Juvenile militarization in America

Did you hear about the bill that is being prepared by some lawmakers and entertained by two republicans that’ll render carrying guns lawfully even inside campus vicinities at Texas State University? And another special provision of this bill is that it will allow guns to be carried by students or anyone without having to conceal it. US already has laws that allow one to carry licensed guns for one’s protection but they have to be concealed. If this law is passed, it would basically mean that people could flaunt the size and luster of their guns, could carry it in the open, hanging from their pockets, or wear around their necks like a necklace or maybe just carry it in their hand all the time. Every street would then become a classic Hollywood scene; people would not have to watch Bond movies anymore to see people carrying guns everywhere. Criminals too would not have to conceal their guns since no one would know who is carrying it lawfully or unlawfully. Who would want to mess around with a person carrying a loaded gun?

I wonder what will become of recreational parks. If you walk down to a park to get some fresh air, you might be greeted with an unattended gun, left out there by mistake or someone might have forgotten it like people forget their belongings like bags, or could have fallen from their pockets like sometimes our pens or wallets do. What will be the repercussions?

The lawmakers argue this law will make the universities safe. Texas state senator Jeff Wenworth said, “I don’t want to wake up one morning and hear on the news that some madman went on a campus and picked off Texas students like sitting ducks.” Furthermore, McCarthy, a member of the national pro-gun group argued, “We think that everyone who can legally own a gun should be able to carry openly. Criminals want an easy target. When they see you can fight back they’re going to go somewhere else.” Applauds. America is setting an example of curbing violence through a new method by starting it right from home. Giving everyone a gun to fight against a possible criminal or thwart any criminal activities is their argument. They believe this will shoo away the criminals and madmen just like a scarecrow scares the shit out of crows. But where would these criminals go then? Possibly to other parts of Texas, or maybe other universities in Texas. What then? Other universities too would have to adopt these rules if they are to protect their students against criminals directed towards them from other places. Soon, the suit will follow and all of American colleges would adopt this law. Am I going too far? Well, 11 universities in the US already allow concealed guns on their campus premises. Is this shocking?

Let’s say whole of American universities will pass this law out of need or desperation and rational judgment. Then would the criminals and madmen emigrate to other countries? Sounds too unreasonable, doesn’t it? After all, what would a madman even care? A madman would still go on a shooting spree, no matter his opponents are carrying guns or not. He would not have any rational judgment; he would not shoot innocent people in the first place if he had any. What would the criminals do? They would do what they have always done-come up with ingenious ideas to target innocent people who are not carrying guns or maybe old people. Additionally, they might start using semi-automatics and advanced weapons. This will give rise to a new age cold war between civilians and criminals and even within civilians or criminals.

But America seems to be on the right track. Are they thinking that the world will follow this after them as the 21^st century fashion? Is America thinking that Israel will distribute free guns to Palestinian civilians for self-protection against Hamas’ insurgents? It’s like waging another war to stop an existing war. This law will backfire severely. At a time when the US federal state is having a tough time curbing violence, equipping everyone with a gun will only make it harder to distinguish between a civilian and a perpetrator. But this will definitely add to the militarization of America. American youths would be more willing to join US Army and America would be better prepared for the third world war if it were ever to break out in the imminent future. Here goes the Black Eyed Peas song, “Where is the love?...Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria. Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema, Yo’ whatever happened to the values of humanity…instead of spreading love we are spreading animosity”.