Letter: Stronger gun laws needed to make us all safer

Posted 4/21/18

To the editor:  

To supporters of the current gun control laws: As a concerned student at Barrington High School looking for a way to make a safer country, I don't believe that you should …

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Letter: Stronger gun laws needed to make us all safer

Posted

To the editor: 

To supporters of the current gun control laws: As a concerned student at Barrington High School looking for a way to make a safer country, I don't believe that you should be supporting the current gun control laws and ones trying to be implemented such as the ones that allow teachers to carry concealed weapons. This will lead to more problems and council lead to an expansion of the attacks seen so far in the country.

Over the past few months, many schools have been victims of mass shootings from former students or other mentally unstable people that were able to buy guns, some military grade, legally because of the light regulations that are implemented into our nation. 

I believe that making these laws more specific and stronger, would decrease the number of shootings. These attacks have not happened in just schools, they even occurred at concerts, such as the one in Vegas, and also at other public events.

The American people are fearing for their lives, scared to walk out of their own homes in the morning, feeling as though they need to carry concealed weapons in order to feel safe. This is a time of crisis and we must protect our citizens. 

This country needs stricter laws, such as making it illegal to sell and obtain military grade weaponry outside the military. There is a reason that the members of the army are put through such intense training with these weapons, as well as having to train with no ammunition in them before actually wielding the lethal weapon fully loaded. The United States army training lasts two to three weeks and comes in three phases: assembly of weapon, learning to fire weapon, and the final test with everything put together.

We could also propose a law requiring arms training for those men and women outside of the military who would like to possess the guns. This however, should come with a background check of the man or woman trying to purchase the weapon in order to make sure that this gun won't put the other citizens around them in harm's way. With these laws implemented, I feel like the public would feel safer walking on the streets and those children who are fearful of being shot in their place of education would be able to actually focus on the curriculum rather than being shot. 

I know your stance on gun control, and how you believe that if someone wants to feel safer, just buy a gun themselves. However, giving men and women guns is not the way to limit the mass shootings.

Some people would agree with you, many people believe that teachers in schools should be armed just in case a shooter breaches the school. They think that the teachers being armed would keep shooters away. This could be true, however, it won't completely rid this problem from the country and the world. What if one of the teachers goes crazy and uses the guns against the students or a young child finds the teacher's gun and pulls the trigger. This could possibly increase the problem at hand and escalate it to a further degree.

Overall, I believe that if this country is able to come together and make stronger gun control laws, then we can start to decrease the amount of mass shootings and make this country a safer place.

Thank you, 

Brendan Chalue-Feeney

Barrington

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.