Manhattan Beach resident Lauren Davis is a thoughtful, concerned citizen. When she learned about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, she asked her mother how the shooter got the gun. Because Lauren thought hat the “easy” purchase of guns was the problem, she created a petition which would ban assault weapons, which the Manhattan Beach City Council signed. Lauren’s parents told her about NRA President Wayne LaPierre’s suggestion that armed personnel would protect our schools. Lauren presumed that every school would have to station armed guards.
The adults should have told Lauren that the United States enacted an assault weapons ban before, and it did not work. They should have also told her that schools are “gun free zones”, making them easy targets. They should have told her that in forty states, “good guys” are allowed to carry “concealed weapons”, and they prevent crimes. They should have told her that the presence of a firearm would discourage bad guys from shooting at a school. They should have explained that not every school would have to comply.
Contrary to “adult” assertions, the Second Amendment is not “complicated”. The adults should enlighten Lauren that gun control does not prevent “bad guys” from doing bad things.
Instead of children leading the debate on gun violence, parents need to explain the limits of gun control, teachers need to explain the Second Amendment, and our “adult” legislators need to craft reforms which will deter these crimes, like eliminating the ‘”gun free zones” at our schools.