English 102 - the Safety of Guns

Nakiya Edwards

Phillip Hurst

English 102

October 7, 2017

The Safety of Guns

        The second amendment was brought about to enable citizens to be able to protect their homes, families and towns from dictators and outlaws. I still believe that this is true today. The second amendment was brought about for the United States to form Militia’s (A body of citizens enrolled for military service, and called out periodically for drill but serving full time only in emergencies.) to keep our citizens safe and have protection. To have guns for protections citizens should not have to worry about their safety’s, if anything major came to the United Stated, because the Militia will be there to protect the citizens with guns. There are extremist groups that could use their power to take away our rights and cause us harm.

        The United Sates borders are penetrable and criminals would smuggle guns across the border just as easily as they could for drugs. So, if the average citizen could not bear arms they could have no protections against criminals. If the government took away our right to bear arms, we as citizens, wouldn’t have the protection we need to protect ourselves against criminals. Criminals wouldn’t worry about robbing or breaking and entering knowing, someone was home because they don’t have to worry about that citizen having the ability to protect their selves with a gun. I believe this will increase more violent and non-violent crimes because the risk is decreased for the criminals of being caught or hurt.

        In 1997, Australia banned guns to cut down the crimes and keep the citizens safe. 640,000 firearms are retrieved from citizens by the government and destroyed. Many citizens were worried about their safety and how to protect their families now without the guns they had. Bob Perry said “It was an absolute joke and a tragedy. I had turned in three firearms and it broke my heart.” The crimes in Australia had sky rocketed because criminals don’t have to worry about guns being in homes for protections. This didn’t influence less crimes it made it go up instead of decreasing the amount of crimes. Armed robberies went up 69%, assaults involving guns went up 28%, gun murders went up 19% and home invasions went up a total of 21%. Gun banning in Australia has back fired and this should show that even banning guns as “safety” can take the opposite affect and us a citizen will not have the protection we need if that happens.

        The mass shootings that have happened in the United States like Sandy Hook (Newton, Connecticut), Pilchuck High School (Marysville, WA), Las Vegas shooting (Las Vegas, Nevada), Cascade Mall (Burlington, WA) all involved guns that were not legal. They were either stolen from a relative or guns that were put together that than became illegal. To be able to have guns for protection in these cases would become more affective. President Obama passed a law for Mental Health First Aid in Gun Control Proposal. Teachers and staff would have to recognize mental problems in youth ages between the ages of 12-25 to get the appropriate care they need. Also, that if you have been in a mental facility you cannot own a gun for their protection and others. “If we can continue to de-stigmatize mental health issues and get folks proper care and fill gaps in the background check system, then we can spare more families the pain of losing loved ones to suicide” Obama says. It’s not the guns fault that these shootings are happening it’s the person that owns or get the guns illegally. Having this law will help benefit the citizens of the United States and their safety among peers who are able to own a gun.