I’m David Hogg, and I Support Gun Rights

April 5 | Posted by mrossol | 2nd Amendment, American Thought

Pretty good for a college student.
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WSJ 4/5/2018
My name is David Hogg and I’m not from Parkland, Fla. I first found out about the other David Hogg from my grandfather. He called and asked my parents to turn on the TV because there was a David Hogg who looked similar to me and was close to my age—I’m 16, he’s 17. We were all saddened by the events in Parkland and found the coincidence of names odd.

But then it turned into something we didn’t expect. My mom and I started getting hate messages through social media because people were confusing me with the David in Florida. They used our pictures from Facebook, used anti-Semitic words (although we’re not Jewish), made fun of our looks and our last name, and said many other hateful and crude things. We contacted them one by one to prove that we were a different family. Some believed us, but some just thought it was part of the conspiracy theory.

It kept snowballing. My younger brother was asked at school if that was his elder brother on TV. One of my professors, in the middle of a lecture, asked if I was the David Hogg from Florida.

We hoped things would settle down, but they didn’t. After a while, I decided it was time to tell my story and where I stand on the subject, even though this isn’t my fight.

I feel for Mr. Hogg, his classmates and the community of Parkland, as they have gone through a horrific atrocity. I wish that nothing like this would ever happen again. At the same time, I believe in protecting everyone’s constitutional rights and liberties, and I feel that the Second Amendment is important.

I believe that gun education needs to be improved for buyers and gun-safety instruction should be mandatory in school, much like CPR in health class. Even if you do not personally want a gun, you should be educated on the basics of firearms and what to do in different situations. To help make schools safer, an obvious improvement would be to have more trained, armed security officers at schools and have limited outside entries. Many schools have all doors locked to outsiders; everyone enters through the front area.

The answer is not to take away guns from law-abiding citizens, because that would result in less protection. In theory taking away guns sounds like a good idea, but it’s more complicated than that. Not everyone abides by the law. The law tries to prevent incidents and punishes offenders when crimes occur, but it can’t stop people from hurting others. And it is unjust to punish the majority of law-abiding citizens based on the actions of criminals.

The other David Hogg and I have similar goals but disagree on the means for accomplishing them. He puts more blame on the gun and the National Rifle Association than on the criminal. Still, I applaud him and his fellow activists for exercising their First Amendment right to speak out, without which nothing would ever get accomplished. In order for America to do something about a problem, people must discuss the issue and find the best solution for it.

I am no political scientist, activist or journalist, but I have a viewpoint too. I urge Florida’s Mr. Hogg to listen to people with differing views, because he would want them to listen to him. I recommend he be less demanding and more open to other ideas. People who are not willing to budge from their goal make it harder for change to occur. Also, some of his recent actions— like calling sponsors to stop advertising on a commentator’s program because she was rude to him—come across as bullying, as he claims the NRA is doing to Congress.

I would like to see him soften his tone and be more respectful in delivering his message. Teenagers are smart, but we certainly don’t have all the answers. Both the Florida David and I have a long way to go in life and a lot to learn.

Mr. Hogg studies engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

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One Response to “I’m David Hogg, and I Support Gun Rights”

  1. Following Facebook rant is from Derek Weida, 29-year-old wounded veteran and combat amputee. Derek served as a Paratrooper in U.S. Army’s prestigious 82nd Airborne Division – same outfit my son is flying Black Hawk helicopters with on his third deployment (this time as a hedge against the Russians).

    WARNING: Rough language used in Derek’s rant. Not for sensitive readers.

    RANT: Accurate portrayal of me listening to David Hogg speak. Look, I’m sorry dude, sincerely. It is horrible… School shootings. That said, you have to watch what you say. I’m Derek, I got shot on a house raid in Iraq. My getting shot didn’t make me a professional on war, international relations, house raids (obviously‍♀️), or guns. This horrible thing happened to me but I didn’t come home and protest the war… Even though I do kinda have these feelings that Iraq was errr… Questionable. But it ain’t my place. I did my part. So, I empathize with you and your peers because whereas I signed up to be shot at, none of you did. (Not exactly sure you actually got shot AT but that’s not the point here). Now… Guns. Here’s my two cents: It’s not a gun problem, not a people problem, it’s a culture thing. Thing… Not problem. America loves guns. Accept that just like I had to accept that America loves God. Don’t ever be so quick to tell a whoooole lot of people how to live. Fucking NOBODY wants school shootings, mass shootings, shootings of any kind where somebody ends up injured or dead. Nobody. But people want their guns. I’m actually kinda with the anti-gun folk. There’s no need BUT! I’ve learned that the way I live and the things I believe have nothing to do with how others want to live or what they want to believe. I’m a well regulated idealist. The people you’re arguing against… It’s not even about the gun. It’s about the freedom and the right… And you can’t win an argument against that, nor should you (In most cases). The reality is humans gonna human and when humans human bad things happen sometimes but on the grand scale of things… Like 99.999% of people are good. Yes, let’s find ways to deter those .001% of people as best we can but they’re gonna accomplish their task regardless… Most likely. I guess I just want to say don’t be so quick to talk. Don’t be so quick to think YOU are somehow the ONE person who has things figured out. You want to make a change? Cool!! But… Try to be less of a cunt about it.
    Love and respect,
    Derek

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