Gun control: More liberal aproach

The second amendment right to bear arms is a very controversial topic, as I have seen in my civics class discussions about it. I will stand up and say that I think that guns in general should be outlawed in the US. Why? Because I find it much easier to come up with arguments against owning and selling guns, than most people can find for owning a gun. The three main reasons that were given in my class were for protection, hunting, and that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. I don't pretend to be an expert on anything; these are just my views on why we should not be allowed to have guns.

Wanting to feel safe is something that everyone in America seeks. However, it is my belief that without guns in the first place, we would all feel a bit safer. In a science called profiling (which does not only profile people, but victims and crime scenes), it has often been said that shooting someone is a much more passionless crime than stabbing and beating someone to death. Most people (hopefully) do not have the passion and anger that it would take to kill someone through more physical contact than a gun would give.

Other countries that have gun control laws are fortunate to see significantly less gun violence than America. It would be wonderful if those people living in bad neighborhood could walk out of their homes and not have to worry about getting shot. Think on this for a minute: gas station attendants are notorious for getting held up and shot. Most of those that are held up get shot, not stabbed. Wouldn’t it be great if the attendants didn't have to worry about getting shot? People who have guns in the house for protection with children run the risk that their children will find it eventually. Think about how many children have lost their lives or killed others (unintentionally or otherwise) because they somehow got a hold of a gun.

Hunting is a pastime that many people partake in in NC. It took me a while to come to grips with the fact that children are hunting and killing. Being from NJ, I had never been surrounded by so many hunters in my life. I fail to see the sport in it whatsoever. A human, who carries a gun, sneaking up on unsuspecting animals to kill them seems a more than a little unfair to me. Hunting riffles and the like are used, but high-powered rifles? I struggle to understand why they need high-powered rifles to kill an animal. Taking a more Buddhist approach to hunting, I believe that all life is sacred and important. Hunting for sport is horrible and cruel. The animal's life was taken for nothing, and this to me is unfair. I do, however, agree that the population of certain animals does need to be thinned out, but the people who hunt should be responsible for eating whatever they kill.

"Guns don't kill people, people kill people" is the argument most prevalent to me. Because people use guns to kill and hurt other people, does that mean that they are any less dangerous? The United States seems to think it our mission to disarm other countries that may have WOMD, because there is the potential that they might use them on us. Why are we so afraid to disarm the people of this country? Those who carry and keep guns also have the potential to hurt someone (accidentally or not). Just because the actual gun is not living, and therefore not responsible for any action it is used for, are we going to hand people things that are only designed to hurt and kill?

If there were no more guns, there would be no more school shootings, no more gang drive-bys, ultimately no more gun violence. While I am willing to compromise with hunting, i.e. only allowing certain types of guns to be sold only for hunting, it is my belief that a gun-free America would be better for everyone.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

 •    •    •    •    •