Assessing the Future of Gun Rights in the U.S.

The one thing that many people do not get about the "Second Amendment" is the interpretation. The Second Amendment is supposed to be the right to bear arms in case of defense. Meaning if someone's going to attack you with a knife or a gun, you have the right to grab a gun and defend yourself. It doesn't necessarily mean stock up on a bunch of firearms just because many people interpret it as the right to bear arms in general. Because of that misinterpretation, we have a bunch of gun nuts. Also, it's very easy for someone to get access to a firearm. Which was the case of Cho Seung-Hui the Korean student who murdered thirty-two people at Virginia Tech.

Unfortunately, gun rights has been and will always be a hot button topic. It needs to be talked about more but not many politicians are willing to talk about it. It's still 2007 while the elections will not take place for a little over a year. You're not going to see the Democrats nor the Republicans talk about the future of gun rights. The National Rifle Association are basically one of the strongest bases for the entire GOP. Most of the NRA members are White-Conservative Christians. You're not going to find that many minorities with membership in the NRA.

The Democrats barely won control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and most of the state governorships. Touching that sensitive subject would be suicidal for any future plans for the Democratic Party. Events like the Virginia Tech Shooting had blown over at least two weeks later. In an more "ideal" society, events such as VT would be talked about for months and maybe even years. Any politician that touches the subject of gun rights can pretty much kiss his/her career goodbye. With the Democrats barely winning by a margin, it would be very unintelligent on their part to touch gun control and gun restrictions.