America's gun problem

America has a gun problem. We can file that under "obvious" but let me elaborate. I have absolutely no issue with someone owning a gun. But let's keep it sensible, folks. There's no legitimate reason why the average individual would need something more than a pistol, handgun or shotgun. If your intention is hunting, protecting your property or taking out the occasional critter on your property (skunks, raccoons, etc.) then those three options seem perfectly logical.

A good portion of my friends and extended family members hunt and what they bring home is pretty damn tasty. Not my thing, personally, but it's their hobby and I have no issues with it. I have other friends who love shooting for sport. Most of it is trap shooting or basic target practice. They enjoy the sport aspect of it but they are often in the group who stands in protest every time someone mentions gun control and/or bans on assault weapons. Hey, I'm not coming for your guns and I'm fairly certain that the government couldn't get its shit together to come for your guns either so settle down.

The problem, as I see it, is that the average consumer can stroll into a gun shop or sporting goods store and, after a quick background check, pick up a rifle with a 30 round magazine. While those are perfect fine for sportsmen who want to spend a Saturday afternoon firing off a few hundred rounds at a shooting range, a 30 round magazine can also do some serious carnage in the wrong hands. That's where we stroll into a gray area. Should 30 rounds be deemed too many for the average consumer? I'm leaning a bit beyond maybe. While it's fun for a day at the shooting range, what the hell else is a rifle which a 30 round magazine good for? I guarantee that no sane person is taking an AR-15 out to the woods in November in Minnesota to hunt deer. When a weapon akin to an AR-15 or its competitors is taken out of a shooting range, that's when things go wrong.

A "tricked out" AR-15 was used in the recent Dayton, OH shooting. An AK-47 was used in the El Paso, TX shooting. Both fall into the "assault rifle" category. This isn't a coincidence. They can fire off a round per second, sometimes more. They are designed for maximum firepower in the shortest amount of time possible. In these cases, they were used for maximum carnage in the shortest amount of time possible.

Background checks were done on both weapons which were purchased legally. Making background checks more stringent isn't going to do anything to mitigate our increasingly common issue of mass shootings. The cure is multifaceted. And banning assault rifles will never happen as long as the National Rifle Association (NRA) exists and continues to line to pockets of politicians. The most vocal NRA members are convinced that they need assault rifles to protect themselves and their families from the politicians whose pockets that the NRA isn't lining. They have sewn the seeds of divisiveness. Until the NRA is forced into the dark corners of the world where they continue to exist as an even more dangerous and violent fringe group, mass shootings will continue to be common.

The second issue is the increasingly divided political climate in America. Why does it have to be an increasing divide between neighbors, families and friends? Everyone has their own unique interests but we also have plenty of things in common. Nobody is standing on there porch screaming to anyone who will listen that they wish their families were less safe. To say that your neighbor who would like to see less (or no) access to assault rifles automatically means that they wish that their family was less safe is ludicrous. 99.9% of people in America want their families to be safe. Hell, that may very well be 100%. No matter what people believe and say, we do have plenty in common with our neighbors. Stop being so damned divisive and, instead, find the common thread that unites us.

The third issue is our gun culture in general. America was founded by a group who believed in being independent. They fought and shed blood to gain their freedom. Our history as a nation is violent. We can't run from that and never should. That doesn't mean that we can't evolve and move beyond our nation's violent past. Just like people can change, so can the culture of a country. While we have plenty who are spreading their hatred of immigrants and a small fringe who justify their mass shootings as stemming the tide of immigrants, there are just as many who are still welcoming of immigrants. My Grandpa was an immigrant. My family is relatively new to America. While being the  second generation born here is far from a struggle, we are a country of immigrants and being afraid of a non-existent wave of "brown people" from "shithole countries" who are all "murderers and rapists" is stupid. Today's immigrants simply want better lives like our ancestors wanted. They just happen to come from different areas of the world. The fact that people in positions of power have advocated shooting immigrants only further empowers our nation's gun culture. It's not necessary to shoot someone who looks different than you or speaks a different language than you do. Killing out of fear should never happen. Again, try using words and find the common thread that connects you.

The final issue is hatred in general. We live in a country that sees hatred of misunderstood segments of the population splashed on the front of websites, perpetuated on billboards and spoken about openly by politicians and people of influence. Why does it happen? It happens because hate speech is not only allowed, it is almost encouraged by a president who is a blatant racist. His speeches and his very public tweets are analyzed to no end and are publicized by those who support and oppose his statements. His ultimate goal is to further divide out nation so that he can profit from it. He gets off on being in the headlines. He is the product of an immigrant and two of his three wives are immigrants themselves yet he spreads his hate for immigrants openly and does so frequently. Sometimes it is veiled hatred, other times it is blatant hate speech. He sought out to divide the country for his own gain and has managed to succeed. Our only hope is years – likely generations – of acceptance to roll back this hatred and bury it while learning from it and growing out of it. This hate speech has been tied directly to violent acts including at least a few of the mass shootings in recent history. Violent and unstable, hate-filled men who are empowered by the man who calls himself our president. Violent and unstable men who justify their actions based on the very words spoken by our nation's president.

We, as a country, have a multitude of problems to address but our gun problem – especially after the events of the past week – needs to be priority number one. Take away platforms where hate speech flourishes. Punish and sew shame upon those who perpetuate and spread hate speech. Put an end to glorifying guns – don't shame gun owners or drive them underground but instead praise responsible ownership, education and gun safety. Empower those who legitimately oppose hatred and violence and teach our youth that there is no shame in peace, safety and education. Make access to assault rifles far more difficult than it currently is – tie the purchase to mandatory training and extremely thorough background checks, waiting periods and the same type of screenings which employers perform on potential employees. Make those things legal and mandatory and it could stem the tide of mass shootings and unnecessary violence in America.