A Solution to Gun Control

On December 12, 2012, twenty children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. It was one of the deadliest school shootings in US history. The shooting renewed debate on the issue of gun control. It sparked a conflict between the Executive and Legislative branches over how best to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, the gun debate tends to be a black or white issue – either you are “for guns” or “against guns”. There seems to be little middle ground. The media and politicians often play into the hype, making a big deal about which side people are on. There is also lot of money at stake, as interest groups and lobbyists work hard to win supporters and pressure politicians. These factors have made it difficult for anything to get down to help truly resolve the situation. I do believe that a compromise can be reached between both sides, so that positive change can take place that will prevent future tragedies. Immediately after the Sandy Hook incident, the two sides were out making their case. With the one side of gun control stating that this incident would have never occurred if there was more gun control, while the other side felt that tightening control laws would not have prevented nor will it stop something like this from happening again. Within hours of the shooting, President Obama made a television statement in which he said, “we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics”. Then four days later at the memorial service in Connecticut, the President said he would “use whatever power this office holds” to prevent similar tragedies. On January 16, 2013, the President announced that he signed twenty-three executive orders and was proposing twelve actions for Congress to pass to further gun control. Congress also took some action on the issue and voted on two pieces of legislation. On January 24, 2013, the Assault Weapons Ban of