Sandy Hook Elementary School is like many other schools in America.  It has children of varying ages and backgrounds, grades K-5.  A little sign hangs on it.  On that sign, it reads “No Guns Allowed.”  That sign did not stop Adam Lanza from murdering 26 defenseless students and their educators.  What it did do was prevent an educator from stopping the shooting before more lives could be lost.  The tactics employed by the Federal and State governments of the United States to restrict access to firearms are not working.  The goals of those laws are to stop gun violence in its tracks.  Gun Control must be abolished because of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, the history of fanatical governments taking the guns of its citizens, and the dire need for self defense.

Primarily, the Second Amendment directly states the right to bear arms.  These words from the Second Amendment give the people the right to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed, are the most key part of the amendment (USC).  "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 right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed not the militia.  The purpose of the Second Amendment is to protect the citizens from the Government (USC).  When James Madison drafted the Bill of Rights, he had the memory of the Revolution fresh in his mind.  He knew that the reason the Americans won the war was because they had guns.  He was writing these amendments because they won their independence from a tyrannical king, and he knew the time might come that the people would have to do it again.  It is also important to note, that the Second Amendment is as important as the other amendments (USC).  As the Second Amendment is in the Bill of Rights, it is important enough to be added to the Constitution.  Opponents to the Second Amendment claim that it is outdated, and therefore does not matter.  However, this argument is flawed.  The Second Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, as well as the rest of the first ten amendments, and was adopted at the same time as them (USC).  To say that it is outdated is also claiming that the rest of the Bill of Rights are as well.  Therefore since they are not claiming the rest of the Bill of Rights is outdated, the argument is flawed and not valid.  The Second Amendment is a key part of American life, and supports the argument against gun control.

Additionally, taking away guns will lead to governments gaining too much power over the people leading to their oppression.  History has shown that leaders who take guns from their people often lead to the downfall and the death of millions under their power.   When Hitler attained power and became the dictator of Germany in the 1930s one of the first things he did was take all of the guns away (Freedom Outpost).  When Adolf Hitler took the guns from his citizens it paved the way for the mass murder of and oppression of millions of political and racial rivals across Europe and the world.  Throughout Joseph Stalin’s reign of tyranny, he made it abundantly clear that he would not let his citizens have guns (Freedom Outpost).  Stalin murdered 60 million people.  He got away with it because those people could not stand up and otherthrow the government that was oppressive to them.  Between the years 1945 and 1976 Mao Zedong of China emplaced full control over the people of China.  This would eventually kill in the upwards of 10 million people (Freedom Outpost).  This happened because the people in China could not have an armed uprising to overthrow Mao.  Since no  person could own a gun they could not overthrow a dictator that would demolish the lives of millions.  Opponents to these examples say that citizens do not need to have guns to protest their government.  However, this is completely false.  In April 1775, the British escalated the oppression of its citizens in the American Colonies.  When the British attempted to seize the weapons of the colonials, to retain full control over them.  However, the colonials prevailed, and England never attained their guns.  The colonists had tried peaceful means of protest, but evidently needed guns to accomplish something.  Time and time again governments take the guns of their citizens, often leading to catastrophic outcomes.  Between these regimes a total of 77 million people were killed, and by implementing Gun Control, America could be next on this list. 

Last, in America there is a dire need for self defense.   There are multiple instances in which someone uses a gun to defend themselves and others.  When a store in Texas was the victim of a robbery, the store owner, drew his weapon to defend himself and his store, driving the robber away (Bearing Arms).  When this store owner drew his gun he knew it was a last resort, and he was able to defend himself and others in the store.  When a woman was shopping at a mall in Oklahoma, she used a gun to scare off 3 men trying to assault her (Bearing Arms).  When she felt threatened, she was able to use a gun to defend herself, stopping another instance of sexual assault.  In a small town in Washington, there was yet another instance of someone with a gun defending themselves from a criminal.  When a man wielding a small axe burst through the doors of a 7/11 he was quickly stopped by a man with a gun (Bearing Arms).  These instances show that a gun in the hand of a good person can infact be used in defense of themselves and others.  Many opponents to having guns near children point to the reality of accidental shootings.  Ronald W. Pies a psychiatrist, states in a New York Times editorial that, “We should be deploring and correcting the unfettered availability of firearms to children, their siblings and their friends, not minimizing the “handful” of accidental shootings each day”.  The sad reality in life is accidents happen.  Banning guns is not the way to solve this problem.  In summation, firearms have repeatedly been used in defense of the user, and others, and do have a rational and practical use in the world today.

In summation, gun control simply is not needed.  This topic is not one that is Conservative or Liberal, but American.  The idea that people want to take away guns should scare all Americans.  It affects all of America and the world.  Gun Control should be eliminated because, of the fundamental rights given in the Second Amendment, the past usurpation of guns by oppressive governments, and the extreme need for self defense.  So, do you stand with those who believe in taking away the ability to defend yourself or are you with those who want you to defend yourself?  Charlton Heston made the quote “From my cold dead hands” famous.  So, you can take my guns, from my cold dead hands.

Work Cited
"Bill of Rights." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
"Hatchet Wielding Attacker Stopped by Concealed Carrying Citizen." Bearing Arms. N.p., 13 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
"High Rate of Gun Deaths." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
"Store Clerk Shoots at Fleeing Armed Robber." Bearing Arms. N.p., 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
"Young Woman Pulls Gun, Saves Herself From Three Men." Bearing Arms. N.p., 24 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.