Shoot Baby, Shoot!

Gun control, always in the back of the mind but until very recently (today), it wasn't main concern in Washington. It is no surprise why politicians have taken a lack-luster approach to the gun control issue, when you have problems such as two raging wars and a rapidly failing economy, guns seem to fall to the wayside. Let the hunters and overly-righteous right wingers have their 'toys' while everyone else worries about health insurance reform.

President Obama's lack of approach regarding gun control is justified and expected, from level-headed realists. The fact that he is ignoring the issue shows that he will not succumb to trivial issues during a time of crisis. That being said, state governments have taken the liberty upon themselves to fill the void Mr. Obama has left.

According to a recent New York Times article, states such as Virginia, Arizona, Wyoming and Montana have adapted gun control laws. The new legislation is highly troublesome to those, like myself, advocating stronger and stricter gun control. With these newly found liberties will have costly consequences.

For example, Virginia has changed gun control laws and it will now allows citizens to carry guns in public restaurants and bars where alcohol is served. Also in Virginia, consumers are now able to buy more than one gun a month. This is truly terrifying. Homicide rates will skyrocket with permission to carry a gun where alcohol is served. Ill-tempered drunkards will whip out a gun at the drop of a hat to settle a dispute of any kind. It is absolutely ridiculous to allow deadly weapons in alcohol infested environments. And why on God's green earth would someone need to buy more than one gun a month? You can only shoot one gun at a time. Multiple gun handy-work should be left to 007 and Batman.

I find these freshly revised laws in Virginia to be among the most poorly thought out decisions in quite some time, as far as state governments are concerned. The tragic shooting at Virginia Tech should have been a factor immensely considered in the mind of lawmakers. But alas, it was not and Annie Oakley still gets her gun.

In other states like Arizona and Wyoming, states are considering allowing citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Do I even need to explain why this is absurd? Perhaps this is my own, idealistic and utopia-like mindset but wouldn't this increase death by unregistered guns? Yes, it would.

But Obama can't escape the criticism that easily. He recently signed a bill that now allows people to carry guns in national parks and in luggage on the Amtrak. Granted, this change was irrefutably attached to the end of a bill that had nothing to do with gun control; the bigger picture was far more important than guns. Regardless, I won't ever feel safe getting on an Amtrak train knowing that someone may potentially have a gun in his or her suitcase. It is a mode of transportation, just like an airplane, the same safety regulations should apply.

When the founding fathers created our Constitution and added the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, times were completely different. Guns were used for protection and food. Some would argue that is what they are used for today but not in the same way they were used during the late 1700s. When interpreting the Constitution, one must take 'original intent' into major consideration. The context in which the Constitution was written was set for the 1770s and 1780s. In 2010, we do not have the same issues as our founding fathers. It is unrealistic to interpret the Second Amendment literally, in the sense we have already have.

Weakened gun control will ultimately lead to more heartache and stupidity among the American people.