Gun Violence in America

When our founding fathers of the United States of America created our country they included a list of laws to protect the rights of each individual citizen. The Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment of this document clearly states that

                “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.”

Some may claim that this amendment is irrelevant in modern day society, but in a society where it is easy for criminals to purchase a firearm shouldn’t citizens have the right to protect themselves?

The recent gun control debate has created irrational conceptions about the role of guns in the harming of others. Guns are inanimate objects which fire high powered projectiles. Guns are objects that could be used to harm or more importantly protect.  They are not responsible for the murders and massacres caused. Humans are the ones we should be looking at for being responsible for these disasters. To simply restate my point,

By creating these laws they are merely pointing the blame in the wrong direction. The expanding gun control laws will not provide more protect for our citizens but rather they will make it easier for criminals to harm the innocent. These laws also target those who already carry guns although they have no criminal intent in any way. In my personal opinion these gun control laws will not bring upon the outcome they hope to intend but will rather endanger more citizens more likely than it will protect.

One of the most common misconceptions is that with increased gun control laws nobody will be able to harm one another since guns will be outlawed. This is obviously not true; our country’s history has proven that despite prohibition people will find a way to access illegal substances. This makes it extremely dangerous when citizens are encountered with individuals with a gun and do not have one to protect themselves with. Similarly if a robber was to attack your house with a weapon you will be defenseless.

Nikki Goeser is licensed gun carrier who lost her husband one night when a stalker followed them and murdered him right in front of her. Even though she was licensed to carry a weapon, Tennessee law prohibits citizens to carry firearms in restaurants she had to watch helpless as her husband was murdered. Here is the article with further information about this story. This story is only one of many that will continue to happen if we limit our citizens the right to protect themselves.

Gun control laws are prominent all over the nation and in some areas they have already been successfully passed. Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley recently passed stricter gun control laws as a response to the Sandy Hook shooting. This bans all assault weapons and requires finger printing for all citizens who wise to purchase a gun. These laws have not reduced the crime rate and in fact it is actually getting worse. It is clear example of how the alteration of laws will not automatically yield positive results.

Other laws in place also unjust in the reaction towards those who have guns. In New York the penalty for carrying a weapon with 11 rounds can be charged with felony charges similar to child sexual assault. This outrageous sentence shows the extreme level of punishment we would apply to our citizens who simply want to exercise their second amendment right.

Despite all of these discussions of events and statistics it is important to understand that these tragedies involving guns will not be stopped with further laws. These events are merely indicators of a much greater problem that involves our entire nation. Guns are not the problem here. We as a country must realize that people behind these violent actions are responsible.

As a country we are quick to blame media as a separate cause for these tragedies. That those video games children constantly play are creating killers. But who bought them those video games? Who allowed them to watch those TV shows? We must look to the root of the problem that our society is unwilling to blame themselves as the cause of creating unstable citizens who may act out in aggression. As parents it is important to teach your children that the violence they see on television and video games is fake and unacceptable. Parents should not be raising their children in the mindset that violence is an acceptable behavior. I should not need to explain the reasoning behind that. 

Accidental incidents where children gain access to guns are not the fault of the weapons. The owners of the guns must be more responsible to reduce the chance of danger. Similarly, when children are troubled it is up to the parents or even teachers to take notice. Communicating is crucial in these situations. It should not take a devastating act of violence for the parents or friends of that person to realize there is something terribly going wrong in that person’s life. People are affected and changed by how they are treated by those around them.

A father of a Sandy Hook student stated his own personal position against gun control. His message to is perfectly clear. It was an evil person that murdered those children, not guns. Every citizen deserves the right to exercise their right to bear arms in self-defense. These gun control laws will not change the fact that these children were not protected by the safety procedures and police. The YouTube link provided shows his whole statement. 

We should focus our efforts to fix our society in different ways instead of more restrictive legislature. Crime is more prevalent in lower income communities and we should focus our efforts in fixing these environments. If we implement stricter gun control laws these citizens will have a harder time protecting themselves against those criminals.

In the end all that matters is the safety of those you care about. With restrictive gun control laws you will lose that ability to protect them. Changing gun control laws will not change the violent nature of these people. Even without guns they will find other weapons to harm others some which way be more gruesome. If we remove guns from our society completely the millions of citizens who no longer carry weapons will be victim to criminals who will continue to carry firearms all over the nation. Should our government be able to deny their citizens their constitutional right to protect those they love and care for? What happens when the police do not respond fast enough? What happens to the safety of the American citizen? These are all question I implore you to consider when you make the decision about gun control laws. Make sure whatever decision you make is based on knowledge and careful consideration, because these laws will affect the lives of not only us but future generations to come.