Gun control is out of control

 Christopher Rupley

The Signal

The nation’s recent gun control debate has largely neglected to focus on the issue of mental health, while many members from political parties plan to enact legislation limiting gun owner’s rights and privileges.

Many proponents of the gun control debate want to limit ammunition clip sizes, improve background checks, and ban assault weapons, with very few concerns about the link between mental health and violence in our nation.

The issue of mental health in the gun control debate should be paramount, but it is basically absent. Mental health and violence have long since mutually reinforced one another. Mental health has also been a factor in most of the recent mass shootings in our country.

There are opponents who argue that pushing for strict mental health initiatives is a bad idea that will have unintended consequences, such as further stigmatizing mental health when it comes to purchasing a gun. This could unintentionally lead to people not seeking the mental health they need in order to retain the right to purchase guns, which would do nothing but amplify our current problem.

This does not seem to be the case in Texas. Texas has taken a starkly different approach to the issue of gun control than most other states.

Texas is about to propose legislation that will give students and professors with concealed handgun licenses the right to carry guns on college campuses.

In a series of interesting advertisements, the Texas attorney general, Greg Abbot, has asked New York families who are unhappy with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s new gun control measures to consider relocating to Texas because of our lax gun laws.

What are your thoughts on the current gun control debate in our nation? Do you believe students and professors should have the right to carry guns on college campuses?