Iron, steel, flint and gunpowder- that’s what makes us Americans. “The beauty of the second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try and take it,” -Thomas Jefferson. To try to take away or ban weapons is ignorant for so many reasons, including crime rates, infringement of our rights, putting American citizens in danger, and making a rash decision based on a small set of events.

Now honestly, implementing more gun control laws is just making rash decisions based on a few horrific events. Shootings such as Columbine and the Vegas Shooting were both terrible events, but there are so many events in between where guns are used for protection and not a shot is fired. In the casino shooting in Las Vegas, Stephen Paddock went on to murder 58 innocent people, and injure over 1000 more (Romo). Even through an extensive search by the FBI, there was no motive ever found. Most serial killers and mass murderers are born mentally ill, and go through something in their childhood/adolescence that makes something snap and they become violent. But really, how many people are serial killers? Tightening the gun laws is just trying to prevent the actions of psychopaths, but it’s being done in a way that prevents all sane Americans from having their freedom in the second amendment. Inaccurate facts and using a couple isolated events isn’t enough evidence to instate laws like this.

Now, let’s take a look at the actual crime rates for crimes that involve firearms. Between 1994 and 2004, there was an Assault Rifle Ban throughout the entire United States, but if gun laws actually worked and prevented criminals and mentally ill from obtaining the weapons, how was the Columbine shooting in 1999 able to happen (Perry)? See, by banning weapons, all it does is completely disarm the lawful Americans. How is it possible that Americans are 50 times more likely to lose a loved one to cancer, than to a gun, and the government refuses to push as hard for cancer research as they are for gun control? How about when people go up to quote inaccurate statistics about gun-related deaths, they say “approximately 32,500 people,” when, if you take out gang violence, suicide, and accidental death, that number drops to less than 7500 (Worley). The benefits of guns outweigh the cons 1000 to 1.

“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,” (2nd Amendment). The U.S. Constitution was written with the purpose of making all Americans safe, while allowing them to experience freedom, as promised. The U.S. Constitution gave every American citizen the RIGHT to keep and bear arms, and does not say “but we can take assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and basically every gun available.” The Constitution does not allow the government to swoop in and steal our personal weapons, or ban people from obtaining them. Background checks, psych evaluations, and gun safety classes, I can understand and agree with, but full force banning or hardcore restrictions is just pointless and will do more harm than good. To think the government actually believes that they can take away guns and get around the second amendment is sickening, and as an avid supporter of the NRA (National Rifle Association), I find it extremely important to make sure people understand why this is not okay for our society. The NRA is a group that supports gun rights of the 2nd Amendment, and those who deceive and falsify information to try and criminalize weapons are clearly lost on their views.

In reality, taking away or restricting weapons will make American citizens unsafe. According to the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, they say that guns are used by civilians roughly 990,000 times per year, adding up to less than 1% of the total guns in circulation, meaning a civilian will probably never even actually fire their gun. Being able to even have a gun on us makes us feel more safe, and if someone were to come up to a citizen, and have him/her be able to pull a legal weapon on the criminal in self defense, the criminal would more than likely run away without a shot ever being fired. Statistics have shown over and over that gun owners feel more safe with the gun. Walking the streets without having a decent way to protect him/herself is just asking for trouble and puts American citizens at risk. Taking away our form of protection hurts the United States, and sends a complete sense of unease throughout the country. I would never walk down a road without some form of protection with me, and I would never go back-roading or hiking without some form of protection either. In 2019, our streets are a war zone- so why would the government send in soldiers who are unarmed?

No matter which reasons a person agrees with, they are all relevant and are all accurate examples of why we should keep our guns. Hearing about the government taking away our weapons is purely sickening, and there should never be any way that the government can get around the second amendment and take our guns away. For whoever you are, think about what kind of hell you will bring down on our country by form of revolution and how the country will fall apart.

-D.B.

Works Cited:

About the NRA, NRA.ORG. https://home.nra.org/about-the-nra/

Perry, Clayton. “Why Gun Control is Not the Answer, and What We Can Do to Stop Gun Violence,” Farmington Flyer. https://www2.umf.maine.edu/flyer/archives/2013-spring/issue-2-3-7-2013/why-gun-control-is-not-the-answer-and-what-we-can-do-to-stop-gun-violence/

Romo, Vanessa. “FBI Finds No Motive In Las Vegas Shooting, Closes Investigation,” NPR. 29 Jan 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/01/29/689821599/fbi-finds-no-motive-in-las-vegas-shooting-closes-investigation

Worley, Grant. “Gun control laws must be enforced properly, not expanded,” The Daily Collegian. 15 June 2016. https://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_1ac60dd6-328f-11e6-a9a6-37b1d64b16fc.html