A Major Wake-Up Call

In the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, many Americans are astounded, devastated, heartbroken, and disgusted. When I first heard about the shooting on the news, my heart dropped and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I could not fathom how any human being could murder innocent children. After getting over my initial shock, I knew that gun violence had to be stopped in our country. In 2012 alone, there have been several mass shootings. For example, on July 20, 2012, there was a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people were killed and fifty-eight were wounded. It is an injustice that young children cannot attend school without fearing for their lives. I firmly believe that gun control needs to be strengthened to prevent more tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

While doing research, I came across an article entitled, "Obama Remains Committed to Assault Weapons Ban, White House Says."
The link to the article is: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/politics/obama-assault-weapons/index.html?hpt=po_c2

When it comes to guns and weapons, the country is extremely polarized. Many citizens believe that there should be heavy restrictions on guns to prevent violence and murders, while other citizens stress the importance of the Second Amendment, which gives the right to bear arms. Over the years, there have been constant arguments over how much control there should be over guns. All of these arguments came to a standstill after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Obama has been under scrutiny for not doing much about gun control. In the 2008 presidential election, gun restrictions were a part of his platform, but he failed to act on his promise. After the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Obama has taken a strong stance on reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons.

This may seem problematic considering that the Republicans, who support gun freedom, have a majority in the House of Representatives. Despite this, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting really touched a lot of people. No matter what your party identification, you want your children and loved ones to be safe. If you have a heart, you will not stand for such inhumanity.President Obama stated, "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics." Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York best put it, "We cannot simply accept this as a routine product of modern American life. If now is not the time to have a serious discussion about gun control and the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our society, I don't know when is." Although it remains to be seen whether the government will be able to compromise and stop gun violence, it is clear that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a major wake-up call to the issue of gun violence in the United States.

Do you think that our divided government can come together and stop gun violence? What do you think should be done to prevent more incidents like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting? Do you believe that the shooting will catalyze change or will things go back to being the same?

I encourage everyone to pray for the families that lost their children and loved ones in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Tell your family members that you love them everyday because they can be taken away from you in an instant. You truly do not know how good you have it.