When looking at anything these days, everyone's main concern is safety. And that's a good thing. Everyone wants to make sure that they and their family will be safe in their new car. People want to make sure that their new appliance isn't going to just explode. They check and double check their locks and security systems before leaving their house or going to bed for the night. Personal safety has become paramount.
Young women have started to take self-defense classes. Some people carry pepper spray to help repel attackers. College campuses give out rape whistles to their incoming freshmen. Public transport has the "see something say something" slogan to remind people to be safe and aware of their surroundings.
It is this safety consciousness that has driven the public to demand stricter gun control laws. People don't feel safe around firearms anymore; they don't trust people who have them or carry them. Serious doubt has been shed on the second amendment, and its meaning has been debated again and again. Comfort and safety of the majority should protected, right?
I am a strong supporter of the second amendment and the individual's gun rights. I always have been; I always will be. And, while I do support the idea of background and mental health checks before purchasing a firearm, I will never back the idea that any government can deny anyone who clears all checks the right to keep and bear arms. My opinion will always be that the only governments that want their people to be unarmed are governments that have something to fear from an armed population.
However, in the interest of public comfort and safety, let me share some "safety features" of firearms with you.
Most current firearms have a safety, a mechanism that locks the trigger and prevents the gun from being fired. If the gun doesn't already have that option, it can always be modified and added. I have known people who have done this. In a recent film, a soldier was reprimanded for not using the safety option on his rifle. This soldier wiggled his trigger finger and said, "This is my safety." While that might work for some, others may not have the same control.
Another option would be to keep firearms in a gun cabinet or case. This would help keep curious little hands from getting hold of a potentially loaded gun, yet it runs into the problem of the second amendment promising the right to bear - or carry - firearms. Most people who carry a gun keep it in a holster, some of which are made to cover the trigger so that the gun can't be accidentally fired.
Yet, with all of these options, my favorite safety feature of firearms, by far, is simple: COMMON SENSE.
Parents tell their children not to run into the street. They instruct them not to touch the stove or go near the fire. They hold their children's hands when they first start walking. They use those little plastic plug covers and put rails on the side of a child's bed. They frequently and repeatedly tell children not to put things in their mouth.
Why do they go through all of this trouble? Why do they watch what their children touch and taste? Why is this important?
Parents are concerned with the safety of their children. As well they should be. This instruction could save a child's life from a speeding car, electrocution, suffocation, falling, or any number of other accidents. Why would a gun be any different?
If a child can understand the instruction not to touch a stove because it will hurt them, I assert that they can also understand the instruction not to touch a gun because it will hurt them. If stoves are unsafe for children, why isn't anyone clamoring to take them out of houses? If wearing a seat belt is so important, why are we allowing our children to climb onto school buses that don't have any?
If a gun is inherently dangerous, why weren't there mass deaths in the Colonial Era of America - when nearly every household had at least one, if not more, firearms? Why weren't there children dying by accidental or purposeful shootings?
The answer is that children were taught that a gun was dangerous. They were taught to respect it for what it was - a powerful tool. They were taught to use it with the proper instruction and supervision. They possessed or were taught what many seem to be lacking today: COMMON SENSE.
Guns can be dangerous. Guns can kill people - accidentally or purposefully. But, guns have never been the problem.
People have been killing other people for centuries with whatever they could find. People have been stabbed, strangled, suffocated, drowned, exploded, pushed down stairs, run over by cars, and an untold number of other ways. Murder is murder; only the method is different.
To prevent more shootings, we should make sure that everyone is checked as thoroughly as humanly possible. But, that can only go so far. That would be similar to a car dealership making sure that a car was running smoothly with no problems whatsoever but never asking if the customer could actually drive it. Selling a gun to someone with no training is dangerous; letting someone have a gun around people who are uneducated about them is even more dangerous.
It's obvious that America has been plagued with this "gun question" and what the best course of action would be to keep the largest number of people safe. The best answer is to educate every citizen in proper gun safety.
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