My Views on Gun Control
So do I support gun control? Yes . . . to an extent.
Obviously, guns can have serious and deadly consequences if not properly and responsibly taken care of. I feel very strongly that anyone who owns a gun should keep it hidden safely away, out of the reach of young children. Also, I encourage parents to be honest with their children about their ownership of guns, proper uses of guns, and the severity that guns may have when misused.
I additionally support doing background checks on gun owners when they register to purchase new firearms to keep guns out of the hands of individuals with serious past criminal records. Not something non-homicidal like tax evasion or embezzlement, but crimes which involving murder or the use of a weapon to threaten others. These malicious criminals should not be able to own handguns, rifles, or any other type of firearm. Waiting periods are acceptable, as well. I feel that gun owners should be required to successfully complete "gun safety" classes before they are actually permitted and licensed to own guns. This is essential because it is important that gun owners actually know how to use a weapon competently, or they could accidentally harm themselves, family, friends, or other innocent individuals.
Most importantly, these stipulations must be enforced by the government, at both the national and state levels.
However, federally banning all guns from every American home would be an utterly moronic and ludicrously naive strategy on the part of the American government. People argue how "it has worked in other countries." But the United States is arguably one of the most diverse and unique nations on the planet . . . and along with diversity and uniqueness comes a dangerous flock of criminally-insane perpetrators who are going to find a way to get their hands on guns one way or another.
I am so sick of hearing anti-gun bed-wetters claim that there is no merit to the statement, if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns. Hel-lo! Of course that statement has merit! What do you think is going to happen?! Criminals will still obtain guns from the black market - - guns which they will use for home invasions, burglaries/robberies, and other naughty crimes such as those. They will continue to kill. And don't tell me that criminals won't be able to afford guns "because gun prices on the black market will skyrocket." Economics lesson: if prices are too high and a product isn't selling, then sellers have to lower their prices if they want to make a sale. If no one is buying guns off the black market because prices are too high, then sellers will naturally lower their prices slightly until purchasers are able to afford to buy guns. Thus criminals will still have guns. Cocaine and methanphetamine are expensive and illegal, but people still attain those and other drugs. I don't see how people think it will be any different with guns.
Look at 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.
The Framers of the Constitution intentionally wrote such amendments to allow for broad interpretation. Some people argue that the Second Amendment doesn't stipulate for the private ownership of guns by citizens. Maybe not specifically, but it doesn't say that people don't have the right to own guns, either.
Let's break down the Second Amendment and interpret it, shall we?
Couldn't someone who takes up arms to protect his/her own family be considered a "militia"?
If he/she takes up arms solely for the purpose of protecting someone he/she loves, couldn't that be considered "well-regulated"?
Couldn't the United States be considered a "free state"? So a family residing within the United States would be part of a "free state"?
Couldn't "security" be considered ensuring that someone doesn't kill you or your family if they trespass into your home?
Americans do have the right to defend themselves against dangerous psychopathes who walk the streets of the United States.
If someone is about to kill me or someone who I care about, and eliminating that person with a gun is the only way I can save my own life or someone else's, you can bet that I will promptly terminate that person's life before they have a chance to take someone else's. And in some situations in real-life when this happens, using a gun may be the only way to save the life of someone who's being threatened by another person. So it doesn't make sense to punish all citizens by illegalizing all citizens' rights to own a handgun for protection due to the fact that there are psychotically-deranged people out there. That's exactly why people should be able to own guns in the first place.
Should rifles be outlawed? Rifles can be used as weapons also. What would people use to go deer-hunting . . . pea-shooters?! The deer population would overpopulate in the absence of deer-hunting.
Many urban areas are heavily surrounded by crime, and disarming innocent citizens will only cause them to fall further prey to the out-of-control crime-filled atmospheres of inner-cities and metropolitan areas. How do gun-banning proponents expect to keep track of all the unregistered guns that have been floating around the country for generations, if citizens' guns are outlawed? What are we going to do . . . have random searches of citizens' homes? Now we're treading on violation of the Fourth Amendment. Are we going to search every single household in America?
Because of the flexibility of the Constitution, prohibiting citizens from owning guns by keeping them in their homes would be ruled unconstitutional - - unless the Supreme Court wants to create a vigilante society of irate Americans.
Sometimes pepper spray just isn't enough.
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