These events, are used and abused for political gain and public hysteria is absolutely loved by the media. It's tragic that these things happen, it absolutely is, but I am dumbfounded that people are willing to limit their freedoms and fear monger each other into believing that the police should only have these weapons, or that the government should limit gun rights. Yet, it was just a few months ago that people were protesting about police brutality and government cover-ups and corruption, so they are very inconsistent with their positions, as it seems.
Just for your information, I do not support the 2nd amendment. I personally believe that The Constitutional amendment should not be the end all be all. I support gun rights through and through and I don't believe our rights should be limited in those regards. The Constitution is but a document, a document that is manipulated and cherry picked, and quite frankly, hasn't limited the government as it was intended.
Gun rights, in my opinion, are absolutely essential for the freedoms we look forward to in a free society. Not only do guns help protect our own lives on the street or protect the lives of others, it also prevents the government from over stepping their boundaries. History has shown to us that government isn't always the best, and is not at all honest. History also shows that when gun confiscation comes, then violent crime rises, or worse, government genocides or outright government massacres. In order to be free one must be able to defend themselves from those wishing to abuse them or their rights. If they choose not to then it is their choice, but in a dangerous circumstance, they likely wish that they had some form of protection. Police may help, but only after the carnage has begun.
Now, I must say that the mentally ill should not own weapons, but who am I or the government to determine that they indeed are mentally ill? What if the government has decided one day that being anti-government is a mental disorder? Would it be justified to limit my gun rights?
I think with the issue of the mentally ill and weapons, it gets really convoluted. How can we know for certain they are suitable to own a weapon? Obviously, I'm speaking about the mentally ill in general, which could mean various amounts of diseases/disorders. I personally believe that the gun seller should determine who should buy the gun, not the government. Everyone should be free to buy a gun but it shouldn't be forced upon responsible gun sellers.
Should gun sellers also sell grenades? Or maybe even tanks and RPG's? Absolutely, if they so choose. As technology improves, it becomes easier to expose unjust violence, and as such, it becomes easier to hold people accountable for their actions. If the second amendment was meant for us to defend ourselves from the government (which it was) then why has the government limited our rights? For control. If we are disarmed, if we are weaker, then we become easier to control, we become easier to become victims of oppressors whether it be a street thug or a raging dictator.
Imagine if North Koreans were able to buy guns, the Un dynasty would not have the amount of dystopian authoritarian control that they currently hold. They would be free from such an oppressive regime, similar to us here in the US but sadly some Americans want us to be easily controlled. Gun rights are essential to a free society and Americas history has shown how great gun rights are for ending dictatorial control, but why are we slowly becoming more of a dictatorship, especially overseas?
It's a no brainer... I understand this is controversial but freedom should be praised, not rejected. If we lose our guns, we lose our capability to fight back and speak out against injustices committed by our government. Gun rights weren't meant for hunting, they were meant to protect ourselves. For a minority of gun users who commit atrocities, why are all gun owners villifies and threatened to give up their rights? That doesn't seem right to me.