We've all seen the tragic story on the news too many times. A small child somehow gets hold of a gun with devastating results. Equally tragic, an inexperienced or careless adult is handling a gun only to have it fire accidentally. These tragedies all cry out for the government to regulate the gun industry, forcing them to produce a safer product.
"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". (Kleck 348) This is an exact quote from the second amendment of the United States Constitution. This amendment states that the people have the right to own a gun to protect themselves. The government has no right to disobey the constitution and take away peoples freedom. Rules such as the seven-day waiting period rule, has infringed these rights. Every year Americans defend themselves against criminals 760,000 times. One out of ten gun owners will protect themselves against a criminal. (De Conde 250).
Every year, thousands of criminals purchase guns legally and use them to commit crimes. Policies such as background checks and mandatory waiting periods deter criminals while negligibly limiting the rest of us. Clearly, these tactics have helped keep guns out of the hands of some criminals. The second amendment is actually hurting us now. In 1998 part of the Brady Bill was ruled unconstitutional. The background check is now optional instead of mandatory. (De Conde 252) Now if gun sellers do not want to check a given persons background they do not have to. This is now making it easier to get guns.
There is no use whatsoever for semi-automatic weapon use in the United States unless for military use. The government is not fit to decide what warrants adequate protection. From 1987-1996 Florida passes a right to carry law that reduced their homicide rate by 36 percent. Why shouldn't law-abiding citizens be able to arm themselves with the same weapons that the criminals use? The outlawing of assault weapons is nothing more than a first step towards banning all types of firearms.
