Guns, guns, guns

This comment was in response to Laura's (Politically Provoked) "Supreme Court Rules in Citizens' Favor" post. The Supreme Court recently upheld in a 5-to-4 vote that the Constitution does not allow “the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home," which invalidate a ban on guns that was in effect in Washington DC.

It’s good to hear that the Supreme Court is upholding our constitutional rights. The right to bear arms is a right protected by the Bill of Rights, and must be upheld at all costs, regardless of personal beliefs or otherwise. What people don’t seem to realize is that a ban on guns, besides being unconstitutional, will not decrease crimes. As Laura said, those who follow the ban are law-abiding citizens, but criminals have easier access to firearms in the black market. How are people supposed to protect themselves against a gun, if they have no gun themselves? I don’t know about you, but my skills with a kitchen knife aren’t that great, and I certainly don’t have the range that a gun does.

How I see it is that if someone was interested in robbing a house, and yet nearly every home was known to have someone who owned a gun, then that thief would most likely be discouraged from entering those homes. Bearing arms in and of itself does not increase gun-related crimes. In fact, it should decrease gun-related crimes, because the criminals would be more wary of attacking someone. How are they to know who can fight back effectively and who can’t?

It is the right of the government, state or federal, to require certain qualifications however, before allowing a person to own a weapon. As such, they can require backgrounds checks, certification courses that teach arms bearers how to properly use a gun, as well as safety issues, such as storage, among other things. It’s important to allow only educated and non-criminal people owning guns, for obvious reasons. No one wants a mentally unstable person or someone with a history of violence with an armed weapon in their home or on their person. Also, people uneducated in proper gun usage, and without proper technique training, are mostly likely to be a danger to others as well as themselves, whether intentionally or not.

Whether to own a gun or not is a personal choice, and as such a ban should not be allowed. I, along with everyone else, have the right to feel safe and protect myself, especially in my own home.