Dear People Rooting for Ridding America of Guns

Dear People Rooting for Ridding America of Guns,

First let me say that I am not Pro-Gun or Anti-Gun.  I am PRO-AMERICA and the rights and responsibilities granted to us by our founding fathers.

Your argument is flawed.  I have a few points to make.  You can either nod your head in agreement and start spreading the word, or you can disagree and mind your own business.  Either way, it doesn't bother me.  This is America, where every voice can be heard.  Here are the points of my argument.

1.  Law-abiding people are not the people using guns to commit crimes.  We cannot solve the problems of gun control by asking the law-abiding public to relinquish their Right to Bare Arms.  The law-abiding public is not the problem.  The law-abiding public are the victims of crimes and in many cases, the ones who help protect others when the criminals are on the lose.  Think of all those times that a convenience store clerk has been forced to pull a gun on a would be robber and has saved lives, including his or her own, in doing so.  Go to any search engine and type in the words "clerk pulls gun on robbers" and see the evidence for yourself.  Then type in the phrase "convenience store robbery" to see how big of a problem these type of robberies are.  Now multiply those results by a factor of about 100 if you take guns away from the clerks who need them to defend themselves.

2.  Guns don't kill people, People using guns kill people.  A gun, sitting on a table will not harm a person.  But when that gun is picked up by a person, then it becomes a deadly weapon.  The best form of gun control is gun education.

3.  Criminals will always have guns.  I have read a couple of articles (whether they are valid or not, I don't know) regarding crime statistics in Australia since the government there banned guns and forced people to relinquish their firearms for destruction.  The article showed a marked rise in crimes of all kinds involving firearms.  As I said, whether the statistics are valid or not, the one primary statement that struck me from that article was this:  "While the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not and criminals still possess their guns!"  The number one problem we have in America is not that you can buy a gun legally.  The problem is that you can OBTAIN a gun illegally.  Laws that make it harder to possess guns legally, do not solve the problem of illegally obtained guns.  So let's think about this.  Law-abiding citizens will be forced to hand over their legally obtained, registered, and monitored guns while the criminals will be allowed to keep their guns because they were illegally obtained and therefore not registered or monitored.  This makes no sense whatsoever!

I have a few simple solutions to help the gun control dilemma.  Don't make it harder to legally obtain a firearm.  There are already laws in place that require identification, background checks, waiting periods...  We need to implement and enforce some laws that address responsibility of gun owners.  For example: In the New York shooting of firefighters responding to a fire, a gun was purchased by a neighbor and given to the gunman.  There is a questionnaire that must be filled out upon purchase of firearm that specifically states that you are purchasing the firearm for yourself.  In the NY case, the neighbor was arrested and linked to the shooting.  I found this news article http://www.koco.com/news/national/Gunman-s-neighbor-arrested-in-NY-ambush/-/9844074/17938258/-/13iqc76/-/index.html related to the topic.  
      Going back to the topic, IF YOU PURCHASE A FIREARM AND FAIL TO KEEP IT SAFE AND IN YOUR POSSESSION, YOU SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH ACCESSORY TO THE CRIMES COMMITTED WITH YOUR GUN!!!  This means, that if someone steals your gun, it is your responsibility to notify the authorities AS SOON AS POSSIBLE with appropriate documentation so that when your gun surfaces, you will be protected.  But, if you fail to notify the authorities, that's your fault.  Own up and take responsibility America!  
      This would include family members.  If you have a convicted felon in the family, it is important to know that they are not legally permitted to own or possess a firearm again, EVER.  For example: If your gun winds up in the hands of your son, a convicted felon, and is seized by police, you have no rights to ever have the gun returned to you unless you reported the weapon missing.  If you knew your son had it, you are just as guilty and your right to bare arms should be forfeit.  If you commit a felony and are charged and convicted, you have given up your right to bare arms.  In other words, by choosing to commit a felony crime, you have chosen to relinquish your right to bare arms.  Did I spell that out clearly enough?
      Now, if you have left on vacation, and your home is burglarized in your absence and all hell breaks lose while you are gone, that does not mean you will be arrested upon entering your home.  However, it is your responsiblity to notify authorities immediately if you have guns that are missing.

As we sit here amongst the rabble and babble of politicians in Washington, D.C. going on and on about gun control and gun abolition, let's think.  The very people who want to take our guns away, own guns themselves, have conceal carry permits, and are protected by men and women with guns.  I'm sure they would find a way to write into these laws a way for them to maintain their guns and armed guards while we, the public loose these rights.

I guess the point of my rant here is for more RESPONSIBILITY.  Our founding fathers felt it necessary to amend our constitution to include the Right to Bare Arms for a reason.  These were smart individuals who knew that the peaceful law abiding citizens would, at one point or another, need to defend themselves and this country.  And, let's be honest, what good will it do to bring a butter knife to a gun fight.

Thanks,
Summer