Gun Control. What thoughts go through peoples minds when they hear this? An overbearing government stepping over its constitutional bounds? Or maybe they think peace on earth, good will to men. Either way gun control is a hot issue being debated at every level of our government and society.  What is gun control and why do people want it? Will it even work? Are there any alternatives to gun control? These questions must be answered if we are to clearly understand the issue, and judge accordingly.

First of all, what is gun control? The basic idea is that guns cause murders and shootings, and therefore must be taken away or controlled. There are two different approaches to this. One is to completely strip away any fire arms from civilians and give them only to military and police. The theory is that when all the guns are taken away no one will be able to kill anyone. The other option is a little less harsh. It proposes to allow civilians to own guns; but the government must regulate who gets guns and who doesn’t, and certain guns, such as automatics and assault rifles, are to be outlawed completely. The reasoning behind this is that guns can be kept out of the hands of people likely to do violent crimes, and that even if they do get firearms, they won’t be able to do as much damage as they would with a more military grade rifle.

So will gun control help? Regulating guns does nothing at all to stop gun violence; because as long as guns are made, people will get them no matter how much you control the industry. The same is true for complete confiscation. If we take away guns criminals and maniacs will still get them through the black market or theft. Controlling the size of the gun hardly matters as any gun will do damage no matter if it can fit in the palm of your hand or is mounted on your shoulder.

Therefore, if gun control doesn’t work what will help us decrease the amount of murders and shootings? Some have proposed that all guns be destroyed globally including the militaries. This is very unpractical as you could never destroy every gun; and just one ruins the whole plan. That alone is enough, but even if you could destroy all guns shooters would turn to swords, bows and arrows, and even sharp sticks. It is totally unpractical.
Consequently, what can we do? Taking away guns doesn’t work because people will still get guns as long as they are made. The same is true of regulation. Eliminating them completely… I won’t even go there, it is not worth debating. So what the solution? Ironically, if you allow free access to guns and the whole populous acquires weapons, shooters can be taken down before they do any damage. Shootings will become less frequent as they won’t work, and then we won’t need as many police because the civilians can protect themselves. Peace on earth and good will to men will come about not as a result of gun control but as a result of setting guns free!