‘Automatic Deadlines’

On April 26 of this year, a young man walked into a classroom with a semiautomatic rifle and held 70 of his classmates hostage for more than a half-hour before finally being overpowered by several students. That young man was 18-year-old Jeff Cox. The place was an English classroom at San Gabriel High School; and I was one of the 70 students held hostage.

The incident hasn’t gone to trial yet, but I have one basic burning question: How can society allow such easy access to such deadly weapons?

In California, if one is at least 18 years of age, it is possible to purchase a semiautomatic rifle after signing a consent form. There is no background check whatsoever; the buyer can pick up his purchase on the same day. This was the method Jeff Cox used to obtain his weapon. On the other hand, the purchase of a pistol requires a 15-day waiting period, during which the would-be buyer’s background is verified.

Why is there such a discrepancy in the gun-control laws? A semiautomatic rifle is at least as deadly as a pistol, and at the very least should be subject to the same precautionary, pre-purchase measures.

Gun-control laws must be strengthened. Society must no longer fall prey to the terror and anguish caused by deadly firearms in the wrong hands.

Anti-gun control groups miss the point when they argue against the banning of firearms. Gun control doesn’t necessarily mean the banning of firearms, just the control of the access to them. Until action is taken to strengthen the laws, society must suffer through more unnecessary deaths and hostage crises.

Jeff Cox stated that he wanted to make a point about the gun-control laws in this country. Through the use of terror and anguish, he made his point perfectly clear to myself and my classmates.

ALBERT LEW

Alhambra