The debate over gun control has reached new levels following the Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz, 19, shot at students who were evacuating the building after pulling the fire alarm. A former student of the school who had been expelled, Cruz killed 17 students and injured 15 before being taken into custody by police. His weapon of choice: an AR-15. This gun has already gained controversy since it has been used in other mass shootings like the San Bernardino and Aurora movie theatre shootings.

On February 19, President’s Day, high school students took to the streets in Washington D.C to push for gun control. Many took part in a “lie-in,” where students laid down on the ground outside of the White House, impersonating those who have been shot in mass shootings to convince lawmakers to break the deadlock on gun control reform. With further school protests and “walk-outs” planned for later this week, members of the left, like Representative Don Beyer (D-Virginia), supported the students’ civic demonstration: “Historically, it’s the old people that participate in the elections and do all the volunteering, so this was great.”[1]

Others on the right were skeptical. Ben Shapiro, editor and chief of DailyWire, warns that the protests should not dictate gun policy: “Children and teenagers are not fully rational actors. They’re not capable of exercising supreme responsibilities. And we shouldn’t be treating innocence as a political asset used to push the agenda of more sophisticated players.”[2] And then there are people like myself who just sit, listen to the raucous from both sides, and shake my head.

I want to approach this problem pragmatically because people unnecessarily dying is a problem, and I want to attempt to mitigate this problem without stomping out individual gun rights. The Second Amendment to the Constitution is the basis for gun rights in the United States. Many people on the left worship widespread bans of guns in countries like the United Kingdom and Australia. Regardless of how effective (or ineffective) these policies are, guess what: we aren’t Europe or Australia. The Second Amendment wasn’t written for hunting or shooting the British with antique muskets: the founding fathers were probably aware of technology’s developmental potential. It was written as a means for the people to protect themselves in the event of a rise of tyranny in our nation, just like what happened in other democracies like France and Germany. When there is doubt regarding the legitimacy of gun control legislation, the Second Amendment prevails, just as the Supreme Court ruled in McDonald vs City of Chicago (2010) and District of Columbia vs Heller (2008).

Propose a new amendment to the Constitution? From numerous government shutdowns to ineffective healthcare policies, lawmakers passing a new amendment would be nothing short of a miracle (not to mention risk a second civil war). A federal ban on “assault weapons” (which are not well-defined by the federal government) would spark backlash from many Americans and immediately be challenged constitutionally. How would the Supreme Court rule on such a case? It’s unclear. Despite the mentioned cases above, this past November the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal challenging assault weapon laws in Maryland.

What about mental health? Well, a better question yet is what is mental illness? 18 percent of the adult population may have depression in the United States. Does showing any sign of depression in your lifetime automatically bar you from ever buying a gun? There is already so much debate on the DSM-5’s legitimacy. In the event of more thorough background checks that screen for mental illness, what should they include? How would the government even accomplish this without contradicting laws like HIPPA?

Mandating citizens to waive their medical confidentiality rights in return for purchasing a gun would spark outrage and be challenged against the Second Amendment. As a healthcare provider, that is one damning and totalitarian dystopia. Despite recent tragedy, we need to think critically and not let our emotions get the better of us if any effective gun legislation can be passed.

[1] https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/white-house-protest-teens-gun-control/index.html

[2] https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/students-anti-gun-views/