Krisa Aquino
J. Click
Engl 100
02/12/13
Respect The Guns Shot guns, machine guns, pistols, revolvers, handguns, rifles, and semi-automatics are all very powerful weapons. What are these guns really used for? Some say for protection and safety while others think they're tools for murder. There will always be a never-ending debate if the society is safer with it or without it but it always comes down to the people who get hurt. As a citizen of a country who is basically surrounded by guns, it is important to be aware of how the government is dealing with these controversial issues, such as gun control laws and recent mass shootings. Those who are in favor of completely forbidding guns don't realize that some of these arms may save a life during a war or a woman walking in an alley full of drunken gang bangers. Yes, guns are weapons and they can harm people although they can also save a life; therefore, guns should not be banned but have stricter gun control such as to who should own a gun and what restrictions would they have in order to use it. The idea of banning all guns can be really hard to execute especially in a country where people have the freedom to do whatever they choose to do. The government may have a chance to get rid of guns of true law-abiding citizens but not the rest of the people who have access of possessing illegal weapons. The defenseless citizens, such as students and teachers inside a school cannot protect themselves. The law enforcement isn't huge enough to defend every single person therefore the government should rethink about their policies. The NRA's Vice President Wayne LaPierre states, “Policies banning guns at schools create a place that 'insane killers' consider 'the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk [...] U.S. Society has left children 'utterly defenseless.' The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” (Abdullah & Brennan 1). LaPierre is insisting that insane killers are unavoidable in this society and in order to protect the weak it is better to have a good man with a gun on their side than no one at all. The Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting was terrible incident. A lot of people reacted to the fact that Newtown killer Adam Lanza had access to an assault-style weapon. Where did he get it? How does someone like him, a normal small-town kid, own an assault rifle like that? It doesn't really matter because wherever or however he got his guns, and whether it was a handgun or an AR-15 he still shot those 27 people. Adam Lanza pulled the trigger and he intended to kill. If he didn't have that rifle, he’d probably look for some other way to kill them maybe even use a grenade. Kevin Leininger says, “Everybody in his right mind is against 'illegal' guns, but Newtown killer Adam Lanza's guns were perfectly legal. It was his use of them that was illegal, not to mention immoral” (Leininger 2). Leininger is saying that Lanza’s guns were not to be blamed for his behavior. The point is even without guns there are still crazy people left in this world hence the National Rifle Association's slogan, “Guns don't kill people, people kill people.” The Second Amendment gives people the right to keep and bear arms. Possessing a weapon is not exactly like wearing armor but people would feel they have security and would be brave enough to walk the streets at night. However, at the time the Bill of Rights was written, the crimes weren't as violent as it is nowadays. Guns were used more often to hunt for dinner than