DearCitizens,

Well,anothershootinghashappened,thistimeinColorado.Threepeoplearedead,

andnine
othersareinjured.Theshooterwalkedinto
a

PlannedParenthoodclinic
andopenedfireinan
efforttostopthefalsechargeofbabyparts.

Evenmorerecently,twoheavilyarmedshooterskilledfourteenpeopleandinjuredseventeenat
apartyinSanBernardino,California.ThisisthedeadliestshootingintheUSthisyear.
Shootingslikethishavebecomesocommon,thatthereareapproximatelyoneperday.Infact,
onthesamedayasSanBernardino,onepersonwaskilledandthreewereinjuredinashooting
inGeorgia.Thelistgoeson:ColoradoSprings,Umpqua,Chattanooga,andCharleston,to
nameafewjustin2015alone.

Ofcourse,thismeansitistimeforanothertalkabouttheguncontrolinthiscountry.Soletsbe
honestforamomentourcurrentguncontrolplanisajoke,andtherearesomeseriousthings
thatneedtobefixed.

Tostart,letslookatsomenumbers.TheUnitedStatesleadstheworldingunspercapita.That
equatestoabout270milliongunspossessedbycivilians.Almost70%ofhomicideshavebeen
committedwithfirearms,andsince2001,therehavebeenmorethan400,000Americandeaths
causedbyfirearms.In2013alone,morethan33,500peoplewerekilledwithfirearmsintheUS.
Andthemajorityofthesedeathsarecausedby,guesswhat?Massshootings.Infact,since
1997,therehavebeen51massshootingsintheUnitedStates.Thataloneshouldbeenoughto
atleasttightenafewgunregulations.

Thereistheargumentofthecivilianmilitia,theideathattheonlywaytostopabadguywitha
gunisagoodguywithagun.Frankly,though,armingeveryonewonthelpanything.According
toRollingStone,therehasntbeen
asinglemassshootingt
hatwasstoppedbyanarmed
civilian.Therewas,ofcourse,onecasewhereacivilianwasabletokillashooter,butonly
postcrime.Ifthatisntenough,thinkofitthisway:wealreadyhavethegoodguyswithguns,
andtheyrecalledpoliceofficers.Theseofficersevenreceivespecial,governmentissued
trainingandsupportandareliterallycertifiedtohandledangeroussituationsinasafe,efficient,
andtacticalway.

Betteryet,guncontrolpreventsthebadguyfromevergettingaguninthefirstplace.And
sure,criminalsarepeoplewhodontfollowlaws.Evenso,guncontrollawswouldreducethe
overallamountofguntransactionstakingplace.Tightergunrestrictionswouldcausemore
illegalgunconfiscationsbypolice,makingitharderforlegalgunstobeobtainedbycriminals.
Thisway,thereisntevenanyconcernaboutrepeatmassshootingsandhighdeathtolls.

But,but,but,saysomegunenthusiasts,carskillmorepeopleperyearthangunsdo,butwe
arentbanningcars.Andyes,thatsverytrue.However,carsaremuchmoreregulatedthan
gunsare.Inordertooperateacar,
inanystate,
itisnecessarytoundergotraining,background

checks,licensing,registration,andgovernmentissuedpermitting.Inmoststates,noneofthe
aboveisrequiredtoobtainafirearm.

Butwhataboutthe2ndamendment?Thepeoplehavetherighttobeararms!Wellyes,of
coursetheydo,butletshaveaquickhistorylesson.Thatamendmentwaswritteninatime
beforeelectricityandanythingclosetotheweaponsoftoday.Theclosestthingsthose
slaveholdershadweremuskets.Thatsright,singleshotmusketswithlessthandecent
accuracyandamaximumfiringrateof4RPM,or1shotevery15seconds.Thetimesand
technologyhavechanged,andthelawsshouldchangewiththem.

Finally,thereisthehumanargument:Gunsdontkillpeople.Peoplekillpeople.Ahyes,the
oldestlineintherightwingbook.Anddefinitely,peoplecankilleachotherwithalmostanything
somepopularweaponsincludeknives,hammers,explosives,poison,andyes,evencars,but
thereisanother,moredirectandprimaryuseforeverysingleoneofthose.Knivesareusedfor
foodpreparation,hammersforconstruction,poisonforpestcontrol,andcarsfortransportation.
Guns,however,haveonesingleobjectivetopropelasmallprojectileatahighspeedtowardsa
targetwiththeintenttocauseseverephysicaldamageordeath.Itisonlygunsthathavethe
sheerkillingpotential,onlygunsthatmakemassshootingspossible.Itistimetoendthe
violence,andfinallyenforcewhatwehavebeentalkingaboutforsomanyyears.

ThankYou,
AConcernedCitizen