Matt LaValle
Firearm saftey in the U.S.
“...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed” (2nd Amendment right- U.S. Constitution), has a massive role in modern America. Although the Constitution states that this right is not to be limited or undermined, there should be more gun control in certain aspects, despite what our country wants to believe.
Gun control and firearm safety is a very important subject when it comes to purchasing, owning, or just handling any firearm. When it comes to firearms, many liabilities can occur which is why certain gun control laws should be enacted. For example, in Washington state, there are almost no restrictions on purchase, registration, licensing, or permits on firearms with the exception of handguns (a required concealed carry permit but no class needed to obtain). Now, not every part of that is an extremely big deal, but there should be some requirements for the state before an individual is to own a firearm. One of those requirements should be a firearm safety course.
Honestly, many “accidental” shootings could be prevented if owners were simply educated in guns. For example on February 27, 2015, a 3 year old boy, “. . .died after unintentionally shooting himself in the neck with a gun he found in his house” (Justin peters). And on March 1, 2015, another boy died after “unintentionally shooting himself with a gun he found stashed under a bed” (Justin Peters). In truth, there should be no such things as “accidental shootings”. There are only dumb owners. Both of those incidents could have been prevented by the owner(s) themselves if they had the common sense and knowledge of not storing their weapons in such open places. Or at least not storing the ammunition in or around the firearm. That common sense and knowledge is exactly what a safety course would’ve prevented. Some may argue that a safety course isn’t going to make a difference and if they do, well then, they are just foolish to believe so.
In Washington state, the number of hunting incidents has declined to over ¼ the original number as a result of the required hunters education course to anyone born on or after January 1, 1972 who intend to buy a Washington hunting license. In the U.S. a total of about 3,800 people were killed by, “. . . unintentional shootings between 2005 and 2010” (Smartgunlaws.org). That number could’ve been reduced to under 100 if a safety course was required to anyone purchasing a firearm of any type. Which is exactly why our country should enact such a law.
One counterargument of gun control includes banning guns. Where an individual may say something along the lines of “guns kill people!” or “If we banned all guns, there would be nothing to shoot at eachother with”. Well, in my opinion, they are mistaken. As a matter of fact, “...a study conducted at Harvard found that the more guns a nation has, the less crime it tends to have” (Michael Snyder - American Dream). To me, banning guns is a way to make people more vulnerable to becoming victims of criminals because it provokes a fear of getting shot and if a criminal knows that, then he or she is going to have the advantage when it comes to doing what they say. “The places with the highest crime rates are the major cities where strict gun control laws have been passed” (Michael Snyder), and if you believe that police are always going to serve and protect in an environment like that, think again, “...police are so overwhelmed that they have announced that they simply won’t even bother responding to certain kinds of crime anymore” (also Michael Snyder). So if you think a gun ban approach to gun control is going to solve homicide, “accidents”, and crime then you might as well wave a white flag to everyone saying, “Hey, come break into my home and steal all my stuff”. In the end, the bad guys are going to be the ones who still carry and abuse.
So in conclusion, gun control should be enforced in the form of education and awareness of firearms. Not in the fear that something bad is always going to happen. My personal proposition would be to exercise safe handling techniques and requiring mandatory safety classes to anyone who wishes to purchase a firearm and or a concealed carry permit. The only thing more dangerous than an attacker is an uneducated carrier. Therefore if everybody who bought a firearm went through some kind of basic pistol course, or basic firearms course, the country could be a more confident and safe place.
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