People should be aloud to own, shoot, carry, and collect firearms. Heck, I'd say make a law that requires ownership of a government issued, single-shot .22 rifle. That would eliminate 99% of crime.
Also, to the people who are against guns, I wrote an essay for school not to long ago to enlighten you:
So I plan to talk about today about gun control, and why I am opposed to it.
The thinking behind it is quite simple: take away the weapon and you take away the violence, right? Quite the contrary, as countries without gun rights have a higher rate of crime.
I would like to point out that 95% of guns used in crimes are illegally owned. Like the old saying goes "if you outlaw guns, only outlaws can have guns" disarming the general population will make them helpless to attacks such as hijacking, mugging, and home invasion.
One commonly used method of gun control used by governments is a little trick called "softlocking" which is essentially making it so hard to get a gun legally that no one bothers. Many countries have already put this method into effect including England, Germany, France, Greece, Australia, and many others. Needless to say, softlocking is a very dirty tactic and really has not helped anyone's problems. Violent crime(with guns or otherwise) tends to skyrocket after a softlock is put in place.
Farmers need guns to protect their crops and/or livestock from animals that may eat them normally, but in some cases the farmers need to protect themselves from their livestock. Take this for example: there was a farmer in Australia who herded beefuloes(buffaloes + bulls) and carried a .30-06 rifle and a .357 revolver in case one of the animals turned on him. So eventually, a police officer comes around and finds that he has guns and asks if he has a license. Because of the softlock, he did not, so he had his weapons confiscated. The following week he was killed by one of his cattle because they knew he wasn't a threat.
I would also like to point out the economic effect gun control has on a country. Obviously, the very base of any economy is food, but by taking away weapons, you are harming that, sending repercussions throughout the entire system. Guns also have a huge potential to improve an economy, and for those who know much about guns, you'll know half the gun-related merchandise aren't even the firearms or ammo themselves, but things that go with them(holsters, slings, speedloaders, cleaning kits, reloading materials, etc.). If America were to seize the chance to become a gun producing country, we could very well kick start our economy, and with America up and running, the whole world might recover from this recession. The world won't be perfect, but it will be the best it's ever been.
One side of the issue most don't see is how much guns actually help people. Take this story for example: Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD 01/09/08
State: SD
American Rifleman Issue: 4/1/2008
Eighty-year-old Martha Smith says there was no time for fear when her border collie confronted a mountain lion near her home. "I could see the tail twitching, and he was snarling and spitting," she recalls. Smith shot at the cat with her .22-caliber rifle, but missed, and ran inside to dial 9-1-1. Informed help was a long way off, Smith decided shed have to deal with the agitated cat herself. "I shot him in the light spot under his leg where I knew his heart would be" she explained. "You do what you have to do - you don't have time to be afraid" Smith has been versed in riflecraft since adolescence, when she herded sheep on the family ranch. "My sister and I were put on horseback with the lunch, the water canteen and a gun" she recalls. As you can tell, there would be no way an unarmed 80 year old woman could take on a mountain lion. Mountain lions also like going for weaker targets such as animals that are wounded, crippled, young, or elderly. Humans and regular animals taste the same to mountain lions.
So, as you can tell, there are a lot of benefits to allowing civilians own guns, but let's look at this from the other side(it's only fair, right?) some claims by anti-gun politicians are "Most illegally owned guns are stolen from legal citizens." My response: If you're going to own a gun, you should probably put them out of reach of those who shouldn't be using them, whether it be though a trigger lock, gun safe, hiding them, getting a guard dog(it could be all bark and no bite and still scare them off), or removing the action(which, I will remind you, costs nothing). Another argument is "What about hunters? They kill animals, right?" well, yes, they do. And the thing is that if they didn't, the animals would overpopulate, run out of food, and starve to death in far greater numbers than if they were hunted. Everything in moderation though, as too much hunting can be detrimental to the species' survival.
I hope that this has educated you a little more about the subject and will allow you to see both sides of the spectrum without having fox news lie to your face.
