What To Do About the Gun Control Problem?

As the nation is still reeling over the recent events in Newtown, Connecticut, there is a major debate going on over gun control. Some want a ban on assault rifles, some want a ban on high-capacity magazines and armor piercing bullets, and some want a ban on guns entirely. While it is certainly true that a gun in the hands of the wrong person can do an unbelievable amount of damage, it is also true that legally-armed citizens can actually prevent violent crimes like Robbery, Assault, Rape, Murder, etc.

Days before the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Illinois’ ban on concealed carry permits, calling it a violation of the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. Justifying his majority opinion, Judge Richard Posner wrote that “One doesn’t have to be a historian to realize that a right to keep and bear arms for personal self-defense in the eighteenth century could not rationally have been limited to the home… a Chicagoan is a good deal more likely to be attacked on a sidewalk than in his apartment on the 35th floor.”

The fact is, citizens carrying concealed weapons have, do, and will continue to stop crime on the street. According to the NRA, legal firearms are used for personal protection over two million times each year, and “the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances.”

The dilemma goes as such: if citizens can be legally armed, then virtually anyone can do damage with a gun…the Second Amendment and concealed carry permits exist so you can protect yourself in this situation, or possibly someone near you can come to your rescue. But if no one can be armed, how will you defend yourself in the case of a shooting with an illegal gun, or a violent person with a knife or baseball bat? There is no easy answer to this question, and there is no perfect solution. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.