From My Cold, Dead Fingers

From My Cold, Dead Fingers

         On December 15, 1791, a bill was ratified that gave the American people the rights that have lasted until this day. The bill was known as the Bill of Rights--the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. These rights guaranteed the American people freedom of speech, worship, unlawful searches, and many others important freedoms. Among these was the right to bear arms, as stated in the Second Amendment, “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” (“Bill of Rights”). However, many Americans want that right to be infringed, and while gun control laws may be good intentioned, they lead to more crime and chip away at our Constitution.
         A major misconception in America is that taking guns away will make it a safer place to live; however, studies show just the opposite. In Canada and the U.K. where gun control is strict, nearly 50% of all burglaries are “hot burglaries,” that is, the burglar is armed with a gun. In the U.S. where gun ownership is usually very tolerable, only 13% of burglaries are “hot burglaries” (McClung 32). This shows that when citizens don’t have the right of private gun ownership, criminals take advantage of that. It is much easier for a criminal to break into a home if they know the homeowner does not have a gun. In a 1982 survey of imprisoned criminals, 34% said they had been “scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victim” (Agresti). A criminal is much more afraid of the homeowner having a gun than being caught by the police. These evidences show that gun control laws are ineffective and dangerous.
         Gun Control laws are more hazardous than they seem. Americans use guns to defend themselves at least 764,000 times a year (Agresti). If strict gun control laws were in effect, that same number of Americans would not be able to defend themselves during threatening moments. That is why the Second Amendment is so very important; it provides a way for residents to literally save themselves during times of need. Without it, thousands of Americans would die yearly because they could not protect themselves or their families. This is why it is so crucial that the American government does not take away the right to own firearms.
         One example of how gun use saved lives occurred in October of 1997 when sixteen-year-old Luke Woodham went to school with a rifle after fatally stabbing his mother. He shot nine students and killed two of them. During the incident, assistant principal Joe Myrick sprinted to his car and grabbed a .45 caliber hand gun and used it to subdue Woodham until police arrived (McClung 94). While it is true that the assistant principal broke the law by having a weapon on a school campus, he nonetheless used it to stop a deadly occurrence that could have been much worse. This is one of the many instances that show how gun rights are safer than they appear, especially when there are no police nearby.
         Another unintended consequence of gun control laws is that they actually increase the use of guns. When guns are taken away from citizens, it forces the police and local authorities to use them more forcefully and more often ("Rethinking Gun Control" V1+). This fact fuels the question of who the American people would rather have as their protectors, the authorities, or themselves? The fact is, guns must be used at some point to protect against those wishing to do harm. As proven in the past by Hurricane Katrina and Virginia Tech, the police will not always be around to protect citizens.
         During Hurricane Katrina, the social order of New Orleans completely fell. This left the citizens with no means of defense (unless they were gun owners) because there were no police nearby. The shooting spree at Virginia Tech lasted nine minutes. This was enough time for the gunman to kill 33 people but was not enough time for the police to arrive (Kristen Gelineau). While one may think that the Second Amendment is responsible for this heinous act, it is actually the infringement of it. If the students at Virginia Tech University were allowed to carry concealed weapons (with a license of course), this act would have never happened. These events testify of the importance of the Bill of Rights, and especially, the right to keep and bear arms.
         The Second Amendment provides a vital right to American citizens that separates it as a country from most of the world. James D. Torr, author of the book Gun Violence said concerning congressional power to eliminate gun rights: “Not only does the Congress not have the power to abolish that right [to self-defense], but Congress may not even infringe upon that right” (56). Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Samuel Adams all believed the right to bear arms to be one of the most essential rights of the American people, together with the freedoms of religion, speech, and press (Strahinich 143).
         America cannot afford to stray from the Constitution, even a little, for doing this will move the country away from its founding principles, making it no different than the rest of the world. Gun control laws punish the innocent and reward the criminals. They take away the basic right of the citizens to defend what is theirs; including their family, property, and their very own lives. Gun rights were seen by the Founding Fathers as something that should never be infringed. Doing so would prove futile, create more crime, and stray our country away from its basic principles.