Why I Am For Less Restricted Gun Laws
As an avid outdoorsmen and hunter I believe that gun laws should be less restrictive. Gun control might be one of the most controversial topics around the country. As shootings and accidents are happening there's no answer to the problem yet. Nearly 14 thousand people are killed by guns a year. Whether this being hunting accidents, suicide, miscellaneous accidents or homicide, the number needs to go down. Banning guns is not the way. All 50 states allow some sort of gun carry, but some more looser than others, in fact 6 states do not allow open carry of handguns in public.
Buying a gun isn't as simple as it seems, you can't just walk into a gun store give them the money and leave. In most states you are required to be ran through a background check, after this you must register your gun and take ownership of the gun. In certain states they go as far as references and intense background checks to see if you are able to own a gun. It is estimated that 270-310 million people in the United States own a gun. But it is not the legal guns doing the crime Christopher Ingraham States in an article that 79 percent of guns used in crimes were not owned by the perpetrator, 18 percent actually did own the weapon and the other 3 percent is unknown. This meaning that banning every high power “assault” rifle or gun will take no effect on stopping the gun violence. If changes were made, everyday life for people would be different. Hunters would find hunting a lot harder, collectors and shooters won't have their hobbies. People who carry for protection of himself, family and others will have no purpose. For example, the resource officer who saved multiple lives in columbine by simply protecting himself and others by making a threat back to the mentally ill shooter. Guns are so much more than a weapon. To some, it's a way of life. If guns were banned and only police and military would be able to carry, the outcome of that shooting would of been a whole lot more tragic.
Gun control clearly doesn’t stop the violence, for example California is notably the strictest state on gun laws. Recently in San Bernardino, two attackers killed 14 and injured 21 at a office holiday party. In California there's four major steps to becoming a gun owner. Step one, pass a universal background check, no matter where you buy your gun. Step two, wait at least 10 days to receive that gun. Step three get your handgun microstamped, which means the make, model and serial number of the gun is transferred to each cartridge case every time the gun is fired. Step four, take and pass a written safety test. All of which are reasonable to do.
However, these two that shot the party up passed it with ease, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that this people would only be using those guns for anything other than harming another person. States like Louisiana have very loose laws regarding guns, which makes it very easy for one to go out and buy multiple guns and use them for a crime, without the state even thinking that the person is going to do what they do. For example, a person in Chicago or California where gun laws are pretty strict can easily go to another state and buy a gun it is pretty easy. Chicago may have a strict gun control policy but they still have nearly 4000 deaths by gun each year and gun control is not stopping the bad people, because in the ends they are going to get it done one way or another. So why make it harder or even impossible for a law abiding citizen to have a gun?
Whether you like it or not, the Supreme Court has repeatedly found that the Constitution guarantees United States Citizens a basic right to own firearms. People opposing guns often believe that gun control will reduce gun deaths. From 99-13 there were 464,033 gun related deaths. Nearly 60 percent were suicides, yes almost 280 thousand people a year kill themselves with a gun and it is proven that people with a gun in the house are most likely to kill themselves. 37 percent of these were homicides making it easy to say “guns are the problem” but there is almost five times as more knife and sharp object related deaths than guns, so why are we just trying to ban guns and eliminate the different kinds of high powered rifles.
There are many types of guns. Personally growing up around guns and learning gun safety ever since the first day I shot a gun. I have shot nearly every type of gun and own a majority of guns that are and aren't used for crime. Understanding guns may be has for someone who has never shot one but it's fairly easy for someone who has grown up around them. Banning guns would affect people more than you think, if it came down to it and the government was going to send people to come search our houses and collect our guns it would be a time where crime would be out of hand. People would be hiding guns, defending their guns with gun and people would start to do things ordinary people would do for something they love and they would do just about anything they could to keep their pride and joy.
Often times, guns are sentimental whether it be an old war gun from their father who passed away serving our country or it was the gun they killed their first deer with that there grandfather bought them at a young age. I’m sure if you walked into a gun owners house and asked them to explain each gun and why it is special to them they could, even if it was a bb gun that they got their son, they would have some sort of explanation as to why that gun means something. Guns are more than just weapons and I can assure you that if you were in a time of danger you would want a gun next to you for protection, not a cellphone.
