Spring Break
Rising crimes highlights need for gun laws
Furrah Qureshi
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Ed-Op
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We went out in a colossal group of eight, our hands firmly shoved in our pockets and scarves rolled multiple times around our necks. We suburbanites weren't braving the elements on a characteristically cold October night - we were fighting the city. I don't need to tell any student on campus that, a few blocks from Drexel, a daily death is no anomaly.
It was late at night; we were waiting for the bus and we had nothing to do except survey our surroundings. With heightened fears and cold ears, we were having a minor conversation of no particular magnitude, when we suddenly broke into a partisan debate.
Given the nature of a Philly night, violence crossed our minds more than it would have had we been watching an episode of House in a dorm room. My friend asked me if I ever wished I had a gun to protect myself. I am 69 inches tall, and every one of those 69 inches of my body is dedicated to being a staunch liberal, so I turned to her to give a disgusted smirk, but I realized that she was serious. I'm unsure of what political outlook the 60-something inches of her body hold true, but she was genuinely interested in this discussion.
I never questioned the answer I had prepared, but I did deliberate on the state of affairs for a bit: Right now, there have been 315 homicides this year alone (which I am sure will be higher by the time you read this) and the overwhelming majority were committed with guns. Single mothers have guns and weary adults who fear gang violence have guns. Citizens who have the constitutional right to bear arms are bearing these arms, but these specific arms are not the arms that go arm in arm with the violence on the streets. Illegal guns, purchased and traded on the black market, can wind up in anyone's hands, and their bullets littered in anyone's body.
There have been accusations against at least 50 gun companies in the past decade of "negligent distribution," which is to say gun companies deliberately oversupply legal retailers in order to create a substantial market for illegal guns.
It was late at night; we were waiting for the bus and we had nothing to do except survey our surroundings. With heightened fears and cold ears, we were having a minor conversation of no particular magnitude, when we suddenly broke into a partisan debate.
Given the nature of a Philly night, violence crossed our minds more than it would have had we been watching an episode of House in a dorm room. My friend asked me if I ever wished I had a gun to protect myself. I am 69 inches tall, and every one of those 69 inches of my body is dedicated to being a staunch liberal, so I turned to her to give a disgusted smirk, but I realized that she was serious. I'm unsure of what political outlook the 60-something inches of her body hold true, but she was genuinely interested in this discussion.
I never questioned the answer I had prepared, but I did deliberate on the state of affairs for a bit: Right now, there have been 315 homicides this year alone (which I am sure will be higher by the time you read this) and the overwhelming majority were committed with guns. Single mothers have guns and weary adults who fear gang violence have guns. Citizens who have the constitutional right to bear arms are bearing these arms, but these specific arms are not the arms that go arm in arm with the violence on the streets. Illegal guns, purchased and traded on the black market, can wind up in anyone's hands, and their bullets littered in anyone's body.
There have been accusations against at least 50 gun companies in the past decade of "negligent distribution," which is to say gun companies deliberately oversupply legal retailers in order to create a substantial market for illegal guns.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 6
Z
posted 10/22/07 @ 12:04 PM EST
I think the old adage comes to mind, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."
If it wasn't a gun that killed a person, it would have been a knife, a car, a random piece of furniture, gravity, poison, etc. (Continued…)
Grahm
posted 10/25/07 @ 10:47 PM EST
That's why she said "People with Guns kill People." Did you even read the whole article?
Shaun
posted 10/27/07 @ 12:40 AM EST
How do you feel about the First Amendment? Do you think it's ok for our government to erode rights granted by the Constitution via legislation? What if we regulated what's printed in student newspapers because they are too provocative?
Like it or not, the Second Amendment gives us a basic right handed down by the Founding Fathers. (Continued…)
Ian Magill
posted 10/29/07 @ 1:32 PM EST
"Across the nation, there has been an increase in almost all major cities' crime rates".
False.
Violent crime in New York city has decreased 75% in the last twelve years and the murder rate in 2005 was at its lowest level since 1963. (Continued…)
Luftvier
posted 10/31/07 @ 12:36 AM EST
Gun laws already exist.
Criminals, by definition, disobey the law.
Making gun ownership by private, law abiding citizens, more difficult would be absurd and do nothing to curtail the problem. (Continued…)
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