Discussion Post: How Gun Laws Have Changed Since Sandy Hook

Introduction

The Second Amendment concerning the right of citizens to arm themselves in a "regulated militia" answers the question on the legality of states like Connecticut promoting gun laws that seek to restrict gun purchase, ownership, and use (Reserved). Legally speaking, the term "regulated militia" gives leeway for states to decide who gets to buy guns, what type of guns and so on. Background checks are a safety net to make sure that the person owning the gun has no bad history with law enforcement and that their state of mind is certified sane. Based on the 32% drop in murders committed from 2011 to 2013, the revised gun laws are indeed working (Reserved). It is sad though that it took the events of Sandy Hook for stringent measures to be carried out.

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Adam Lanza, the twenty-year-old shooter at Sandy Hook had OCD-Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and it later comes out he was psychotic (Langman 2-3). He was a depressed individual who, owing to his undisclosed mental conditions (OCD and possibly schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder), was ignored by society and those around him in general. The shooting was a preventable tragedy; but only if the community were aware and understanding of his condition. The guns Adam Lanza used belonged to his mother who was reportedly a gun enthusiast. Seeing that she knew her son's mental health, she could have stored the guns much better. The mother is not the only one to be blamed though, but the whole society from neighbors to school could have been more vigilant.

Over the past fourteen years, mass shooters have been on the rise. Mostly, the reason these shooters commit murder is that of an unaddressed and often repressed personal issue of the killer. Restrictions on gun laws are just the first step towards reducing this worrying trend. Besides Law and gun control, the social sciences can offer solutions (Rogowski and Tucker, 18). The personal issues have to be resolved using psychology and sociology; communities and societies should be more accommodating; people should form groups with objectives of making everyone feel and be useful (Knoll, James, and Annas 99). Psychologists and sociologists should be consulted to give insights on how communities might turn misfits and pariahs likely to cause mass shootings, into productive and useful members of the society.

Works Cited

Knoll, I. V., L. James, and George D. Annas. "Mass shootings and mental illness." (2016). 11 November 2018<https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/appi.books.9781615371099

Langman, Peter. "The enigma of Adam Lanza's mind and motivations for murder." The Journal of Campus Behavioral Intervention 111 (2015). 11 November 2018<https://command.columbusstate.edu/readingassignments/auxiliaryreadinglists/JBIT2015.pdf#page=5

Reserved, Summary, and Video provided by PBS NewsHour Extra Resources for Teachers. MacNeil-Lehrer Productions All Rights "Reserved gun laws changed since Sandy Hook?". 14 December 2014. 11 November 2018<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2rAyeX_p7c

Rogowski, J. and Tucker, P. (2018). Critical Events and Attitude Change: Support for Gun Control After Mass Shootings. [online] Scholar.harvard.edu. Available at: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/rogowski/files/mass-shootings-attitudes.pdf [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].