Freedom and Guns: Valuing Human Life
Freedom and Guns
From the birth of America to America today, the driving force and heart of America has always been the "American Dream." The American Dream is a lifelong goal that many Americans strive for. America dedicates their life to get the best of America. I believe one of the American Dreams is our freedom. But what freedom means to one person means something else to another one. Some people relate freedom with owning a gun, because we are free we are allow to have a gun and defend ourselves from other people. But what this actually means? Restricting the right to bear arms will undoubtedly make any community safer. However, to do so would take a lot more than just prohibiting the sale of guns. Many people, at least in my community, own guns. Granted, many of these guns are used for hunting, but they are still guns. The authorities would have to take everyone 's guns away to really make a community safer. I believe that restricting gun ownership would make a community safer because guns kill, accidentally and on purpose.
Many people argue that they have guns for protection--protection from the other people who carry guns. "They defend their possession of guns saying they can use their guns to kill an intruder" (Jillson 54). They also argue that their guns are used to hunt and
Casas 2 feed their families. Although these defenses may be true, I am brought back to an incident that occurred last year where I lived. A father of a couple of the girls at my school was hunting with his son and he accidentally killed him. This is a terrible tragedy, but it brings us face to face with the reality that even in the most innocent of situations, if a gun is involved there is a possibility of death. Originally, guns were not intended to protect; they were intended to kill. "Made for wars, they were weapons of war, in which they were used to fight enemies and to help a country be more powerful, and they are still used for this today" (Geela 98).
From the birth of America to America today, the driving force and heart of America has always been the "American Dream." The American Dream is a lifelong goal that many Americans strive for. America dedicates their life to get the best of America. I believe one of the American Dreams is our freedom. But what freedom means to one person means something else to another one. Some people relate freedom with owning a gun, because we are free we are allow to have a gun and defend ourselves from other people. But what this actually means? Restricting the right to bear arms will undoubtedly make any community safer. However, to do so would take a lot more than just prohibiting the sale of guns. Many people, at least in my community, own guns. Granted, many of these guns are used for hunting, but they are still guns. The authorities would have to take everyone 's guns away to really make a community safer. I believe that restricting gun ownership would make a community safer because guns kill, accidentally and on purpose.
Many people argue that they have guns for protection--protection from the other people who carry guns. "They defend their possession of guns saying they can use their guns to kill an intruder" (Jillson 54). They also argue that their guns are used to hunt and
Casas 2 feed their families. Although these defenses may be true, I am brought back to an incident that occurred last year where I lived. A father of a couple of the girls at my school was hunting with his son and he accidentally killed him. This is a terrible tragedy, but it brings us face to face with the reality that even in the most innocent of situations, if a gun is involved there is a possibility of death. Originally, guns were not intended to protect; they were intended to kill. "Made for wars, they were weapons of war, in which they were used to fight enemies and to help a country be more powerful, and they are still used for this today" (Geela 98).
Cited: Geela, Parish. The American Dream. New York: Terry, 2004 Jillson, Calvin. Pursuing the American Dream. Kansas: University of Kansas, 2004 Toutellot, Arthur. The Shaping of Genious. U.S.A.: Mankind, 1977 Zia, Helen. Asian American Dreams. New York: Farrar, 2000