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Mike wrote about the border issues that we have been having.  He could also convey this message with a video of coyotes trafficing people into our beautifull country.  This is America land of the Americans.

kevin Kang is a genius.  His paper discusses vegetarianism and the insanity of the people that indulge.  He opens the paper with a discription of a big juicy steak, frankly it made me hungry! 

Gun Control

                           The Barbarism of Gun Control

How would you like to be defenseless against burglars, helpless against thieves, and live in a nation that no longer has the means to defend itself against an oppressive government? How would you like to be protected by cops with tazers, and surrounded by hoodlums with guns?  How would you like to live in a nation with gun control?  These answers are the same for all of us, security is something every individual seeks and whether you choose to own a gun or not there will always be the comfort of someone nearby to help.  The abolition of the 2nd amendment is without doubt unconstitutional, and a violation of our freedom and rights.  The right to bear arms is something that many Americans cherish for many different reasons.

The second amendment states: “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.”  This original statement of freedom has changed in its applications over the years, but remains something that ⅓ of the United States population depends on. (Ballaro, Beverly)  Households across the country harbor guns and gun owners.  These people are no different from non-gun owners in appearance or every day life but they choose to exercise their right to bear arms. I am one of those people, a gun means more to me than just a death weapon or murder device as many Americans see them.  It means camping in the woods with my dad, splitting pretzels in half, and shooting clay pigeons with my friends.  

While firearms can be fun they can also be very dangerous weapons, but how often are guns used violently? Only 1% of firearms in the US are ever involved in a violent gun related crime. (“Guns Used”) In the US in 1993, 528,000 violent crimes were committed with firearms.  Also reported in ‘93 were about 274,000 stolen guns not including 7,700 stolen machine guns.  These mass quantities of stolen guns most likely account for a large percentage of the violent gun crimes in America.  (“Guns Used”) These statistics may be a little out dated but the ratios hold true.  

In England the government distrusted its civilians, they have essentially banned all firearms.  This has not lowered violent crime rates, it has not made the people feel safe, and it has not improved the country’s standard of living.  The high possibility of a confrontation with a gun owner in America forces criminals into the night time hours and causes them to target houses that are not occupied. In Britain, break-ins happen in the middle of the day, the knowledge that all houses are unprotected gives criminals confidence and drives them to these bold acts. (Miguel Faria Jr.)  Self defense is an undeniable right that we are privileged to have in our great country.  Citizens in the US shoot about three times more criminals than the police. Disarming the people in our society would leave ¾ of these criminals alive and successful.

The word defense when discussing gun control often does not register the way it should.  Men are often thought of along with guns while women are in a greater demand for their protection.  Women benefit hugely and gain the overwhelming ability to protect themselves.  Studies conducted in the US show that 83% of the time a woman carrying a gun can protect herself from assault and rape.  The estimated 17 million women in the US carrying a gun for their protection would be stripped of the opportunity to protect themselves. (Miguel Faria Jr.) Gun Control advocates are often misinformed and overlook the conditions of other people in other situations.

In an informal survey I conducted, 8 out of 10 people said gun control was not a violation of our rights.  How can this be possible? Well I’ll tell you, young adults in wealthy communities have been almost entirely sheltered from the violence that takes place in much of the world.  The need for protection is very real and provides security for millions of people in their everyday lives.  In the opinion of many of these individuals, sheltered people in their gated communities should not be able to vote on the abolition of the second amendment.  Michael Kinsley, a Harvard graduate and talk show host says that: “Gun nuts are unconvincing (at least to me) in their attempts to argue that the individual right to bear arms is still vital to freedom” (LaPierre 14) I did some research on Kinsley and discovered information that leads me to believe he lives in a nice house in a gated community. He is one of the many gun control advocates that is in denial.  His isolation and wealth is what allows him to make such wildly artificial statements.

A contrasting opinion is presented in the article  “The Freedom To Protect Yourself, Your Family, and Your Community”.  This article is spot on in its evaluation of our rights.  Freedom itself would be breached by a gun control law and would cause millions of individual to rise up in protest of a tyrannical law.  There are already so my limits on our freedoms that if the government abolished the second amendment they might have a coup-d-etat with bow and arrows led by angry rednecks.   

In reality, outlawing guns will only stop the sale of new guns and collect those of the elderly, honest, and soon to be defenseless.  Most guns that create problems will not be turned in.  Black markets will always prosper, and put guns in the wrong peoples hands.  Criminals, terrorist and mentally unstable people will always have means to acquire deadly weapons.

With todays technology, machine guns, hollow tips and extended clips a crazed individual can take advantage of much larger adversaries. New technology usually brings change to society. However, with illegal trafficking and the black market it will never be possible to fully regulate the ban on automatic weapons. Due to the fact that our citizens are armed those few people who get a hold of automatic rifles will meet confrontation around every corner.  Maniacs will not last as long or kill nearly as many people as they would against a helpless community.  A simple weapon or hand gun becomes exponentially more powerful in places where they are not contested.  On September 11th a few box cutters allowed terrorists to take over multiple planes.

In the days that the constitution and bill of rights were written, guns had a much larger role in society.  They were used as a primary source of food through hunting, protection and as militia.  To outlaw guns at that point in time would have been unfathomable.  Not only were the rules more relaxed but guns themselves were less powerful. Reloading a flintlock took at least 30 seconds and violence was minimized by the technology of the era.  Times and technology have changed.  

I recently spent some time with my grandfather helping him look for Christmas lights is his basement. We stopped by his gun rack and he told me a story about each one of those guns.  Each one reminds him of a story or two, his father taught him to hunt and they spent hour’s together hunting bullfrogs and pheasants.  I most likely would not have heard these stories if not for these guns.  They are family heirlooms and one day I will have them in my basement telling my grand kids the stories I heard today.  

Guns mean so many things to so many individuals, banishing them and denying citizens the right to protect themselves is a violation of our rights and can not be tolerated.   We the people need to stand up for our ourselves and hold on to what we know and love.  I will always be against gun control, and against oppression.  As an American I will continue to exercise my divine right to protect myself and the people around me and my constitutional right to bear arms.  Facts are undeniable, and they clearly show that guns benefit our society.