The Issue of Gun Control

As we all know, gun control has been a rising issue in the United States since the early 2000s. This is because of the extremely high number of mass shootings that have occurred in America in these recent years. Between 2000 and 2014 there were at least 126 mass shootings. The United States has highest rate of gun violence in the world. There are more guns than people. There is a never-ending controversy on whether gun control laws should be stricter, remain the same, or even be less strict. I interviewed one of my friends to see what his opinion was about the issue. I first asked him his stance. He doesn't think there should be more restrictions on gun control. When I asked him why he felt this way he gave me a couple reasonings.

First, as most people with this belief would say, he said that if someone wanted to kill other people they would find a way regardless of what the law says. Another common saying is guns don't kill people, people kill people. Gun violence occurs because some people don't respect the right all Americans have to live. Guns aren't the problem. He gave me an example to back up his claim as well. He said that the United Kingdom has very strict gun control laws, but violent crime rate hasn't decreased, it has actually risen. In fact, their crime rate has doubled since they passed the Firearms amendment that banned hand guns and made overall stricter gun regulations (Gun Facts). People found other ways to kill others, such as stabbing. The United Kingdom's homicide rate has always been lower than the United States due to cultural differences, not differences in the law.

Next, he said there are already a lot of regulations you need to go through in order to purchase a gun. Things that disqualify you from having a gun include being a fugitive, an addict, have been convicted, are mentally ill, have had a restraining order against you, are dishonorably discharged from the military, are not a legal citizen, and more. The laws also vary in different states. I, however, disagree with this. I believe it should definitely be harder to purchase a gun than it is. And I also believe it's too easy to purchase one illegally and something needs to be done about that. You don't even need a background check if you buy a gun online, at a gun show, or through a private sale (Criminal Watch Dog).

Another reason he stated is that guns are how we protect ourselves from a tyrannical government, which I guess is true and the whole reason we have the Second Amendment in the first place. The Second Amendment states, 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. The whole reason of this amendment is because way back when we needed to protect ourselves, so the government wouldn't abuse its power. He said that the first step to taking away people's rights is taking away their right to bear arms. The example he gave is Nazi Germany.

They were being abused by the government and weren't allowed to fight back and also couldn't fight back because they were not allowed to bear arms. This resulted in the death of five to six million Jews, more than three million Soviet prisoners of war, more than two million Soviet civilians, more than one million Polish civilians, more the one million Yugoslav civilians, about 70,000 handicapped civilians, and more than 200,000 gypsies (The Telegraph).

I believe there will forever be an on-going debate about the issue and no matter what solution we come up with people are going to be upset and disagree. I don't think I know enough to have a complete stance on this topic. I think I am neutral. I agree with some things my friend talked about such as people are always going to find a way to kill other people, but I disagree that gun control laws are already strict enough. I think people should have to go through a bigger, more improved process in order to purchase a fire arm. I also think that we shouldn't completely take away the Second Amendment, but maybe revise it.

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