Ever since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the subject of gun violence has become a topic of national concern. The main question is how do we stop shootings like Sandy Hook from happening without taking away people's rights?
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that people have a right to bear arms or own a gun. So how do we stop shootings from happening without violating this amendment?
According to Time magazine, there are an estimated 310 million firearms in circulation in the United States. In 2011, there were 32,163 people killed by guns in this country. Clearly, something has to be done.
The first step in controlling gun violence is to take away all military assault weapons such as street sweepers, AK-47s, AR-15s and other fully automatic and semiautomatic weapons. The second step is to get rid of high-capacity magazines. Clips should be eliminated to less than 10 rounds.
Two weeks before the Newtown, Conn., shooting, a man walked into a school in China and knifed 22 children. The difference between this and Newtown? Every single kid survived the Chinese incident.
As a final thought, the Second Amendment was written in 1791, where they couldn't imagine these assault weapons; they had muskets at that time. Maybe the Second Amendment should keep up with the changing times.
NICK ADAIR, age 13
Modesto
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