The 2nd Ammendment: A Right with Responsibility

By Daniel Taverne

To all those who want to prohibit the ownership of fire arms by law abiding citizens, I would like you to rethink your opinions on the issue. The reasons for your current position are well established within the media, yet millions of Americans still do not want to relinquish their second amendment right that is plainly written, and easily understood.

When I think about future laws that would be passed to create a gun free society, I think about the laws that are already in place that govern today’s gun use, and how those laws do such a good job preventing armed robberies, drive byes and other gun related homicides.

After thinking about this for a while I’ve come to believe that gun laws are only meant for law abiding citizens because crooks and killers obviously don’t abide by them. And, if they don’t abide by laws already in place, what makes you think they’ll abide by any future gun laws. Don’t, therefore, deal with irresponsible gun owners by prohibiting ownership of them by everyone because, as sure as I’m sitting here, the bad guys will still have theirs.

I am a former military man, and I own a handgun. I understand how lethal it can be; especially in the wrong hands. I have no intention of utilizing it in the commission of any crimes, and probably will never have a need for it. That being said, I’d rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. I keep a trigger lock on it, and have the clip and ammunition stored separately from the gun, though they are where I can get to them quickly in the event of an emergency. What Americans need to understand is that with each right granted to us in our bill of rights, comes responsibilities that must not be ignored.

Indeed, the responsibilities that arise with the 2nd amendment is that we properly store our weapons, doing whatever possible to make sure they are out of the reach of children, equipped with trigger locks, and stored in such a way that they can’t be stolen. Doing these things will help prevent accidental injuries and deaths, and may help decrease the number of illegal weapons on the streets.

The right to keep and bear arms is a right that brings with it these important responsibilities that, unfortunately, are often ignored. When that happens, people are accidentally shot, or their stolen guns are used in the commissions of crimes.

While it is true that some of these incidents might be avoided if guns were outlawed, I submit that it is the gun owner’s responsibility for how the weapon gets used, stolen or not. Therefore, irresponsible gun owners should be held accountable if and when accidents occur.

Along with holding gun owners accountable, the most effective actions that can be taken are to continually educate Americans about proper firearm storage and other firearm safety issues.

For example, since curiosity about guns is a well known factor associated with accidental child shootings, it might be a good idea to implement fire arm safety and familiarization courses for middle and high school students designed to remove the glamour and mystique that children and teenagers associate with guns.

Finally, before condemning people for defending their 2nd amendment rights, consider all the other means people use to kill each other, and remember the phrase: It’s not the guns that kill people, its people who kill people.