Ben Shapiro, Editor-at-Large of Breitbart.com, makes many good points in the defense of American's gun rights. Piers Morgan is made out as a fool, who cares more about ratings than the issues.

More Guns, Less Crime (Rebuttal)

Some gun control advocates think that if the population were to increase the amount of guns then the crime rate would drop. Hypothetically this increase would cause the would-be criminals to fear breaking the law, not wanting to be apprehended or shot by a bystander. This version of arming the population would be more detrimental than helpful.

            The main problem with forcing gun ownership is putting deadly weapons in the hands of untrained, timid civilians. Some people would not be able to handle the massive amounts of stress that are felt in a life-threatening situation. This stress could easily transform into panic. This level of panic would definitely take a toll on the person’s ability to think straight, putting everyone in the vicinity at a higher risk. Then you have a maniac on a rampage and an armed civilian who is visibly shaken.

            The lack of training could be a downfall of this idea as well. The average, not practiced person would not be a sufficient enough shot to aid in the apprehension of criminals. This is where you would see more carnage caused by the irresponsible shooting. Civilians would be shooting other civilians after missing their target, pushing the injury tolls higher and higher.

            The risks of increasing the number of guns in a community outweigh the possible benefits. The concealed carry licenses should remain in the hands of trained shooters, in hopes to keep injuries to a minimum.

            

More Guns, Less Crime

Probably the largest, most controversial issue linked to the gun control debate is the “more guns, less crime” argument. Gun rights supporters say that where there is more concealed carry licenses, the crime rate significantly drops. Debaters have continuously engaged in this thought, attempting to extinguish the opposing side’s views.

            Although there is no concrete evidence of the crime rate dropping where more people carry concealed weapons, there is some evidence of changes. Criminals are less likely to attempt to commit crimes at homes where they know there are guns. The shooters whom have been the subjects of recent news stories may not have choose their respective locations if they feared the chance of retaliation.

            The “more guns” policy is a controversial one. It forces people to look inside themselves and think about being in a situation where someone is wielding a firearm. Would you rather be unarmed, begging for mercy, or would you want to have a firearm, giving you the power to change the course of events? The protective human instinct would force you to support the inflation of guns in communities.

            These criminals would definitely think twice about committing a crime. They would have to take into account that they may not even get to begin their sick, perverted scheme, before a bystander takes them out. This influx of guns has the capabilities to save lives.

Background Checks (Rebuttal)

           There is no arguing that guns are easily obtainable. With roughly 300 million firearms circulating throughout the United States, legislators must find a way to control the ownership of firearms, without deterring law-abiding citizens. One of the changes that gun control enthusiasts want to see is the closing of the “gun show loophole”. This refers to the ability to buy, sell, and trade firearms at a gun show, without any paperwork or background checks. This existence of this loophole is enough to push people to action.

            Hypothetically, a gun dealer could take all of his weapons to a gun show. Once there he could legally sell his wares, requiring background checks and other precautions, or he could sell them to whomever he saw fit. This form of trading is appealing to gun salesmen because people are more likely to pay larger amounts for guns they cannot obtain somewhere else.

            The government must find a way to stop these illegal gun show sales if they want to be able to collect date on who has what kind of firearm. 

Background Checks

One of the biggest issues within the gun control debate in America is the ease of which someone can purchase a firearm. Most states have certain restrictions in place including background checks and registration forms, however these are not always completed in entirety or falsified and in some cases ignored. This means that criminals or mentally deranged individuals can obtain firearms. The laws in place should be enforced and there should be new laws added in order to keep guns out of the hands of criminals without affecting American’s privacy.

News programs show the horrifying outcome when firearms are put in the hands of unstable individuals. Aurora and Sandy Hook were terrible tragedies and pressured the public to take sides on gun related issues. Gun control supporters continuously try to promote legislation that will add more gun laws. If they were to do a little research, they would realize that there are already laws in place that are not being enforced properly.

