A shovel, a pen, a kitchen knife and a gun. What do they all have in common? For one thing, they are all tools – lay each on a table, stand back and watch. The pen will not jump up and start writing, the shovel will not shovel, the knife will not cut and the gun will not shoot. However, each can be used to harm, or with a varying degree of effort, kill another person. But you will never hear anyone refer to a writing implement as an “assault pen” even if used for such a purpose. Each was created by humans to be used by humans for certain purposes. Each one needs to be interacted with in order for it to function in any manner.
The major difference is only the gun was made to facilitate a quick kill.
There are valid points on both sides of this debate, and I say this as someone who has owned & currently owns a gun. Certain types of guns can only be legally owned by properly licensed people. A background check, permit to purchase and permit to carry is so the law abiding citizen knows the government is looking out for their best interest in regards to the responsibility of ownership. The fact that there are so many guns in the hands of those who would not be able to buy them legally is a result of so many guns being available. Every gun I ever bought was from a licensed dealer, and when I sold a gun, it was to a licensed dealer (except for a .22 pistol I sold to my brother-in-law who, I know is only interested in target shooting). My gun is kept away from my kids, and locked. I am but one out of thousands of responsible gun owners in this country. While I agree that certain guns should not be available to the general populace, telling responsible gun owners they were going to be forced to turn over their possessions & give up their right to keep arms would result in many instances of irresponsible actions by some of these citizens. This issue, along with things like legalizing pot, cracking down on drinking, improving this or that system come up from time to time so legislators can make us think they’re trying harder than they are. Law enforcement personnel as well as the ATF know full well the fight they would have on their hands if they were directed to enforce such a law and that’s why it will not be passed. And if you’re a law abiding citizen, is registering your firearm really a big deal?
