Opening Statement
The Constitution protects gun ownership so citizens can protect liberty.
There is a reason why guns have a special place in American law, history, and culture. The famous “Shot Heard Round the World” was fired in Lexington, Massachusetts, and marked the beginning of armed rebellion against British tyranny. America’s founding generation understood that if patriots are denied their right to bear arms, they are essentially denied their right to protect against enemies, and will end up oppressed. It is for this reason the second amendment of our Constitution provides, “...that the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The second amendment shields the individual’s right to protect their life, liberty, and property by the right to arms. Those who call for complete or partial disarming of the American people ignore the reasoning behind the second amendment and will leave America vulnerable for tyrants. In past times, arming the population was a safeguard against possible government tyranny and dictatorship. It is our duty as loyal American citizens to protect our rights and not have the government control us little by little. We give an inch and the government takes a mile. If the amendments are not protected then how can Americans be assured that they are truly free? The right to bears arms shall be protected as every other amendment!

Main Argument
Today, many citizens still see their right to bear arms as an important means of self-defense; they also fear that gun control would be the first step towards the people’s rights being removed little by little. Mass shooters or any criminals for that matter don’t follow the law. Studies show that most criminals obtain their guns illegally, often by theft or underground purchases. This allows them to completely bypass any background checks and other regulations. For example, Connecticut has one of the nation’s most strict gun laws. Gun owners must be 21 or older, apply for a local permit, be fingerprinted for a background check, wait for a 14-day period, and take a gun safety course. But that didn’t stop Adam Lanza from simply stealing guns and killing 20 children and six adults at the Newtown shooting. Additional gun regulations would not have done anything to prevent the tragedy. Another example, on the exact same day as the Sandy Hook shooting, in central China, a man stabbed twenty two children and one adult. Guns are not needed for mass a murder and robbing American citizens of our rights to own won’t solve anything. The government needs to focus on the criminals and the mentally ill getting weapons, not citizens who do no wrong. Law abiding citizens should not have to suffer the consequences due to criminals and the mentally disabled. The ones who follow the law will not be able to protect themselves if an emergency were to occur while the criminal has full power and advantage. One cannot justify that going against the second amendment and disarming Americans will solve anything. It is complete asinine. All the government wants to do is CONTROL, CONTROL, CONTROL! Every time something like a school