Evan DaCosta (’16):

I’d like to start by saying that we all have the same goal in mind: Reducing the number of innocent people killed every year. There is a commonly held misconception that the solution to all of America’s violence issues is to ‘ban guns.’ Handguns, hunting rifles, shotguns and assault rifles are all currently available for purchase in the U.S., causing many people to think of the U.S. as a barbaric, backwards country.

The Second Amendment – which guarantees gun ownership as a constitutional right – was created for an unquestionable purpose: The United States, at the time, wanted to provide some form of national security without paying for a standing army, and their solution was civilian militias. However, many people call into question why the amendment still exists. It is, after all, an amendment – able to be changed.

Yet, I would argue it is necessary to maintain this amendment because, just like in many other scenarios, as soon as something is outlawed by government a black market appears, causing crime and violence to multiply. We can see examples of this phenomenon with Prohibition in the 1920s and the current war on drugs. After Richard Nixon began the war on drugs, drug-related crime rose rapidly and taxpayers footed the bill.

The way I see it, there are too many illegal guns in the hands of criminals today to be able to make any truly meaningful change to save lives. Criminals have been able to easily purchase deadly weapons through dark websites like the Silk Road. The nature of a criminal is, after all, to not follow laws.

Any laws banning guns will only cause one thing to happen: Criminals will keep the guns they already have and law-abiding citizens will have their guns confiscated, leaving them incapable of fighting back.

At this point, the most we can do to reduce gun violence is expand FBI background checks, monitor private firearm sales more closely (i.e. gun shows) and crack down on irresponsible parents who leave their guns in places children have access to. If a child accidentally discharges a firearm, the parents of that child should be held criminally responsible and charged with child neglect.

As an National Rifle Association-qualified sharpshooter, I can attest to the profound sense of responsibility and safety displayed by most gun enthusiasts. It is wrong to generalize gun owners as irresponsible, just as it is wrong to generalize any other group of people who could potentially be defined by a violent minority. Most gun laws that are being proposed by the left will do nothing to prevent gun violence, and will only strip the rights of law abiding, responsible Americans, leaving them defenseless against criminals and delusional shooters.

The way to prevent mass shootings is to increase funding for mental health treatment – an entirely separate issue and one that needs to be discussed, considering California alone cut $587.4 million dollars from mental health funding in two years, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness – and increase the efficiency and thoroughness of background checks for potential buyers.

Although the gun violence problem in the United States has reached a terrible level, it cannot be stopped by banning guns. We must do what we can to stop drug-related gun violence and increase the efficiency of background checks, as well as increasing government spending on mental health.

Zack Longboy (’16):

I’d like to start by saying that we all have the same goal in mind: Reducing the number of innocent people killed every year. There is a commonly held misconception that the solution to all of America’s violence issues is to ‘ban guns.’ Handguns, hunting rifles, shotguns and assault rifles are all currently available for purchase in the U.S., causing many people to think of the U.S. as a barbaric, backwards country.

The Second Amendment – which guarantees gun ownership as a constitutional right – was created for an unquestionable purpose: The United States, at the time, wanted to provide some form of national security without paying for a standing army, and their solution was civilian militias. However, many people call into question why the amendment still exists. It is, after all, an amendment – able to be changed.

Yet, I would argue it is necessary to maintain this amendment because, just like in many other scenarios, as soon as something is outlawed by government a black market appears, causing crime and violence to multiply. We can see examples of this phenomenon with Prohibition in the 1920s and the current war on drugs. After Richard Nixon began the war on drugs, drug-related crime rose rapidly and taxpayers footed the bill.

The way I see it, there are too many illegal guns in the hands of criminals today to be able to make any truly meaningful change to save lives. Criminals have been able to easily purchase deadly weapons through dark websites like the Silk Road. The nature of a criminal is, after all, to not follow laws.

Any laws banning guns will only cause one thing to happen: Criminals will keep the guns they already have and law-abiding citizens will have their guns confiscated, leaving them incapable of fighting back.

At this point, the most we can do to reduce gun violence is expand FBI background checks, monitor private firearm sales more closely (i.e. gun shows) and crack down on irresponsible parents who leave their guns in places children have access to. If a child accidentally discharges a firearm, the parents of that child should be held criminally responsible and charged with child neglect.

As an National Rifle Association-qualified sharpshooter, I can attest to the profound sense of responsibility and safety displayed by most gun enthusiasts. It is wrong to generalize gun owners as irresponsible, just as it is wrong to generalize any other group of people who could potentially be defined by a violent minority. Most gun laws that are being proposed by the left will do nothing to prevent gun violence, and will only strip the rights of law abiding, responsible Americans, leaving them defenseless against criminals and delusional shooters.

The way to prevent mass shootings is to increase funding for mental health treatment – an entirely separate issue and one that needs to be discussed, considering California alone cut $587.4 million dollars from mental health funding in two years, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness – and increase the efficiency and thoroughness of background checks for potential buyers.

Although the gun violence problem in the United States has reached a terrible level, it cannot be stopped by banning guns. We must do what we can to stop drug-related gun violence and increase the efficiency of background checks, as well as increasing government spending on mental health.