Response to Gun Control or Gun Extinction.
Gun control is a huge issue in the United States today. Guns killed 27,427 Americans in 1999 alone (National Center for Injury Prevention & Control). There is no doubt that these numbers are unacceptable in a nation such as America, which is supposed to lead the world. While I agree with Eric Maust in that there is a huge problem with gun control today, I do not believe that outlawing guns is the solution to that problem.
The second amendment may be old and outdated, but I believe every American should have the right to own and carry a firearm should they feel the need to. This does not mean that everyone should be given a gun. Guns do not kill people, people kill people. To get a hand gun these days, one must first go through a background check. To make this country safer, a stricter background check is a good idea.
Strict background checks would greatly reduce the chance of guns getting into the wrong hands. By looking at criminal history, it can be determined that some individuals might be dangerous with a gun in their hands. Individuals with any type of criminal record should not be allowed to own a gun, regardless of how minor the offense may be. Also, limits to the amount of guns one can purchase would reduce the risk of guns getting into the wrong hands.
The problem is not that people have guns; it is that the criminals have guns. The majority of gun owners go about their business and never break the law with their gun. One such individual is Steve DeHaan. Mr. DeHaan is a self employed carpenter. He does a lot of work in the crime-infested neighborhoods of Detroit. Whenever he is on the job in Detroit, he has one or two guns on him at all times. Mr. DeHaan has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, a CCW. To obtain a CCW, he had to go through a gun safety course in which he was thought many things about guns.
In this gun safety course, DeHaan was taught the proper way to handle guns and valuable information about how to act with a gun.
