[Dismas]

I'm fairly sure you guys already know my stance on gun control, but I'd like to hear yours. If you don't know already, I am completely against gun control. I believe that I have the right to defend myself and that regulating the distribution of firearms goes against our most basic liberties. The Second Amendment to the United States' Consitution states that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."[1] However, I know that a lot of people from Europe have differing views, so I'd love to hear them. This is one of the few threads I will actually debate in.

First, I am aware guns kill people. However, there is no doubt that firearms are also used for self defense. It was recorded that between the years 1987 and 1990 "there were an estimated 258,460 incidents of firearm defense, an annual mean of 64,615."[2] If you do the math, that's about 86,153 acts of self-defense each year. The issue is that there are a large amount of gun-related deaths every year. It was estimated that in 2010 "there were 12,996 murders in the US. Of those, 8,775 were caused by firearms."[3] Not only that, but there are also many suicides that involved guns.

I believe people kill people, as an inanimate object such as a gun is incapable of operating on its own. Firearms are no different than the sticks and stones cavemen used to kill each other. Murder hasn't changed, but the tools of murder have. Many people would love to rely on the government for protection and give up their right to bear arms. However, criminals would still have guns. Pretend that guns were banned for a moment. Do you honestly think that a criminal with the aim of murdering someone would be afraid of receiving an additional charge for possession of a firearm?

This issue is blatantly obvious in places like Mexico. There are gun-control laws in place, while drug-cartels disregard them completely. These cartels possess a large amount of illegal firearms, yet they are seldom dealt with. These drug cartels would have a much harder time remaining in control if Mexico's citizens possessed the same firearms.

What do you think?

[Adorapuff]

I am in full agreement. Gun control laws only create problems. Like you said, when gun control laws are enact the only people with guns are the ones who obtain them illegally. In places like Florida anyone who tries to rob say a cafe will get the gun shot out of his hands in a matter of seconds after he enters the cafe.

[Crimson]

I don't think that guns kill people, husbands who come home early do.
But on a serious note, I believe everyone should be able to own a gun.
It's our right as human beings to be able to protect ourselves.