Gun Control:Both Sides Need to Face Reality

Gun Control: Both sides need to face reality

In recent news coming out of San Bernadino County we are once again forced to deal with the issue of Gun Control. In examining this debate a close examination reveals that both sides are

not dealing with cold,hard reality. First, let’s deal with the

gun rights assertion that if we don’t stand up against

gun restrictions then the government will take away

everyone’s guns giving them supreme control over

the people of our nation. They back up this assertion

with the history of so many dictators from Hitler to

Castro who immediately took away all their people’s

guns upon taking power thereby preventing any over-

throw of their tyrannical rulerships. Second,the opposing position

is the gun control side of the argument who want to reduce the

number of guns inside of the United States thereby reducing violence. Both

of these ideas fall short when you consider two facts that reveal

reality of guns in our world.

The Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Graduate Institute of International Studies

found that 270 million firearms exist in the U.S.A. This statistic is not alone

in its enormity. According to Craig Whitney of the World Policy Journal the

International Illegal Arms trade is a 60 billion dollar enterprise.

These two shocking and sobering statistics reveal to us the

imperfection of both sides of the gun-control debate. If we

try and take away all the guns in America it is an enormous

and implausible goal since there are so many guns. Even

if we succeeded in this endeavor it would merely whet

the appetite of the International arms traders who would

be delighted to have a new market of 300 million people

that they could sell guns to. Likewise the gun rights advocates

are also incorrect when they set a goal of a gun free America.

It just isn’t gonna happen! With so many guns in America (way more than Germany or Cuba

ever had) it is highly improbable they could get all of them out of

Americans hands. Furthermore if gun right owners have

such strong beliefs wouldn’t they fight a civil war over this issue.

Northern white people were willing to go to war over slavery,an issue that didn’t

affect them directly, so it is highly likely that people

would go to war with our government rather than

give up their guns. Even if America’s gun owners lost

this war and therefore lost their guns. They would

have a welcome ally in the International arms trade

who would gladly sell their product to gun deprived

Americans. All Americans on both sides of this debate

must face reality that we are not only a gun nation

but a gun planet. This problem can’t be solved

by trying to take away all the guns,it is a pointless,

and quixotic endeavor. But also equally important

is to not exaggerate the threat that our government

has in controlling our guns, realizing the limits of their

power in dealing with America's firearms.