Op-Ed: America’s Firearm Issue

In the wake of many awful mass shootings in the United States, it's unavoidable that many people and politicians react by proposing stricter gun-control reform to prevent future massacres. These reforms often tackle problems of who should be able to own a firearm and what particular firearms can be obtained, sometimes they even propose completely disarming citizens. I believe the question of whether or not to impose new regulations on the Second Amendment can be simply answered with other countries’ legislative reforms throughout history.  As countless assault and handgun bans have shown, gun control is not effective. It has not been shown to reduce the number of violent crimes. The ownership of any firearms isn’t a privilege but rather a constitutional right that shouldn’t be violated.

The National Firearms Act was one of the first major federal firearm legislation to regulate firearms but not the last. Today, we have about three hundred different Federal and state firearms laws that restrict some aspects of the Second Amendment and with all the political tension going on in today's world, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more anti-gun bills get introduced. It is important to pass gun-control legislation after serious analysis of statics and facts rather than based on emotional reactions. The rights and freedom of millions of law-abiding gun owners shouldn’t be affected by the actions of one or multiple lunatics. Banning access to all semi-automatic firearms after a killing would be like banning all automobiles after a drunk driving accident. It wouldn’t make sense. Gun-control laws simply don’t reduce deaths. For example, in 1996, Australia implemented a nation-wide gun buyback program after a mass shooting occurred. This program took more than 700,000 firearms off the streets, thus reducing the number of crimes committed with firearms, however, Australia had no significant change in decline of firearm deaths before and after the passing of gun reform. Thus making it unreliable to attribute gun reforms for saving lives.  Analysis carried out by statistician Leah Libresco, proves that Australia has also not experienced fewer mass shootings since enacting their strict gun-control laws. Disarming people make them more to fall victim to muggings, robberies, physical and sexual assaults since criminals don’t have to worry about retaliation.

Millions of American citizens legally carry firearms every day for the purpose of self-defense. An average of 1,029,615 cases of self-defensive gun or property protection is recorded every year. An estimated 162,000 of these cases result in someone “almost certainly would have been killed” if they “had not used a gun for protection.” Firearms simply allow Americans to defend themselves from criminals without relying on police forces. On the other hand, cities such as Chicago, which have some of the strictest gun-control laws in the nation, suffer from the highest gun-related murder rates. Guns are simply not a problem in the United States. In 2017, according to the  CDC, 39,773  people died from gun-related injuries. Out of these deaths, 60% were from suicide and 37% were from murders while 3% were from accidental death. Instead of passing more gun-control laws, we need to invest more tax dollars into education centers and job programs as well as increasing overall support towards underprivileged communities in an effort to lower gang-related homicides.

At the end of the day, you are responsible for your safety and the more anti-gun legislation that is enforced, the more reliance is pushed onto our government. The COVID-19 virus shows us that the Federal Government cannot provide for its people during times of emergency. They aren’t going door to door providing citizens with three months' worth of food or hand sanitizer, instead, they are telling people to do this with their own money and time. The government can't guarantee the safety and well-being of over 300 million people especially when there is a temporary breakdown in society. For that reason alone, I believe everyone, who can legally own a firearm, should buy a firearm for self-defense because when people start running out of food, that's when chaos erupts. Firearms let us protect our families and property without reliance on police forces, allowing us to be a self-sustaining nation. The Second Amendment isn’t about hunting or sporting, it is about our right to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government and criminals. It empowers the people of the United States to continue a life of true democracy. The Founding Fathers believed in the Second Amendment and many brave people have sacrificed their lives for this right. They would be disappointed in the strides being taken to further regulate the civilian firearm marketplace. It is important to protect this right, as once it is gone, it will be impossible to get back.