I cannot deny that guns are dangerous. They are, after all, hand-held tools that eject lead slugs at incredibly high speeds. Anyone who thinks that they're not going to do any damage is an idiot. But does this really mean that we could get rid of them? Does this mean that the world would be a better place with more gun control?
Chicago doesn't have a reputation for really being a secure place. Twenty Chicago Public Schools students have been killed by gunfire since September. So, shouldn't we just get rid of all these guns? Wouldn't that have saved the lives of these students?
Well, that would be nice, wouldn't it? Getting rid of another tool of violence would be fantastic. It'd also be fantastic if we could stop people from getting stabbed (with all sorts of things), strangled, drowned, or beat to death. However, none of these things can be completely eliminated. People always have and (as far as I or anyone else can see) always will be in danger of homicide. It doesn't matter what tools have been available over the ages, from rocks to knives to bare hands- the only way to permanently stop murders would be to kill everyone.
If we did try to take away guns, is anyone so naive as to think that no one would hold onto them? Let's see, what type of person would hide and smuggle illegal items in order to do great harm to innocent people? Maybe the type of people who would commit crimes with guns in the first place! And then what you have is a defenseless population. If criminals know that they are in danger of getting killed, they are far less likely to commit a crime. If the government were to confiscate guns from their potential victims, they would be incredibly emboldened. Just look at the crime rates for Washington D.C. and Great Britain, places where private gun ownership is illegal.
Control by armed government not the answer, either. The fact is that there are not enough police to protect everybody, it takes too long for them to arrive at the scene (if you're calling 911, especially), and sometimes you don't even get a chance to scream. It is important for people to be self-armed in order to protect themselves.
Guns must, of course, be handled responsibly, and everyone who uses them should take lessons, but gun control is not the answer. In fact, it is a great solution to crime rates.
Ylerecnis,
N
