Gun Ban Law

Well, it’s the Second Amendment again. This has been argued time and time again. This time TechRepublican.com talks about the 1976 gun ban law being challenged in the Supreme Court. The Bush Administration’s Department of Justice is siding with the District of Columbia. The Department of Justice argument is that since the government bans machine guns, it should also be able to ban handguns. “After all, they reason, people can still own rifles and shotguns for protection, even if they have to be stored locked up.” The Justice Department even seems to accept that trigger locks are not really that much of a burden, and that the locks “can properly be interpreted” as not interfering with using guns for self-protection.” Yet, even if gun locks do interfere with self-defense, DOJ believes the regulations should be allowed, as long as the District of Columbia government thinks it has a good reason.
I am not sure I agree with this. Obviously you should lock up your shotguns, but I believe those should be for things like hunting, not self-defense. Handguns are easier to use for self-defense because you can get to them quickly. If you only could use shotguns, then you would have to go to the case unlock it, then load the gun. I just think that that is too long of a time. If you have someone break into your house, you would need to do things quickly. I just think a handgun is better, when you are trying to protect you and your family. Also, they can be kept in high places so that kids will not come across them.
“Factually, there are many mistakes in the DOJ’s reasoning: As soon as a rifle or shotgun is unlocked, it becomes illegal in D.C., and there has never been a federal ban on machine guns. But these are relatively minor points. Nor does it really matter that the only academic research on the impact of trigger locks on crime finds that states that require guns be locked up and unloaded face a five-percent increase in murder and a 12 percent increase in rape. Criminals are more likely to attack people in their homes, and those attacks are more likely to be successful. Since the potential of armed victims deters criminals, storing a gun locked and unloaded actually encourages crime.”
I completely agree with these statements. It is true that if criminals know that you have to store your gun unloaded and in a locked compartment, it will make them not afraid to come after you. It puts Americans in a lot more danger. Is that really what we want? Now, don’t get me wrong, I do not think that everyone has the right or should own a gun. I believe there should be a thick process in order to own a gun. There should be background checks on everyone, as well as an analysis on what their life is like at the moment. If they are mentally unstable, or if things have happened to them, that would make not in the right mind to own a gun. Things like this should be considered.