In response...

...to the comment I received in my previous posting:

First, thanks for your comments. I love to read what other people have to say about topics that I find interesting.

I agree with you that the Americans have the right to purchase and possess fire arms. It's clearly stated in the Constitution. My argument, however, (although not explicitly stated in the original entry) is that maybe owning a gun isn't a right that people should have. It made sense when the threat of British soldiers was on everyone's minds back when the Constitution was drafted, but nowadays, I would assert that it causes more trouble than it’s worth. I concede that there have been many instances in which law-abiding citizens have protected themselves and their families from danger through the possession of a firearm, but that number is dwarfed by the number of people that have been killed due to the fact that it is legal to possess weapons in this country. Guns are potentially dangerous and it takes a level of maturity and training and soundness of mind to ensure that guns aren’t used for malicious ends. The problem, however, is that the ease at which one can obtain a gun is in direct contrast with the level of responsibility one should take on when issued such a potentially dangerous weapon. Ultimately, if everyone who was issued a gun were responsible enough to make sure that kids didn’t get a hold of it or that it didn’t end up in the hands of criminals, I would feel a lot more comfortable with people exercising their “right” to possess firearms. The problem is that many people don’t fully appreciate the gravity of the decision they have made to obtain a gun, and, as a result, guns that have been obtained legally through rights guaranteed under the 2nd amendment go onto murder innocent (and also not so innocent) people.

Furthermore, I wholeheartedly stand by my assertion that I would rather be robbed by a person wielding a paintball gun than a person in possession of a real gun. Obviously, robbing someone is a crime and is scary and is something that no one should have to experience. However, given the fact that people do in fact get robbed, getting robbed with a toy gun is clearly preferable to getting robbed with a real gun because at least with a toy gun, there’s no chance that you’ll lose your life along with your wallet, even if you don’t know that it’s a toy gun pointed at your back at the time.

Banning paintball guns isn’t going to stop people from getting robbed. If someone has made up his mind to rob you, not having had the opportunity to stop at Walmart to pick up a paintball gun isn’t going to stop him.

But again, thanks for you comment. I’m sure there are many things that I write in this blog that people don’t agree with. I’d love to hear from you.