Gun control a good idea

By Branson Strasner

Gun control. A phrase no one wants to hear because an argument usually arises after these words are said.

There are two sides to the argument, with both having reasonable points.

On one hand, there’s the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment guarantees American citizens the right to bear arms.

In more conservative states like Kansas, people see gun control as a restriction of the rights given to them in the Constitution.

On the other side of the argument, people point to the string of mass shootings the United States has witnessed in recent years, such as Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook or the murder of a Virginia TV crew.

In the aftermath of these events, politicians have pushed for gun control laws in order to prevent future shootings from occurring. These laws include more extensive background checks, limiting the size of ammo magazines available for purchase, and restricting the sale of assault weapons.

Logically, citizens should be allowed to own handguns and other small firearms for self-defense, but nothing else should be allowed.

If someone is breaking into your home, you don’t need an assault rifle and fifty clips of ammunition just to defend yourself.

The government limiting of the purchase of assault weapons and high capacity ammunition will go a long way in preventing mass shootings, but will do relatively nothing to restrict the public’s ability to defend itself.

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