by Angela S. Young

Created on: August 06, 2007

A better way to word this would be: should citizens convicted of domestic abuse lose the right to bear arms? An accusation is not a conviction, and even though we're talking semantics here, it is an important distinction. Should someone be convicted of any crime in which another person is physically hurt, I believe their right to bear arms should be taken away or severely limited.

When restricting a person from bearing arms, we often only limit them from legally bearing arms. A gun can be purchased illegally by anyone who wants one, and by limiting the right to bear arms, we may be dropping them off the radar of legal observation, allowing them to slip through undetected until they have again committed another crime.

Even so, I still believe in restrictions for law-breakers. We, law-abiding citizens of the United States have the fundamental right to bear arms, guaranteed us by the Bill of Rights in our Constitution. When someone commits a crime however, they often have their freedoms restricted for at least a time. This comes through jail/prison time, probation, etc., and is a consequence for breaking the law.

When someone has proved his/herself to be a law-breaker who may choose to harm someone, they lose that right to have ready access to a weapon. They have already proved dangerous, and having a gun available when the gigantic temper tantrum strikes may cause an escalation of issues, giving them to means, at hand, to hurt the object of their anger.

While I believe the three-strikes-you're-out concept is a bit of overkill for what could be minor infractions, I do believe people have to be held accountable for their actions. Maybe if we would hold them accountable the first time they commit a crime, they would be less likely to get to the three strikes stage of the game.

The difficulty with holding people accountable for their actions gets harder as we allow illegal aliens to flaunt our laws. We send messages whether we intend to or not, and disrespect for the law continues to grow in our country. Slapping more and more laws on will not eliminate or even slow down the problem. We need to return to our moral base, and teach our citizens that obeying the law will reap rewards while disobeying will reap consequences. Only then will we no longer have to debate about issues such as these.

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