Gun control, in theory, would work and could keep law-abiding citizens safe and protected.  Criminals would be limited on what they could use, and the police would be there to protect everyone.  This theory works on paper, but not in reality. Politicians should spend less time trying to take guns away from people and spend more time on mental health. 

When the Second Amendment was originally written, it stated: “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.” This means that the American people have the right to own and protect themselves with whatever they please to.

Most anti-gun supporters would argue that when this was written, they didn’t know that we would have the weapons we have today.  They only meant muskets because that is what they had at the time. However, when it says “the right to bear arms,” it does not say “only muskets and muzzle-loading weapons,” only an indefinite reference to “arms.”

When guns are in the hands of safe, responsible citizens, they are safer and more protected from the dangers of the world around us. Twenty years ago economist John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime, and his research partner wrote: “We find that allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths. If those states which did not have right-to-carry concealed gun provisions had adopted them in 1992, approximately 1,570 murders; 4,177 rapes; and over 60,000 aggravated assaults would have been avoided yearly.” In a study done in 2008, between 500,000 to 3 million lives are saved due to a defensive action made by citizens with firearms.

According to the BradyCampign.org, on average 35,141 people die from gun violence per year with the 21,637  being suicides, while on average 60,000 die from drug overdoses and 40,000 from car related deaths per year.

The anti-gun argument for gun control would be something along the lines of, “guns kill people and restricting guns and banning guns will make people safer. ” With that said, any and all firearms are not sentient objects that can kill anyone at will. A firearm is a tool that will only do what the user intends for it to do. By restricting guns and banning certain firearms, it would only prevent the annual 500 unintentional deaths caused by irresponsible and negligent use from irresponsible firearm owners.

The majority of unintentional deaths caused by firearms can be easily be averted if proper gun safety and use is taught to all gun owners.

On the other hand, by having guns banned and restricted, you would only be taking guns from the hands of law abiding citizens and leaving them unprotected from dangerous criminals who now have an advantage.

Guns are not the problem, people are.  People have been killing other people for thousands of years. They have done it with everything from rocks in the stone age to airplanes on 9/11, or with pressure cooker bombs at the Boston Marathon. People do not need guns to kill. If someone wants to kill someone, he or she will find a way to do so.

Mass shootings on the other hand are part of the main battle cry for gun control.  Using dead children and people for their own benefit to get more people to side with banning and restricting guns is a despicable act. Instead of banning and restricting what the American people can buy for self-defense, hunting and recreational use, more extensive background and mental health checks should be conducted to ensure that people who do own firearms, do not go on a shooting spree.  

The lack of mental health programs and care are a real problem in America and have a clear correlation with such tragedies as Sandy Hook and Denver Theater shooting, where both attackers were found to be mentally unstable and never received the treatment they deserve.

Introducing a more in-depth and better-funded mental health program in American society is the only way the American people will be safe from dangerous criminals that want to do nothing but damage to the American people.