by Henry Case

Created on: April 20, 2010

The gun rights debate in the U.S. usually boils down to the Constitutional right to bear arms. But if one were to take a closer look at the statistics and evidence present throughout the world, if you would be very easy to conclude that a ban on guns makes the country safer.

That may seems a little counter-intuitive from the arguments people have been hearing all of their life. It's hard to fit logic and reasoning on a bumper sticker.

"If guns were outlawed, only outlaws would have them," is the standard response that the gun-rights activists have been using for decades. But the only problem with that assessment is that it doesn't hold true anywhere else in the world.

Countries like the United Kingdom, Japan, and a lot of western European countries, have very strict controls and gun ownership. If those controls were enacted here, the right-wingers would be crazy protesting the federal government. But if you look at the crime statistics, the number of homicides and the number of accidental shooting deaths in countries with strict gun controls, it quickly becomes clear that having less guns on the streets is safer.

But if not safety, what are the other reasons for the amount of weapons Americans own? And the kinds of weapons they own? Are you really going to be in a situation where you can defend yourself with an AR-15?

I think the whole gun-rights debate can be boiled down to a few simply yet logical explanations.

First of all, guns are cool. They are powerful, and holding a gun in your hands extends its power, making it a part of you. Having a gun makes you feel safe, because you know that you have the power to instantly kill somebody in the case that is required.

Second of all, guns provide stability in a crazy world. Must gun owners will tell you that their gun is there just in case of the worst case scenario. And all you have to do is turn on the TV to see the kinds of worst case scenarios the fear mongers are predicting. Having a gun give you piece of mind. You know that, in the unlikely case the whole world goes to s*, at least you have a way of protecting yourself.

But until the apocalypse many are so eagerly awaiting comes, gun violence will continue to claims the lives of many  innocent people. Without guns, they too may have had a chance to enjoy the end of days.

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