kelly_smock's Blog

I have to completely agree with part of John McCain's statement about the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the second amendment:

"Today's decision is a landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom in the United States. For this first time in the history of our Republic, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was and is an individual right as intended by our Founding Fathers. I applaud this decision as well as the overturning of the District of Columbia's ban on handguns and limitations on the ability to use firearms for self-defense."

I do not own a gun and nor does my family, but I firmly believe that individuals should have the right to bear arms! I do not understand why this issue is so heavily debated. Let's talk hypothetically for a moment. If the Supreme Court had decided to ban guns, what would have ensued? The majority of the law abiding citizens would have turned in their guns, while the criminals would have refused (because mind you they are criminals). Not to mention, small and large business owners of hunting shops would suffer.

Yes, I am not completely oblivious to the fact that thousands of individuals are killed or injured because of the ownership of a gun. Nor am I ignorant to the fact that regulations on licenses in some areas of the country are not up to par. But, I do not believe that you should take away the right of many, because of a few. Gun owners need to take responsibility for their weapons and ensure that their children do not have access to their firearms. We should not take this right away, when so many are responsible with their weapons. Instill laws which are directed to those which do not properly supervise their weapons. Also, what happened to parental supervision. I understand that it is difficult to watch a child every second, but parents really need to keep a closer eye on their children.

On kind of a side note, bellow is part of Barack Obama's statement on gun ownership. It seemed that both McCain and Obama stayed in the middle on this issue. I agree with his statement as well, we need to make improvements to our system. I just want to point out that he stated that he wanted to make sure guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. How would banning guns in America keep guns out of the hands of terrorists? I just think this is a hilarious statement. I am sure that McCain would have made the same statement, so I am not being bi-partisan.

As Barack Obama stated, "As President, I will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun-owners, hunters, and sportsmen. I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact common-sense laws, like closing the gun show loophole and improving our background check system, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. Today's decision reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe."

My conclusion, a gun law would not prevent criminals from buying guns on the black market or making a gun. Keep in mind there are internet sites which give step by step directions on how to make a homemade gun. Most definitely a gun ban by the Supreme court would not stop a terrorist from obtaining a gun.