Why the Us Needs Gun Control Laws

I do believe that we have the right in this country to feel safe, and to feel safe I think we need reasonable, agreeable gun control laws.

I don’t think that any weapon or any gun that is used by the military needs to be in the hands of untrained, non-military, non-police-enforcement people. I think any gun that can kill mass amounts of people at a time is not necessary for the average citizen.

With that being said, I don’t want to take guns away from the average citizen. I believe that everyone has the right to own a gun, but I also believe that owning a gun comes with great responsibility, as with owning a car and driving a car; you have to go through tests, licensing, re-licensing, and retesting.

I believe that should be the same for gun ownership. I don’t agree with Americans using guns as sports, but I don’t want to take that right away from them.

Some guns were created to kill humans at rapid rates; those guns should not be available to all Americans.

I do think that my feelings about gun control really came to a head after Columbine and the tragedy that happened there. The fact that children—teenagers—were able to buy guns with such ease and use them in such inhumane ways really got to me.

When talking about reasonable gun control laws, I mean I think there should be age limits and limits for people with mental health issues and criminal records.

Some roots of the problem are the ease with which people can get guns and also how people with mental health issues are obtaining guns—people who have been treated for mental health issues need to be screened or limited in their ability to purchase guns.

That is a whole other area to be looked at. People aren’t getting the help that they need. I would not feel safer if I were to have a gun. I think it could escalate a situation, rather than deescalate one, but I do believe, under reasonable circumstances, Americans have the right to own guns.