A proposed federal law to outlaw all guns would be more effective at disarming

law-abiding citizens than at disarming the criminals who abuse them. If guns were

outlawed, the criminals would not stop carrying guns, but the good, law-abiding citizens

would. It would do nothing about the illegally obtained handguns in the possession of

criminals. In The NRA is Right, Josh Sugarmann states that “One tenet of the National

Rifle Association’s faith has always been that handgun controls do little to stop criminals

from obtaining handguns” (Sugarmann 185). Criminals simply aren’t discouraged, they

just ignore bans. The only two things passing a law of this nature would accomplish

would be to take away the honest citizens’ ability to protect themselves and their families

in their homes and give criminals a safer work environment. There are dangerous people

everywhere and they will find ways to hurt others no matter how many means of doing so

you take out of their reach. Banning guns will not stop gun violence, on the other hand, it

would just ensure that criminals with stolen or smuggled guns would have no fear that

their innocent victims would be able to defend themselves.

Reducing violence would be extremely difficult for gun control to do; in fact

exactly the opposite would occur. Guns do not commit crimes alone. It is the

irresponsibility and ignorance of gun owners that cause it. Guns do not have a mind of

their own and if there are owners, who fail to act responsibly, do not punish other law-

abiding citizens who are responsible when owning guns. If a student makes an error in

their writing, do we blame the pencil they use to write? Highly unlikely. Gun control

would not prevent criminals from obtaining guns. In The NRA is Right, Sugarmann

argues “ The black market that has fed off the legal sale of handguns would continue for

a long while” (Sugarmann 190). Most criminals get guns through informal off-the-record

swaps, purchases and trades with relatives, friends, drug-dealers, or other street sources.

Spending millions of dollars on a fail proof checking system would cause felons to stop

buying guns from a shop, and send them to buy their weapons from the streets.

Guns are effective forms of self-defense. Taking them away would leave civilians

defenseless and easy targets. Guns, when stored and operated correctly and safely can

create a sense of safety. When used for protection, guns provide a psychological buffer

against the fear of crime. When protected by a gun, people often feel safer because if

something should arise they have some sort of security. Criminals will avoid situations

where there is a possibility that their target may be armed. Guns can save a potential

victim from becoming one. Victims who use guns for protection are less likely to be

attacked or injured than victims who respond in any other way. Since guns empower the

weak against the strong, and because victims are generally weaker than felons are, gun

ownership is a benefit for society.

Outlawing all guns would only punish the law-abiding citizens such as myself. I

own a gun and know plenty of people who own guns also. In White Man’s Law, Tonso

states: “To these Amercians, guns mean freedom, security, and wholesome recreation”

(Tonso 209). The people I know would never use their guns for anything other than

target shooting, hunting, or an extreme case of self-protection. I feel that just because a

few psychos abuse a gun doesn’t mean that they should be prohibited. GUNS DON’T

KILL, HUMANS DO THAT! We cannot blame an inanimate object for the crimes and

actions of human. If that was the case, than automobiles should be outlawed too. Our

country has problems with drunk drivers, but I have yet to hear anyone suggest that all

automobiles be confiscated. Far more innocent children will be killed by cars this week

yet we never see anyone calling to ban cars, do we? We seem to be trying to deal with

the problem of drunk drivers by stiffer laws for abusers not banning all automobiles. This

should also be the case for criminals who commit crimes using guns. Banning guns to

reduce crime makes as much sense as banning alcohol to reduce drunk driving.

Ultimately, it is the people’s choice to use a firearm to commit violent crimes. So

criminals should be controlled, not the guns which they share with millions of law-

abiding citizens. I, as a gun owner, am not about to surrender my rights to bear arms and

liberties.

A law to confiscate guns could become one of the most destructive pieces of

legislation ever enacted in the United States. Enforcing it would immediately abolish the

Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which states: “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” (Polsby 198). This would only encourage

criminals to commit more crimes, since their victims’ rights to own guns were taken

away leaving them defenseless without affecting their own ability to obtain one. The

freedoms we enjoy today as Americans were written in the blood of our forefathers and

should never be taken lightly. These freedoms are what makes us, and keeps us, the most

powerful nation in the world. Gun control would threaten America's structure of

individual liberty.