The Jakarta Post: Nathanael Gratias Sumaktoyo
It would be a rough comparison and some people might object to it, but it is interesting to match the gun control debate in the United States to Indonesia’s problem of religious intolerance. Certainly, both cases exhibit differences.
Nevertheless, the similarities they share are striking. Both are related to the Constitution of their respective countries and are politically divisive.
The gun control debate originates from the Second Amendment, which says: “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. Emphasizing that constitutional guarantee, gun control opponents argue that the state may not abridge the right of citizens to possess firearms, not forgetting that firearms are also beneficial for self-defense. On the other side of the equation is the fact that firearms are now more deadly than ever.
Categories: Americas, Indonesia, United States