(Myths and Realities).
In April of 1999, after the Columbine high school massacre, the snowballed in a sense with people rallying for greater gun control laws. Advocates called for stricter firearm laws, and for mandatory safety child locks. Two teenage boys had killed 14 students, including themselves, and a teacher. Granted these boys were disturbed, and they did use legalized in their actions. However, that's not something that harsher gun control laws could have prevented at all. Cigarette lighters have are supposedly childproof, but they"re still quite simple for a child to figure out. The bottom line is that these teenage boys planned their attack. They were smart, and though mandatory child safety locks might prevent a small child from having an accident, it certainly wouldn't have prevented the shootings at Columbine high school. A girlfriend, who had no knowledge of the crime being committed, purchased the two shotguns used by Harris Klebold legally and passed a background check in doing so. It's unfortunate, but no additional laws could have prevented their attack on Columbine High School. (Myths and Realities).
Furthermore, many states actually do have laws that make it legal to carry a concealed weapon, and surprisingly those states have lower crime rates than those that don't. The constitution gives us the right to bear arms, and the right for protection. Thirty-one states recognize this, and give their citizens the right to carry these concealed weapons for personal protection. On average, guns are used in self-defense more than two million times a year, which is three to five times the estimate number for violent crimes that are committed with a gun each year. (Myths and Realities) Suppose those two million people didn't have guns for their protection. What would the average crime rate be then? Often times, criminals are afraid of committing crimes, or prevented from committing crimes, due to citizens who are legally allowed to carry guns for their own self-protection.