Since 2009 there has been at least 20 mass shootings which have attracted more debate on gun control. On September 16,2013, in the Navy Yard at Washington was breached by 34-year old Aaron Alexis who killed 12 people and wounded at least 8 other people with an shotgun. Also on June 27,2013, 23-year old John Zawahri began his shooting spree in a house near Santa Monica College and he killed two people. He then made his way to the Santa Monica College Library were he continued his reign of terror killing 5 people using an M16(at least 1,300 rounds of ammunition),a Colt 45, and a Colt Double Eagle. Guns have been the cause of this nations chaos and its destruction but guns have been and are used to maintain the peace and the balance the injustice.

The question that APB members were asked is: Should there be gun regulations? What are some procedures that must be establish to ensure sanity in a gun owner/buyer?

• Mr.Hartford, Animo Pat Brown’s Principal,believes the framers of the constitution were not specific in how to regulate gun purchase or gun ownership because during the time the constitution was created only musket-ball rifles were used and the reload time was approximately 30 seconds per bullet compared to a modern SMG which only take millisecond per bullet. The framers of the constitution did not imagine that the technology in weapons would increase so much to the point where guns could cause so much destruction in a small amount of time.Mr.Hartford believes, gun owners and gun buyers must go through a series of procedures to evaluate their mental state and to have gun owners to have periodic mental evaluations.
• Mr.Rice, Animo Pat Brown’s Physics and Robotics teacher, explains how its not safe to allow citizens to own Assault Rifles because of the large amount of damage that guns have caused globally. However, Mr.Rice  believes that restricting or abolishing guns would lead to a new market where people can buy guns and other harmful weapons(black market). He also believes ilegalizing a specific type of weapon would be a step in the right direction but he also explains if the USA begins to restrict one of the citizen’s liberties ,the USA will began to restrict most if not all of the citizen’s freedoms. Mr.Rice believes that most people own guns because its a type of hobby; which he compared to those that customize cars to be able to reach maximum speed in a small amount of time. Both hobbies can be dangerous if not treated responsibly, but are also quite safe when done with caution and integrity. He believes constant mental evaluations and mandatory safe shacks(where gun owners can safely leave their guns) will allow gun owners safely use their guns and to also safely store their weapons.
• Jessi Gonzalez, a Junior here at APB, believes guns are just a tool in our society that have been appointed different uses. He believes that there should only be regulations on Automatic Rifles because of their capacity of mass destruction, while pistols should only be appointed to the public because the Constitution allows for the right of bare arms. He explains, abolishing guns would solve absolutely nothing, it would just show that the government has more power then the citizens it governs. Jessi believes if the government limits or imposes one of the citizens’ rights then what other rights will be changed.  Jessi asserts,” responsibility is what every gun owner must believe is important because this nation does not need reckless and dangerous people running around with guns”. He believes, people must have knowledge of what a guns are capable and have knowledge of gun usage. To test for sanity in gun owners, Jessi believes gun shops must obligate gun buyers to have one mandatory session with a psychologies for an evaluation.

As illustrated by the interviews, we can conclude that  these APB members ideas of restriction are in the middle. They acknowledge the destruction that guns cause but they also acknowledge that the gun is only has deadly as the one who is utilizing the gun. However, they notice that restricting certain guns to the public would be somewhat helpful because we would control the amount of destruction but  we would be ignoring the blue print of this nation which is the Constitution. However the people in the United States can use the state’s rights to argue on how guns can be regulates, thus you have the power to decide.