Today in class we had a discussion about gun control with Boris leading us with his presentation. Boris did a great job informing us about the landmark court cases that must be discussed when debating this topic. As usual, talks were heated. Some people, including me, argued that having a gun is the best defense against an attacker. The opposition argued that added gun presence would encourage more violent behavior.
According to the wording of the second amendment, “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.” Because violent criminal and terrorist attacks threatens the security of the free state, and infringe upon the rights of citizens, it is difficult to argue that Americans don’t have a right to protect themselves. That does not mean that everyone should have access to guns. People who are mentally unstable, who pose a threat to both themselves and their neighbors, should not have access to guns. However, with proper background checks and psychological assessments, gun possession can be limited to those who are competent to use fire arms.
My favorite example of this is the one that I used in class. If someone walked in the room that you are currently in with a gun, wouldn’t you like to have a gun to shoot back? Those who opposed this said that while it would be nice to be able to defend yourself and those around you, more people with guns would lead to more gun crime. This is not true because the criminals already have guns. Those with a burning desire to get guns will always have the underground outlet to get them. As such, criminalizing guns would only prevent responsible gun owners from acquiring them in the first place. As a result, this would create an armed criminal population with guns without responsible citizens to counteract them. Clearly, such a move would create an unfavorable and dangerous society; one that is not only a threat to American citizens, but against the very values that the country was founded upon.
