Why are guns legal in the States? Doesn't it pose a constant threat to everyone?

Question

Ok sure, it's the people not the guns. BUT if no one had one... Oh well.

Answer 1

Jen, you had the almost right answer in your added details. The problem is not the guns, which are inanimate objects and can do nothing on their own. The problem is the people.

You mention that it might be better if no one had a gun, and I would consider agreeing to this IF it were actually possible to remove every gun from Earth, and erase the technology from our memory. Obviously, that is not possible, so some people are going to have guns.

Is there a threat from some people having guns? Well, it depends on who the person is. If you had a gun, what would you do with it? Would you enjoy the hobby of target shooting and do nothing else? Many people do that. Would you enjoy the hobby of hunting, and do nothing else? Many people do that. Would you keep it for the possibility of self-defense, and do nothing else with it? Many people do that.

Are any of those people a threat to you, me, or anyone else who is not a criminal? I don't see it. So you can see that ti is not the guns that are the problem.

Now, could we ban guns from the people who are the threat? Well, we already do that but these people keep breaking the law and getting guns anyway. Of course, that is why we call them criminals, because they do not obey the law.

Should we punish the 99% of gun owners who are legal and would never be a threat to anyone else because there are a few criminals out there? I have never bought into the concept of mass punishment being effective, do you?

When I was going through the police academy, I was told a saying that really illustrates this: "There are no such things as dangerous weapons, just dangerous people." If the person is going to attack me or fight me, he is dangerous no matter how he is armed. If the person is not going to attack me, he is not dangerous, no matter how he is armed.

For that reason, and because of my interpretation of the Constitution, I believe that any law which restricts gun ownership is wrong and doomed to failure.

Answer 2

It is legal, because the Constitution mandates that every qualified citizens of the country has the right to keep and bear arms. Posing as constant threat to everyone? Well, that depends on the regulating body. They must insure that mentally fit individual will only be allowed to possess, keep and bear arms. They must also set some sort of qualification before issuing a license or permit for that matter. Of course, there are illegal guns of high caliber in the black market, that should be tackle by ATF and other LE Agencies in order to control, if totally eleminated the prolifiration of unlicense firearms, when fall on the wrong hands will create serious treat to peace loving and law abiding citizens.

Answer 3

It really depends. In most rural areas people hunt and there are not that many problems with guns. The real problem is when people who don't know what they are doing get a handgun for "protection". Those are generally the people who shoot someone by mistake or do not take care of where the weapon or ammo is stored.

Also, in many rural places there is no real police presence so rarely, people have to protect themselves. When I was growing up, we had to wait 45 minutes or so for the cops to show up in case of an emergency.
Americans really make a big deal about needing the guns. I think that we don't all need to have guns, just keep the possibility open that many people do have guns so that it deters people from committing violent and property crimes.

Answer 4

Guns are legal because it is one of our constitutional rights. Our founding fathers knew that an armed society would be hard to conquer. Considering that the only attack on our grounds has been 9/11, I would say they had great foresight. It's a shame that they are abused by the few, there is always a risk factor in anything, even sticking your head in the sand could suffocate you.

I would be all for the total reversal of the invention of ALL firearms, bombs, Weapons of Mass Destruction, etc. But you know what they say about hindsight. It's 20 20. What the world needs is more love and a willingness to destroy every single weapon ever made.

Answer 5

We need to be able to have guns. If we had a law that took our gun freedoms away we could not protect our selves from those that don't obey the laws. Don't say we have police to protect us. Yes they are present but not always when you want them to be. I work in the ER of LDS.ORG Hospital and see far more wounds from drug and alcohol abuse. Even fat people seem to have a higher risk of injury or death. Unlike gun wounds the others I mentioned are re-occurring.

Answer 6

thugs and idiot gun owners are the biggest threat. Stop placing the blame on the guns...On the same note, Don't twinkies & dind dongs pose a constant threat to America's waist-line?

Answer 7

All that a law prohibiting an item does is create a black market, make criminals wealthy and increase crime.

It's what happened with alcohol prohibition, what is happening with the drug prohibition we have right now and what will happen when they decide to outlaw guns completely.

Is it just a coincidence that California has one of the highest gun crime rates in the us and yet it has some of the strictest gun control laws?

hmmmm

Answer 8

Everything pose a threat but the consittuion gives us the right to carry them. We are a nation of compromise, so accept it, guy.

Answer 9

Well I live in Texas and we can carry guns on us out in the open. We don't have to hide them. Does it carry a constant threat...I don't know. I don't know anyone who has ever been shot.

Answer 10

Eh. How would you get rid of all of them? The criminals get cocaine in this country from Columbia every day. If we could take up all the guns, criminals would be re-armed quite easily. Then there would be nothing for the criminals to fear, since all the used-to-be citizens would now simply be victims.