The Right to Own a Gun is a Constitutional Privilege that Need Not be Regulated

“If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns”. This argument has been tried throughout the years, as tragedies from assassinations to school shootings have become the focal point of national concern. The Constitution grants American’s the right to bear arms, but over the years these rights have become infringed as new laws are passed in response to specific acts that call for new safety measures. But at this point in time, because of the already instated acts, enough measures have been taken to legally prevent criminals from obtaining guns. Further laws being enacted by the states are simply making it more difficult for law abiding citizens to purchase guns for legitimate reasons. Guns rights are a constitutional privilege that shouldn’t be any more regulated for unnecessary reasons because of inaccurate or misrepresented statistics about gun violence.

As a country founded on the principles of liberty and the general welfare of the people, the U.S. stands out as being the most armed nation in the world. Among national anxiety over gun control, statistics still show that the 3/4 majority of Americans believe the 2nd amendment rights granted in the Constitution are still valid. The amendment states:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”

The “militia”, regardless of it being comprised of individual citizens or an organized group, needs to function on the same grounds as the armed military forces. Additionally, hunting rifles, shotguns, and other small caliber firearms would be inadequate in securing the free State, be it defending each other in emergency or against the government itself. Since states still have more r...

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...nited States is by far not the first on the list. In fact, being a country with some of the leading strictness in gun control, the U.K. is ranked higher for crimes even though the U.S. has 5 times larger of a population . Nonetheless, the U.S. homicide rates are roughly 16,000 per year with more than half of all homicides are committed with a gun. However, 70% of those homicides are directly linked through gang involvement, leaving significantly smaller numbers of innocent victims in gun related violence. Guns are dangerous tools that require respect and thorough safety measures to be taken. It is our right as Americans to have these guns: for defense, hunting, and recreation. The guns need to be kept out of the hands of criminals, but creating laws and regulations only hurts the common citizen, not the criminals that these laws were specifically intended for.