Many people are debating the gun laws recently due to many mass shootings, mainly the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Many ideas are being proposed about gun laws. Some people want to completely get rid of guns. Others want the gun laws to stay just as they are. But, I think something else…

Most murders were done with guns…of all sorts. For example, guns-such as handguns, rifles, pistols-account for 66.9 % of all homicides in 2009 according to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime. Over fifty two thousand deaths by guns were deliberate and 23, 237 deaths by guns were not deliberate (in 2000). A little more than half of all gun-related deaths are suicides! In 2009, the Congressional Research Service estimated that there were about 310 million firearms in the United States itself, not including the military weapons! That sure is a lot!
Additionally, several presidents were also killed with firearms. For example, Abraham Lincoln and James A. Garfield were killed with .44-caliber pistols, William McKinley was killed with a .32 caliber revolver, and John F. Kennedy was killed with a bolt-action rifle. So, firearms were also used for murder back then…even for the presidents!

But then, guns can also come in handy in dangerous situations. For example, an incident which occurred on Friday, January 5, 2013, shows how guns can help big-time. On Friday afternoon in Georgia, an unknown man started knocking on the door of a house. A woman and her 9-year old twins hid in a closet when the intruder barged in with a crowbar and ransacked the house. The woman secretly called her husband who called 911. A few minutes later, the man found the woman and her children in the closet, but he wasn’t successful in capturing them. As soon as the man opened the door, the woman shot him 5 times in the face and once in his neck with a .38 caliber revolver. The police arrived just on time. That gun had just saved them! There are many similar incidents that have happened! So, guns can help save many lives!
“If those states that did not permit concealed handguns in 1992 had permitted them back then, citizens might have been spared approximately 1,570 murders, 4,177 rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults, and 12,000 robberies.”
–The Lott & Mustard Study

In my opinion, only certain kinds of firearms should be restricted, like automatic rifles. We don’t need those kinds of guns for safety. Something as simple as a handgun would be fine. For example, at the incident in Georgia, a .38 caliber revolver was enough to save their lives. Guns should neither be banned nor should gun laws stay the same. The government should take action on this matter quickly because many mass shootings have been happening recently and they will continue to happen if nobody takes action.
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
-Wayne LaPierre (CEO of nation’s largest gun-rights lobbing group)