Although everything about mass shootings thoroughly proves time and time again that what America needs as a nation is a change to the second amendment, logically, that may never happen.

1,091 deaths. 152 shootings. 155 shooters. 178 children and teenagers. 295 guns. 52 of which, were obtained illegally. These are the undeniable facts that mass shooting have left the US with. Will America ever change the 2nd amendment? It simply isn’t enough that after 152 times, we lower our flags, have moments of silence, and pray it never happens again. Americans have become so accustomed to mass shooting that it is almost as though they have become apathetic to the news of them. It is not enough to mourn those who have been lost. What America needs, is to change the 2nd amendment.

I was visiting my grandparents in winter of 2012 on my Christmas break. I was making a pie with my grandmother, where 55 miles from where I was, Sandy Hook Elementary was experiencing a mass shooting. 27 people were killed. 2 were injured. 20 of those killed were six and seven year olds. They were all in kindergarten, barely old enough to lose one of their own grandparents, these children died and had their entire lives ahead of them. We didn’t do enough for those children. A boy was simply able to obtain three weapons illegally and cause damage that could never be reversed and left dozens of family facing pain and loss.

Yet, since Sandy Hook, there have been many more. Tragedies pile on top of one another and nothing changes. All of the lives lost should be enough evidence that America needs a change to gun control policies. It simply isn’t reasonable that American children have to live with the fear that they could die at school. It isn’t reasonable that Americans have to be afraid to go to their place of worship, because they are at risk of dying along with dozens of others who were only there to practice peace. It isn’t enough that even after the Las Vegas mass shooting at the route 91 music festival, where 58 people died and 422 were injured, that guns are still a big issue.

In fact, the rate of increase in school shootings should be considered a crime itself. California State University experienced a mass shooting in 1976, in which 7 were killed and 2 were injured. Following that in 1999, Columbine High School in Colorado lost a total of 13 people and 24 were injured. Then in 2007 at Virginia Tech 32 people died and 23 were injured. There has been a 50% increase in mass shootings since 1993. The United States holds 66% of the world’s mass shootings.

Opposing sides argue that guns are an American right, which of course, they are. However, they are a right to those who are licensed, not to those who have obtained them illegally. Originally, guns were made a citizen’s right in the constitution in order to protect citizens against the government, in case they gained too much control. This right gave Americans power and leverage over the government, making it a level playing field for both parties. This is a very fair and just argument that Americans are able to have that other countries do not have, and in case of a cultural revolution like those that happened in Cambodia and China, Americans could be able to fight for themselves.

But the simple fact is, the constitution will not change at this point in history. To change the constitution is an incredibly thorough and difficult process. First a new amendment or repeal of the amendment must be proposed to congress. Second, ⅔ of the congress must approve of it for it to move forward. Then, the proposal is sent to the house of all 50 states, ¾ ’s must must approve of it. If it passes both of these processes, there is a new amendment. This has only happened once before in American history, to the 13th amendment. The 13th amendment allowed for the ownership of slaves and the punishment/ abuse of them. This took the United States 148 years to completely ratify because Mississippi only agreed to certify the proposal of the amendment in 2013. This was an amendment for an entire population of people, and took over a century, could you imagine the time it would take to make a change on an object such as a gun?

Furthermore, many gun rights advocates argue that not everyone who uses guns use them for violence, which is very true. Many own guns as family heirlooms, or priceless artifacts, making the abolishment of them almost impossible. The US makes up less than 5% of the world’s population, however, with the ownership of 270 million guns in the nation, the US owns 42% of the worlds gun supply. The total elimination of guns in the US would not be possible through changing the constitution simply because it would cause a domino effect on many other amendments, and the ninth clause, which would in turn cause a change to almost the rest of the amendment, totally changing the playing field of the constitution and American rights.

Not only is it unlikely that the amendment will be agreed on by 34 out of 50 heads of state, but it will take decades and go through generations of Congress, making it a painful and long process. Because of how unlikely the change is to to ever occur, Americans should not count on the event ever taking place.  The statistics clearly help support the claim that ethically and emotionally the second amendment should change, however, at the end of the day, because of laws and logic, the amendment will likely remain untouched for the rest of history. At this point, the only thing people can do is change laws in state, make it more difficult to acquire the weapons, and pray event’s will never happen again.

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