Migos rapper Takeoff’s public and fatal shooting in Houston has once again sparked the decades long argument of gun control and background checks. In response to his sudden death, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement calling for gun control, citing gun violence to be “an epidemic that will not end with thoughts and prayers alone.” 

Currently, gun control and background checks are determined by each state’s legislature. For example, Texas is notorious for having minimal restrictions on guns. Recently, the Texas legislature passed a new law allowing anyone to carry a firearm in public without a license, which has already resulted in additional violent incidents. For example, 9 year-old Arlene Alvarez was fatally shot by an unlicensed man who was trying to shoot a thief. 

Yet, Republicans all over the country are adamant about the right to carry. Many believe the Second Amendment applies regardless of age or criminal records. Infamously, the National Rifle Association once said, “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

Add a heading by Rhamil Aloysius Taguba [STUDENT]

But, the Republican argument is heavily flawed when it comes to guns. Many say gun laws won’t prevent ill-intentioned people from obtaining a firearm; the “bad guy” will just get the gun illegally. However, comprehensive gun laws would simply make it harder for the mentally ill or felonious to obtain a legally owned gun. Republicans are seriously downplaying the fact that it’s easier to obtain a firearm in a gun store than having to go to a shady arms dealer and attracting more suspicion. 

Many Republicans are also concerned about the infringement of Constitutional rights, particularly the Second Amendment. Conspiracy theories heavily accuse the government of tyranny and believing a removal of guns allows for a more forceful and invasive government. Yet, the purpose of background checks isn’t to remove anyone’s firearms, but to prevent those ineligible from receiving one.

The Second Amendment is not meant as an unlimited right to firearms nor is it intended for mentally ill people to walk up to a gun store and ask for a gun in order to shoot up schools and Walmarts. And if Republicans are the law-abiding, reasonable people that they so claim they are, then they should have no trouble dealing with background checks since they can easily get through them. In terms of privacy, many jobs ask for your social security number, so having gun stores dive into your criminal record should be a minor concern.

Takeoff’s death could have easily been prevented if states like Texas didn’t allow everyone to carry a gun. Perhaps if Republicans took some responsibility for their firearms, there wouldn’t be as much debate about who should own a gun.