Our country has
recently been overcome by devastation with mass murders and the topic of gun control has become an enormous
issue. The focus of gun control has gone beyond government all the way to becoming a common
conversation at the dinner table. Each American has their own opinion of the subject, some more vocal than
others of course. I have found myself doing research on a subject so widely discussed. I feel that our founding fathers created
the 2nd amendment for Americans to have the right to bear arms and although I do agree with some of the changes
they are attempting to do to make sure guns are being purchased by responsible Americans, I feel it
is unconstitutional for the government to attempt to take away our rights all together.
I decided to talk
a little about the 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms, because it
gives good examples as to why I feel that
banning guns is not what was planned for our country. The constitution is what our country is built on and I
felt that if I quoted a few statements from these men then others may get a better understanding of why I
feel strongly about keeping our rights as Americans. Each of the founding fathers have spoken and
documented their thoughts on the 2nd amendment and are very specific on their intentions of
making sure the constitution is never to be violated. “The
greatest danger to American freedom is a government
that ignores the constitution.”-Thomas Jefferson “http://catb.org/~esr/guns/quotes.html”
. The constitution was built for a reason and is to be followed and obeyed. I usually do not get
too into politics or any issues they discuss but this subject was hard to ignore. As I read more and more
quotes from founding fathers on bearing firearms, I understand a little more what our nation is trying to
do on changing what our country was originally built on. “They that give up essential liberty to obtain
a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” -Ben Franklin was also a quote that
caught my eye and got me thinking “http://catb.org/~esr/guns/quotes.html”.
It has been suggested that a country
without firearms will be safer and crime rate will decline, when
in fact other statistics state otherwise. Within a decade of the handgun
ban and the confiscation of handguns from registered owners, crime
with handguns had doubled according to British government crime reports. Gun crime, not a serious
problem in the past, now is. Armed street gangs have some British police carrying guns for the first
time “http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/12/28/will-banning-guns-stop-homicides-stats-from-england-and-australia-show/”. According to criminologist Prof. Don Kates and Prof. Gary Mauser, Russia’s
murder rate is 4 times higher than the United States and 20 times higher than Norway. Russia is a
country that eliminated private firearm ownership over the course of decades. Although many of the murders
were not committed by firearm, it proves that banning legal ownership of a gun does not reduce crime
rate. Another widely publicized mass murder was the stabbing of children in China. Twenty-three
students were stabbed by a man who suffered epilepsy. A gun does not higher crime rate, the people
who possess guns or weapons do and the people are who we need to look at, not the weapon of choice.
Although
I stand by the constitution, I do agree with the suggestion of making it a
little more difficult
to possess a firearm. While watching CNN one evening I overheard the suggestion
of requiring proper training, extensive background
check, two references, mental health evaluation if one has history of any mental healthy illnesses or suicide
attempts, and informing the spouse of gun purchase beforehand. I think that these could
possibly reduce the risk of a firearm ending up into the hands of someone who possesses guns for the
intensions of harming others or themselves.
I do not live near nor have I ever lived in Connecticut but I felt
like I had to take the school shooting personal. The firearm that was shot during the shooting was legally
owned but also in the hands of someone with mental health issues. My son is a six year old
kindergartener and the thought of someone being able to walk into my son’s school and open fire terrifies me.
The Aurora Massacre also hit home. I attended that theater and could possibly have been a victim that
night. James Holmes, a very intelligent
man, was known to have mental health issues and seen a doctor
regularly. If mental health evaluations would have been required, it could’ve been possible that he
would have been denied any type of firearm and the shooting may not have occurred. So again, guns don’t
kill people, people with guns do; so do people with knives, rope, etc. Gun ban will not lower crime
rate but it could possibly protect an innocent, law-abiding citizen from becoming a victim to these criminals.
We just need to be aware of who in this country possess such a possibly harmful weapon.
I know that wanting to make it harder to
possess a firearm may contradict my stand on the abiding
by the constitution but I want to keep the right to possess as long as guns are
in the right hands.
I have gone back and forth on the
subject numerous times because I did hear the victims of the mass murders speak. It’s impossible not to
sympathize with these people but I know that not all guns and their owners have intentions of causing
harm. After countless conversations and research, I have taken my place and stand by my position. If
we could make it harder or impossible to retain a firearm for an unlawful, violent, or mentally unstable person then I feel that
we as a nation have done all we need to do in gun control.
