Gun control laws harm more than help

“Last year handguns killed 48 people in Japan, eight in Great Britain, 34 in Switzerland, 52 in Canada, 58 in Israel, 21 in Sweden, 42 in West Germany, and 10,728 in the United States. God bless America.” This caption was written on one of the many posters advocating the abolishment of the right to bear arms after the Connecticut shooting.

However, when considering abolishing this fundamental right, it is important to consider the benefits of the second amendment. Firearms are not only used with bad intent. Based on a study done by the Journal of Quantitative Criminology over 900,000 people use a firearm to scare away a potential attacker each year in the United States.

According to the Department of Justice, 83 percent of Americans will be the victim of an attempted or completed violent crime in their lifetime. Therefore, it would not only acceptable but beneficial for citizens to own a firearm.

Taking away the right to bear arms would only negatively affect citizens. Illegal gun sales in the United States will keep the criminals armed, while taking guns away from the law-abiding citizens. If we have learned anything from the war on drugs, it is that we will not be able to prevent the sale of firearms to criminals.

If the U.S. enacts massive bans on guns, those who defended themselves with guns will only be added to the 10,728 people killed per year by firearms.

Furthermore, many attempted mass shootings have been prevented by citizens. According to a calculation done by justfacts.com, a mass shooting prevented by a civilian results in 2.33 deaths on average, while one stopped by the police normally results in 14.29.

Additionally, the number of attempted mass shootings stopped by bystanders is higher than one might think. Often they do not get reported because the shooters are stopped before it becomes a mass shooting.

Many shooters realize this; therefore, every mass shooting since 1950 where more than three people were killed has taken place where citizens could not possess firearms, with the exception of one, according to economist John Lott.

In addition, the U.S. was formed through armed civilians. Civilians grabbed their muskets to fight the oppressive British empire — who were the most powerful nation in the world at that time.

Arming civilians is also how our country maintains its ideals as a democratic land, because the greatest right that our Founding Fathers gave us is the right to revolt. The chance of our government ever becoming oppressive is low, but this is partly due to the right to bear arms. The fact that our country can easily revolt will always make our government respond to us, now and in the future.

This is also why assault weapons in this country must remain available. As our military keeps innovating, the public must keep up. In an age where our government is on a different level from the public. United States citizens must be substantially armed to keep our government in check.

An armed public is an empowered public. Shooters have recognized this, oppressive governments in the past have recognized this, and our founding fathers recognized this. It’s time for the American people to recognize this.