By initiating a program under which purchasing a gun reflects obtaining a driver’s license, both sides of the gun-control argument get what they want. Those in favor of stricter gun laws will know that people who own guns are capable of using them responsibly, and those opposed to the laws will know that any “good guy with a gun” can effectively stop any bad guy with one.
Though there are some gun regulations that don’t need reform, changes must be made to the required amount of training and steps to certification for gun ownership. If people who purchase guns are thoroughly trained in proper gun use, ownership of the weapon may be safer.
There should be required classes, extensive training and multiple examinations to prove whether or not a person can be responsible for handling a gun. Some argue that owning a gun should be simple because it is in the Constitution, but because people can be killed easily with a gun, it is crucial that owners know the responsibility involved in exercising their Second Amendment right.
People are held accountable when using their right to free speech, and the same should apply for using their right to own a gun. Just as a person is not free to slander others, the public should not be free to use guns without proper experience.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were around 500 accidental gun deaths in the United States in 2013.
This means that there are more gun deaths by accident than there are days in the year. When gun owners don’t know how to safely use a gun, they can get themselves or those around them hurt or even killed.
Guns were a lot different when the Constitution was written. Today, you can kill more people with a single gun than you could in the 1700s, and you can do it faster and more efficiently.
Even if guns stayed the same over the years, lives are more important than gun ownership. The Fifth Amendment guarantees Americans three unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is people’s lives we are talking about, and even though people have the right to bear arms, the right to life is more important.
Gun ownership is a polarizing subject to talk about, but people need to come together and compromise on laws that can reduce the number of gun deaths each year. Nothing will ever change in our current political landscape if we don’t compromise so that the country can become a safer place. People’s well-beings don’t need to be politicized, and enacting laws that will better prepare gun owners can help save lives.
Lynne Bunch is an 18-year-old mass communication freshman from Terrytown, Louisiana.