America is built on a foundation of personal rights. These rights are what entitle us to speak our minds, they allow our homes to be a sanctuary. They also allow us to certain rights, even as criminals. One constitutional right that is still being debated is the right to bear arms. Throughout history, there have been many different arguments as to whether guns should be allowed in civilian hands.
The first guns showed up in the 13th century. The Chinese invented a long ceramic cylinder that they would fill with black powder and rocks and then ignite, sending rocks and fire spewing in all directions. This first gun was crude and had a tendency to explode in warriors faces, but it worked and marked the first installment of modern day weaponry.
The gun made many advances through time. The first truly usable guns appeared in the shape of cannons. Eventually, miniaturization made guns more usable. Soon militaries all over the world were equipping every soldier with a gun of some form. There were advances made in the history of small arms. The invention of the Henry Repeater rifle marked the first start to modern semi-automatic rifles. The civil war also helped usher in advances such as the Gatling gun which is now a permanent addition to the United States military arsenal.
In the 1800s, a gun meant food, protection, and insurance. If you had a gun you could take care of yourself and your family. Even back then however, there were still atrocities committed by the hands of gun toting psychopaths. As history progressed, guns gained a dark, evil reputation as they were seen being used to harm people. They had been used for hundreds of years previously to wage war, but never had they been seen gunning down innocent people.
Our culture is also sending the wrong message about firearms, in the forms of music, books, magazines, but especially video games and movies. Every child is exposed to gun violence of some kind from a very young age. We were all raised on cowboys and six shooters, army men and machine guns. Now that many homes possess firearms, children are even more susceptible to the dangers of unsafe gun handling. According to a study done by the NRA, 73% of children under the age of 10 know where their parents keep their guns, and 36 % admitted handling the weapons, contradicting their parent’s rules. This is usually not because a child is looking for the gun to commit acts of malice, they simply are curious after seeing an older sibling watching a violent movie or playing a videogame.
There is a valid argument as to why guns should not be allowed in civilian hands, or it should at least be heavily controlled and regulated. Right now, in order to receive a firearm, you are required to not be a criminal, be over the age of 18, and not have any legal problems. There is no check into moral character.
Guns are a part of society that are not likely to disappear anytime soon. This doesn’t mean that we have to live with gun violence. Guns mean safety, personal assurance, and home security for many people. Today, 90 out of 100 homes possess at least one gun, whether it be an old family heirloom or a modern self-defense tool. We feel safe because we know that there are police patrolling our cities and communities. We wouldn’t feel nearly as safe if officers did not carry guns or they were not properly trained. The same can be said for civilians. An untrained person with a gun but with good intentions is just as dangerous as a well-trained person with intent to harm. If we are allowing guns to be integrated into our societies, then we must educate all those exposed. In Switzerland, guns are a very common sight. However everybody knows how to use them and even their children are educated in the proper uses of a firearm.
The first step to eliminating gun related violence is to start training people on the proper time and place for guns. Not only the people who own guns, but also the ones who don’t.