In the case of Sandy Hook, Adam Lanza was known to have a past of mental illness. Even with knowledge of her son’s illness, Mrs. Lanza had firearms in her home with no form of lock box. If her weapons would have been locked away properly, the mayhem may not have occurred. The shooter in Aurora had obtained his weapons legally, as there was no law preventing the sale of firearms to the mentally ill. The legislators should work on providing a bill that will prevent anyone with a past of mental illness from owning firearms.

However, the background checks should not invade the American people’s privacy. The database that houses information about mental illnesses and criminal backgrounds should also include owned firearms. This information should remain private in efforts not to single out non-gun owners. If it was public, criminals could use this database to plan out robberies on houses without guns.

With these checks being performed regularly, firearms will stay out of potentially dangerous people’s hands, in turn decreasing the amount of gun-related crimes.

            

Assault Weapons Ban (Rebuttal)

            Assault weapons are arguably the most lethal kind of firearms available to the public. These weapons are almost of no use to the American population, and much too powerful for some novice gun owners. The benefits of publicly accessible assault weapons are easily outweighed by the risks associated with these weapons in criminal hands. Media outlets are filled with stories of tragic gun crimes, some of which are accidental. However far too often we hear stories of deranged individuals using these weapons to commit horrible mass murders.

            These firearms are manufactured to injure and kill, sometimes capable of holding thirty-round magazines. This kind of firepower has no place on American soil. Story after story tells a gruesome tale of mad men hand-picking these guns to aid in perverted plans. The damage capability of these firearms is insurmountable. There is no reason average Americans citizen would need a firearm modeled after military weapons. These weapons are only capable of destruction.

            Allowing these assault weapons to be distributed to anyone who will fill out the required forms is ridiculous. The public should not be armed to an extent that is threatening to police officers, whom are paid to keep order. Many assault weapon owners are not even trained to use semi-automatic rifles. It is much more likely for an assault firearm to be misused, resulting in heightened levels of chaos and destruction.

            These guns have no tangible use to the public, and they can easily be used to harm others and disrupt society. The manufacturers of these weapons should be restricted from selling them to the public. The citizens already can have rifles, shotguns, and handguns substantially arming themselves for any situation they might find themselves in.

Assault Weapons Ban

There has been much debate over a blanket ban of assault weapons.  An assault weapon is nothing more than a military-style rifle, which can be semi-automatic or fully automatic. The semi-automatic rifles are the weapons up for debate, as many states already have restrictions regarding automatic weapons. These semi-automatic assault weapons are not much different than hunting rifles or pistols, in that a single round is fired for every pull of the trigger. The right to own these firearms was given to American citizens in the Second Amendment, and they should not be banned.

The core of the ban-supporters’ way of thinking comes from the belief that the firearm is to blame in the shootings that took place in Sandy Hook and Aurora, which could not be farther from the truth. In order to commit these horrific mass murders, the shooters would have to be insane, or evil.  These evil people are to blame in these tragedies, not the weapon they choose to use. How can we be sure that these criminals would not have acted on their perverted plans with a knife or any other kind of weapon? A firearm is nothing more than a tool, used more times for protection or sport than shooting sprees.

The Second Amendment grants American citizens the right to bear arms. Our forefathers did not include this right for hunting or sport, but for the possibility of our government crumbling and becoming tyrannical. There are many past examples of governments turning on their own people, leaving the population to protect themselves and their families. Germany, Italy, and Spain have all been through these times of transition, and the United States has just as much of a chance to go down that same road. These “military-style” rifles provide ordinary citizens with the means to defend themselves from a mercenary police force, rogue military branches, or any other form of degradation.

The assault weapon ban has supporters that believe the removal of these firearms from the public will cause the gun crime rates and death tolls to diminish. On the contrary, these aren’t the guns with the highest death tolls. Handguns are the most used firearms in gun crimes. These handguns also happen to be semi-automatic. This evokes the rational thought that banning handguns would severely decrease the amount of gun crimes, which we all know would be an impossible, irrational objective.