Americans have obtained the right to bare arms as stated in the second amendment since our constitution was written in 1787. That’s 229 years, and now people want to take it away. Because of our protection & constitutional rights, the second amendment should be left in our rights as American citizens, as long as we abide with the laws involved with firearms.

Many people think that Americans legally owning guns is the reason for all of our rising murder rates across the United States. Therefore the only solution in their head is to remove the second amendment from our rights. But later on in this letter I will assure you with other evidence, that there is smarter, safer solutions to the problem of deaths associated with firearms. Though, still allowing those who own guns for protection and hunting purposes to bare arms if following the guidelines/ checks that should be enforced in the process of purchasing a firearm.

However another side believes that it is our right as Americans to bare arms as it has been for over 200 years. With crimes such as robbery, rape, and murders increasing American citizens should be able to protect themselves with a firearm to ensure their safety. Ronald Reagan remarked “That law abiding people who want to protect their home and family have a constitutional right to own guns.” (MEL.org) In a speech fighting for our rights to own firearms when he was president. Another example of this idea of protecting yourself goes along with what Wayne LaPierre, a top executive at the National Rifle Association said about the topic “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” (The Fight Over Guns By Junior Scholastic) I believe that this is true upon many levels, like stopping a school shooter. Schools should have officers, or principals armed in school to protect the school from any harm that could occur such as a shooting, as many have occurred in the past couple years. Gun bans should not be put in effect because research from Jamaica, Ireland, and many bigger countries such as England show that when they tried to ban guns the result of the ban was murder rates increasing higher than before the ban. Research also shows that “The adoption of the policy is a reaction to other events that is, endogenous, in this case crime.” (Crime Research.org) This research supports my claim because enforcing gun control laws or the removal of our second amendment would result in skyrocketing our crime rate even higher as it has with the other countries above.

This is why I believe that the United States instead of enforcing a strict ban on guns, enraging the American public in anger, should do background checks before selling guns, and should also make gun owners take a class on gun safety to ensure their education of properly owning, or carrying a firearm in public. Don’t take away 229 years of American rights that we fought hard, and long for Mr/Mrs. President.