Vinod Kripalani is a sophomore majoring in Political Science and minoring in Sustainability Studies.
Having lived in suburban Long Island, I always believed I would never have to worry about gun violence. However, after hearing about the recent shooting at the University of North Carolina (UNC) as an undergraduate student attending a state university, I am now reconsidering that view.
This shooting established a precedent for gun violence that could haunt higher education in the future. Recent events like the Uvalde school shooting in deep-red Texas and the killings in the Democratic city of Chicago prove that there must be a bipartisan solution to gun violence.
As a Republican, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that my party has flawed reasons for supporting looser gun restrictions. The Second Amendment serves as a common basis for gun rights supporters to argue against legislating more gun control policies. While I respect the Bill of Rights, loose gun restrictions and regulations are contributing to increased amounts of gun violence throughout cities in the United States.
If Republicans are willing to end birthright citizenship — and by doing so, amend the Constitution — then the Republican Party should act on common sense and put an end to the Second Amendment. The GOP should support gun control instead, making the nation safer and increasing nationwide support for the GOP. In one poll, around 25% of Generation Z Republicans voted either for partial or full support of an assault weapons ban.
The most notable of the proposed gun control policies concerns the assault weapons ban, which limits the vending and manufacturing of select high-capacity magazines and semiautomatic weapons. Loose firearm legislation in states like Texas do not require a license to carry a handgun.
While Democrats are on the front end of gun-control advocacy, that doesn’t mean that I support the tactics they use to suppress gun violence in their cities. Their leniency on crime policies has resulted in a rise in reports of gun violence in both blue cities and states.
In Illinois, for instance, there are stringent gun control policies and restrictions on assault weapons in place. However, gun violence is particularly prevalent in places like Chicago — which is governed by a Democratic mayor — because of a lack of tough-on-crime policies. The majority of the top 30 high-crime cities are governed by the left.
While Democrats are right about implementing gun control restrictions, they also have to enforce them. One such policy which should be re-implemented is the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban signed by former President Bill Clinton. This policy proved effective in its duration due to the fact that crimes that involved automatic weapons dropped by nearly 20% based on a study on six cities.
One thing the U.S. political climate lacks is bipartisanship, and this deficit could not be more apparent than in gun control discussions. It should be clear to Republicans that guns present clear and extensive threats to society. In the interest of all Americans, the GOP must adjust its stance on gun control.
