As many people
can agree, there has been a lot of controversy concerning guns and gun rights
in our society lately. With several deadly school shootings occurring across
the country within the last decade, our government has been taking many serious
steps in working on fixing this problem that has grown drastically over the last
few years. Many laws have been reinforced in hopes of creating a safer
environment for civilians and many protests and rallies have been held against
the use and owning of guns. However, some people disagree, and think there is
no harm in owning a gun for self-protection and that it is one of their rights
to have one.
In Arkansas,
there is a march this upcoming weekend where gun rights supporters plan to
march the streets with their firearms to prove the point that a law, Act 746 to
be exact, supports the open carry of handguns. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel
disagrees with this march, and says that the act does not approve that people
can openly carry handguns. Many people agree with McDaniel’s opinion.
With the help of
police and prosecutors, the participating in the march plan to go through with
the march and according to Fort Smith Police Chief Kevin Lindsey there wouldn’t
be considered a violation unless one of the weapons are used on another person.
The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms, but it doesn’t
specify if they can be held by citizens publicly.
I understand
both sides of this argument concerning gun rights. If someone owns a weapon,
why shouldn’t they have the privilege to carry it in public? However, on the
other hand, people may become tempted to use these weapons in everyday
situations where they are not needed for protection.
Although both
sides of the argument make sense, it would be far safer for people not to be
allowed to publicly carry arms unless they are employed as a police officer, or
any other job of that nature. With this simple change in our government, we can
quickly avoid many deadly situations that could possibly lead to a decline in
many other things such as education. The age of people who shoot guns will
become younger which will lead to more youth in jail and our nation will have a
lower education rate which will eventually lead to a decline in many other
things that are very important to our society!
