The stereotype of Democrats is that they want to take away everyone’s guns.
Under former President Barack Obama, gun sales skyrocketed, especially after any mass shooting that received nationwide coverage, over the fear that he and the Democrats in Congress would be successful in restricting everyone’s access to firearms. It didn’t help that Obama at times talked about confiscation a la Australia. But his administration generally just took half-measure actions that made it seem like they were doing something on the federal level, but, in reality, they did nothing to prevent mass shootings and really only infringed on people’s rights.
In recent weeks, support for passing stricter gun control measures has grown among Republicans surveyed from 36 to 43 percent. Still, when it comes to practical bipartisan solutions, the ideas are pretty vague.
For Antjuan Seawright, a strong believer in the Second Amendment, a gun owner, and a Democratic strategist from Columbia, S.C., the solutions being proposed won’t end all mass shootings or gun violence completely, but are, at least, a step in the direction of saving innocent lives.
“I think we have a responsibility to pass policies that can prevent [these tragedies] from happening,” Seawright told the Washington Examiner. “And I’m not saying that’s the end-all be-all. I’m not saying that if we pass some bipartisan gun reform measures that is going to prevent these things from happening. But if we can prevent one life and save one life, if we can prevent some mother from having to plan another funeral or some father from having to participate in another funeral, then I think we’ve done our jobs.”
He went on to say that with respect to President Trump’s school safety proposal to reduce gun violence, arming teachers in the classroom is a misguided and potentially terrifying solution.
“The president’s school safety proposal is probably not worth the government paper it’s being printed on,” Seawright explained. “He’s clearly out of touch with what everyday American people want. If you ask any teacher in any classroom in America, most of them will tell you they have one job: to go in the classroom and teach, not to be security guards, not to be cops, not to be trained to have a weapon.”
Seawright continued to say his sister, who is an educator, is “scared piss-less” about the possibility of more guns being brought into schools, even for protection.
Seawright, who was a close friend of the late pastor and South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pickney, who was killed in the Charleston church shooting in 2015, believes there are better ideas currently being discussed.
“If a gun background check does not come back within two or three days, then the gun seller should not have the ability to sell that firearm,” Seawright said. “If you have mental health issues, there’s probably a good reason why you should not be able to purchase a gun legally in this country.”
He continued to say that he also supports universal background checks and a ban on bump stocks, saying, “We would not have experienced what we experienced in Las Vegas, if the sale of bump stocks were banned.”
Seawright is also supportive of restricting gun sales to individuals on a terrorist watch-list as well as raising the age of purchasing “military-style” weapons from 18 years old.
This is not to say that every liberal or conservative supports Seawright’s stance. But there are individuals on both sides of the aisle in Congress who can come to an agreement that will help mitigate this issue.
With Wednesday marking the one-month anniversary of the Parkland shooting, the conversation of what to do about guns, particularly for Republicans, is moving towards a place where it’s okay to talk about gun control. Perhaps one day, Congressional Republicans will get the message.
