Recently, 27-year-old Stephen Kazmierczak, a former student at Northern Illinois University went into a suicidal fit as he gunned a few students in a lecture hall. In response, US Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama of Illinois said that the country must do what it takes to stamp out gun related violence.
It would look as it if it hit Obama because he is still a Senator in the US Senate from Illinois. Barack Obama lived a good deal of his life in Illinois. He was even in the Illinois State Senate before going into the US Senate.
On Friday, Obama had spoke to NIU’s president and offered whatever help he and his Senate office could muster in terms of investigating the shooting and helping to better the security on the campus. While campaigning in Wisconsin which neighbors Illinois, he had spoken about the shooting that took place.
Obama used to be a law instructor that talked about constitutional law. He said that the rights of the Second Amendment which is the right to bear arms is for individuals while some have argued that it promises gun ownership to those in militia groups. But, Obama had made it clear that he believed that the rights of the Second Amendment are individual rights and not collective rights.
He said while he thinks it is the right of an individual person to bear arms, it is subject to regulation of common sense. Obama said that one example would be background checks.
In that regard, Obama said he would support federal gun legislation based on a law that has already been passed in the state of California. That law that is applied allows for the immediate tracing of ammunition used in a crime.
It would mean that bullets used in such crimes would be traced to the manufacturers, the stores, and the eventual owners in a sense. However, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has given a strong objection to that law in California. But, Obama believes that it is a new law that both gun owners and victims of gun violence can support.
“Today we offer them our thoughts and prayers, but we also have to offer them our determination to do whatever it takes to eradicate this violence from our streets, from our schools, from our neighborhoods and our cities,” Obama had explained. He adds: “That is our duty as Americans.”
Obama said he supports gun control but has no intention of taking guns away from their respective owners.
The shooting that took place in a lecture hall at NIU mirrors the shooting that took place last April at Virginia Tech. Cho Seung-hui a South Korean student had murdered at least 30 people before turning the gun on himself.
Kazmierczak, the NIU shooter had stopped taking his medication.
In the case of Cho Seung-hui, his mental health did raise much concern. However, his medical records were confidential and were not made available during the background check.
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