The ability to possess and employ a gun in the United States is not a new topic of conflict. Dating back into the early days of our country when our forefathers were writing the laws of our constitution, the citizens’ ability to possess a firearm was discussed even back then. There is a wide range of interpretation of the 2nd amendment from citizens not being able to have a gun at all to anyone that desire a gun could have one. Ignoring the extremists and thinking strictly on the facts and how this would affect our society, the best way to solve this conflict would be right in the middle. The 2nd amendment of the constitution states that all citizens have the right to bear arms. While the true meaning of this statement and how it should be understood in today’s society is highly debated upon, the founders of our country clarified this many years ago. Samuel Adams stated that the constitution should never be interpreted in a way that prevented the citizens of the United States from having a firearm and with that ability James Madison said that the citizens would never have to fear the power of the government (Gun Control). In the wake of events such as the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shootings, the media accentuated the violence of guns. They don’t, however, show how citizens with personal weapons have stopped other similar events from occurring. In December 2007, at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it appeared that this was to become another of the awful massacres that are seen on TV as Matthew Murray, armed with two handguns and an assault rifle, made his way to the church. After killing two in the parking lot, he stepped into the church and shot one person in the arm before he was stopped by an armed citizen who had a concealed carry permit. In two schools in Mississippi and Pennsylvania a similar circumstance occurred and was able to be prevented by a civilian who used their firearm for good (Burris, Face it). Many of these instances feature a mentally disturbed shooter and most Americans would agree that the mental health care in our country is lacking. With a greater emphasis put on mental healthcare in our country we may be able to prevent some of these incidents from occurring by helping those with mental health issues and keeping them from ending up in a horrific situation. Taking the right for the citizens to keep firearms away from them takes the guns away from those who use them for non-harmful purposes or those that may be able to stop something terrible from happening. …show more content…
Getting rid of citizens having firearms would not only leave the guns in the hands of criminals with the rest of the population vulnerable to attack and with no way to defend themselves but would also cause an uproar amongst citizens. To help alleviate this problem, measures should be put into place to make a universal standard for the entire country on the way that firearms are bought and used. Mandating background checks in both public and private sales will help keep some of these firearms out of criminals’ hands. Ensuring that everyone who owns or operates a firearm receives some type of safety training would also help those who own a gun to understand how their weapon works and how to keep it out of reach of children and to help prevent accidents that occur with these weapons. When the Brady Law was passed in 1994, it stated that a five day waiting period would be put in place for all gun sales out of store where a background check would be placed before the ability to buy was granted. This