I was watching the local news a few weeks ago, and a story came on about the March 4 decision in the Colorado State Senate regarding gun laws.  There were several decisions made, most of which outlaw large magazines and require background checks on all gun sales, even those that take place at gun shows and online.  On Wednesday, Gov. Hickenlooper signed several of those bills into law.

Normally, I would agree with the stances and outcomes of the decisions made on March 4. But something on the broadcast really stuck out to me.  For only a second or two, a state senator had a sound bite.  He said, “We are making decisions based on emotions, instead of unbiased reasoning.”

Now that got me thinking.  With the recent events relating to gun violence, it seems almost ridiculous to take a conservative side on the issue.  That’s with the recent events.  Where were we before those events?  Why did they alter our thinking?  Are we changing our ideology on huge issues only due to our mourning as a country?

And then another question entered my brain: Should one rotten apple spoil the whole bunch?

I’m not trying to argue that Sandy Hook, Aurora or Columbine weren’t tragedies.  Because they were.  But where is the line between what we see as something influencing our politics and what we see as morally right?  Are we approving gun bans locally, as well as attempting nationally, due to emotions, or due to the issue really at hand?

We’ve had our Second Amendment for centuries now.  The right to bear arms was enacted so that if our government ever decided to take our rights away, we would be able to tell them that they can’t.  We could stand up and fight.  So here’s my question: Is banning certain amounts of ammunition, certain types of magazines, etcetera truly taking our rights away, or is it simply limiting our rights?  There have been countless tragedies relating to gun violence since the Bill of Rights was enacted.  But there have certainly been more eras without gun violence than with it.

 Let me ask you this: Do you fear going to work because you think someone will bring a gun there?  Do you fear going to school for the same reasons?  Do you fear going anywhere because of guns?

The government, acting out of emotions, are limiting our ability to have certain access to certain weapons in certain situations.  They are limiting our rights.  Is that the government having too much power?  Or is it simply the American public being too paranoid about recent events?

Discussions, discussions, discussions.

Ethan Dayton
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

*Editor’s Notes are published the first and third Friday of every month, as well as the Friday that an issue is released.