often becomes central in public discourse. And although, the Dark Knight massacre has rekindled the debate with invigorated strength, the debate can be expected to persist for the next few weeks, but with unlikely results that would greatly alter the existing regulations, since it is backed by constitutional support and a very influential NRA. President Obama agrees:
"When there is an extraordinarily heartbreaking tragedy like the one we saw, there's always an outcry immediately after for action. And there's talk of new reforms, and there's talk of new legislation...And too often, those efforts are defeated by politics and by lobbying and eventually by the pull of our collective attention elsewhere," (yahoonews.com).
In this particular case, the alleged shooter, James Egan Holmes, possessed semi-automatic assault rifles, two Glock handguns, and a Remington gauge shotgun, in addition to 6000 rounds of ammunition acquired through the internet. The weapons were supposedly acquired through local gun stores. The State of Colorado is one of the states in the country that has lax-gun regulations.
The ease with which Holmes was able to procure the weapons is a valid argument for those that favor of stricter gun-control regulations.
On the matter, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg tells CNN News, "I can tell you that I don't think there's any other developed country in the world that has remotely the problem we have."
The National Rifle Association and other anti-gun regulation supporters reiterate that the possession of guns for self-protection is right granted to every American by the constitution. Arizona Senator Republican John McCain told Raw Story, "So, I think the strongest Second Amendment rights people would be glad to have an conversation, but the conclusion that this was somehow caused by the fact that we don't have more gun control legislation, I don't think has been proved."
According to a Reuters report, among the 875 million licit firearms in the world, American civilians possess 270 million, making the country the most heavily armed society in the world.
As Jonanthan Mann of CNN would said, "America stands alone in its historic and cultural attachment to guns. America stands armed."
