A little over a week ago, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and two other Democratic congressmen attended the CNN town hall meeting with the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Senator Rubio was a fish out of water in this debate, but came forward with changes in some of his previous thoughts on gun control in Florida and nationwide. He said he is now against high capacity magazines being legal, open to changing the age of eligibility to purchase a weapon, and against arming teachers. Instead of the members of the “Never Again” movement praising Senator Rubio for his willingness to be open to new legislation, he was attacked with tweets condemning him for lying in front of the survivors of the shooting and taking money from the NRA. This same phenomenon happened when the former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, and the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, made similar changes in their political views on gun control two weeks ago. Are opinions not allowed to change?

Yes, these government officials have previously been in favor of fairly loose gun control, but in light of new events, shouldn’t one be able to reassess their views? If they end up going back to voting for the same legislation they did before, then criticism is understandable, but shouldn’t we give them the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions?

In the past, I had fairly conservative views on gun control. My thoughts have always been that we should be able to have guns to protect against government tyranny and that it was a Second Amendment right. However, because of the numerous mass shootings happening around the United States, my views have shifted over the past few months. These shootings could have been prevented, in one way or another, and something needs to change.Whether that be an increase in the age to be able to purchase a gun, increased security measures in schools, increased restrictions on ways people can purchase a gun, or even an overall ban of certain magazines of gun, I am open to the discussion. With my new stances on gun control, I have received varying feedback from friends, classmates, and family. Some have responded with an open mind, willing to discuss the topic, some shy away from the topic entirely, and some respond with spite and anger  either criticizing me for not being consistent or criticizing me for not believing this way previously.

This country has been built on open political discussion, and the concept of change is necessary to progress forward. Having tunnel vision and lashing out in anger against anyone who has ever opposed your views will not get us anywhere.

Gun control is a hot topic right now, and I don’t see that changing for a while. This needs to be a discussion, or this country is going to continue to divide more rapidly than ever. Have this discussion at home with your families and friends, and have this discussion in the classroom. Listen to what others have to say and hopefully, they will listen to you. We cannot simply avoid it and hope it will go away. I do not know the solution to all the mass shootings, but if there is a nationwide conversation about this, maybe we can all come to some sort of compromise. Be open to shifting your opinion in light of new facts, be open to new discussions, be open to change.

Tim Globokar

Assistant Opinion Editor