Groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) have been calling for their rights back, not only because they want to be able own whatever firearms they want, but also because they want to make sure that their other rights cannot be taken away too.
The National Rifle Association was established in 1871 by Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate in order to teach marksmanship to the people of the United States of America (www.nra.org). Today, the NRA has become a major political force when it comes to firearm legislation and still teaches people about firearms and firearm safety (http://www.nra.org/Aboutus.aspx). With the help of the NRA, hunting has now become one of the safest sports in America (www.nssf.org, www.nra.org). In fact, hunting has fewer injuries per 100,000 people than cheerleading, golf, volleyball, and many other sports which would seem much less dangerous (www.nssf.org). This is mainly due to the safety courses one must take before obtaining a hunting permit, which shows that with the proper education and adherence to the proper safety regulations, guns can be safe.
Gun laws also have not been proven to be effective. Even though the Gun Control Act of 1968 was in place, 1970 saw both an increase in accidents with firearms and homicides as compared to in 1960 (Lester and Murrell 317). "These results, therefore, do not support advocates of gun control who argue that stricter gun control would lower crime or homicide rates" (Lester and Murrell 317). People that fight for more gun control often state that as gun acquisition in a state increases, so does the incidence of firearm violence. While this is true, they do not bring up the violence total, including violence not related to firearms. This is still similar in states, despite the fact that one may have a higher level of gun acquisition (Seitz 598). This shows that regardless of whether they have guns or not, people will still commit violent crimes in other ways.