Your “right to bear arms” will NEVER be more important than my kids’ right to breathe. NEVER!

 

Unpopular opinion. The right to bear arms is no longer a right. It’s a privilege. Opponents of gun control say over and over “but my right to bear arms, it’s in the constitution.” The truth is – the constitution wasn’t about the general carrying of arms for all people. In almost all historical context it is referring to a military purpose. People are dying every day because of this misinterpreted and antiquated “right.”

Your perceived right to bear arms is not more important than my child’s right to live. Far from it.

The phrase “let freedom ring” has turned into the right for people to defend their ability to have guns and shoot wherever, whenever they want. What the phrase should symbolize is the freedom to let the school bells ring, a sign of safety for our kids. To allow our kids to go to school and feel safe and not be afraid that they are going to die.

A lot has changed in our constitution since 1788. When we know better, we do better. Like making slavery illegal and allowing women to vote. Or at least we should. And yet, that isn’t happening with gun laws. And it is having deadly consequences. And lately those consequences are hitting way to close to home for me.

This world is too broken for it to remain a right. It meant something different back then, a time when semi-automatic rifles weren’t created, a time when people weren’t using them against their neighbor or groups of innocent strangers. Gun violence is out of control. Gun reform is needed.

I know, I know “but my right to bear arms!” Here’s the thing, no one is trying to take guns away from a responsible gun owner. But there must be checks and balances to make sure that only responsible citizens are the ones getting guns. Right now, that isn’t the case. And too many innocent people are dying.

There are so many things in life that require age restrictions, background checks, tests to be passed – before we are allowed to do them or have them. Most people are eligible for a driver’s license – but they must do things to make sure they know how to drive safely before they are allowed out on the road. If they abuse the privilege, it can be taken away. If there is a justifiable reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to have a driver’s license, then they can be denied. Because it’s not just about the individual’s wants and needs and perceived rights. It’s about the protection and safety of others.

The idea of “let freedom ring” is making our country an unsafe place to be. It’s not freedom at all. It’s making our schools a prison.

I wrote the above on July 4 after news of the parade shooting in Illinois. But I thought of it this morning as I tried to process last night's events on Michigan State University’s campus. 

We don’t have kids on campus, but I have many friends who do. And I have many friends who work there. And my husband is there several days a week covering a game or doing interviews for his job as a sportswriter for the Detroit Free Press covering MSU men’s basketball and football. In fact, he was on campus last night, but thankfully he left around 6 p.m. The shooting happened a little after 8.

I felt similarly a little over a year ago when the school shooting happened at Oxford high school, just a few hours down the road. I always knew it could be us, but that made it feel much more likely that someday – if things don’t change - it will be us. We live across the street from a high school, and I work remotely. What am I going to do when a group of students comes running to my door asking to be let in because someone is shooting in their school? What if the shooter is among them? How will I know? What will I do? AND WHY DO I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THESE THINGS. But I do.

And then last night happened. A short 10 miles down the road; a place where so many people I know and love frequent. A place my husband goes multiple times a week. The campus where we said our vows and took our wedding pictures. I am sick to my stomach. I am numb. I am angry. I want to cry and yet I can’t. I just know something needs to change.

I’m not here to argue with you or your reasoning. Your love of guns and need to be able to do with them as you please will NEVER be more important than my family’s right to feel safe and be alive. Your “right to bear arms” will NEVER be more important than my kids’ right to breathe. NEVER.