Poll question: Would our nation be safer if police were the only ones allowed to bear arms?
Hey people. I'm writing a research paper on the right to bear arms and I think I might use the title of this question as my main idea. I'm not going to give my opinnion because I don't want anyone to feel swayed to answer either way. When answering, be sure to give a reason why you feel the way you do.
2009-02-10T21:10:27Z
Thanks for your input people. Now that a few people have answered, I will reveal that I say "no" because many of the same reasons you people do. I will keep this question open for a couple more days.
Anonymous2009-02-09T06:32:14Z
Favorite Answer
God no. It would be the worst possible thing. If only cops had guns how many times do you think they would use "excessive Force"
The right to bear arms is the only constitutional right guaranteeing the others, once they take our guns, then they will take our free speech for our "protection" then ship us to the middle of the desert to internment camps for "our protection" They will institute curfews for "our protection".
This happened in Germany, it was slow steps that the Nazis took the rights away from the Jews, they didn't just come into power and start loading up the trains. In American during WWII the US GOVT rounded up Japanese Americans for "their protection" and shipped them to the middle of the desert for the duration of the war.
Playing with out Natural Rights is not a good idea. Those who will rob a store, rob your home, kill people for enjoyment, will know that all the law abiders have no protection. What will you do when an armed man enters your home? How will you protect your family?
Just like with drugs being illegal, it gives a reason for normally peaceful people to make bad and dangerous decisions. You turn law abiding citizens into criminals with the stroke of a pen. Big Government wants more criminals, because they can control us more if we are. When crime goes down, they have to make new crimes. If I am caring a gun for my protection and am pulled over by a cop who wants to illegally search my vehicle, what are my options?
If we are invaded on US soil again, who will stop the invaders? The police? the military? Every time a war has been fought on American soil it has been American citizens, who have owned and used guns since boyhood making the difference.
Rights are reserved for man, governments can not "give us" rights, nor take them away, only we have the power to do that.
The reason we have the right to bear arms is if circumstance necessitates, we can take arms up and replace an oppressive government. Very eloquently written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration on Independence.
The first battle of the Revolutionary war, Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the British were on their way to concord to take our guns. We met them at Lexington and gave them our bullets.
I think a law stating that only police were allowed to bear arms would give people the illusion that our nation was a safer place, but it probably wouldn't be much different than it is now. People will always have or be able to find a way to illegally obtain guns. A lot of criminals, gang members, terrorists, etc. didn't obtain their guns legally, so a new law saying that they weren't allowed to have them wouldn't sway them at all.
Personally, I think it's okay for regular people like you and I to have guns, as long as we store and use them properly. Not every one who owns a gun is evil or has intent to harm others. As another poster stated, if someone broke into your house and threatened you or your family, how would you protect yourself if you weren't allowed to have a gun? Throw a lamp at them? Haha.
Of course, there are nut jobs out there who have legally obtained guns because they passed the background check and they paid for the license to get one, but they're either not right in the head or have absolutely no idea what to do with the thing. I think that in order for people to obtain guns, they should have to go through a little more (for lack of better word) testing, in addition to the background check and what-not, before you get your license. Testing such as maybe being required to take a class on gun safety, using a gun, gun maintenance and all that good stuff. Perhaps even a brief psychological test (though that may be getting a little extreme) and maybe even have to pass some sort of course at a gun range or something, just to make sure that everyone who has legally obtained a gun knows how to use one.
Just my opinion. =o)
EDIT: To themilkdude23 - why don't you try thinking up your own answers?
I think a law stating that only police were allowed to bear arms would give people the illusion that our nation was a safer place, but it probably wouldn't be much different than it is now. People will always have or be able to find a way to illegally obtain guns. A lot of criminals, gang members, terrorists, etc. didn't obtain their guns legally, so a new law saying that they weren't allowed to have them wouldn't sway them at all.
Personally, I think it's okay for regular people like you and I to have guns, as long as we store and use them properly. Not every one who owns a gun is evil or has intent to harm others. As another poster stated, if someone broke into your house and threatened you or your family, how would you protect yourself if you weren't allowed to have a gun? Throw a lamp at them? Haha.
Of course, there are nut jobs out there who have legally obtained guns because they passed the background check and they paid for the license to get one, but they're either not right in the head or have absolutely no idea what to do with the thing. I think that in order for people to obtain guns, they should have to go through a little more (for lack of better word) testing, in addition to the background check and what-not, before you get your license. Testing such as maybe being required to take a class on gun safety, using a gun, gun maintenance and all that good stuff. Perhaps even a brief psychological test (though that may be getting a little extreme) and maybe even have to pass some sort of course at a gun range or something, just to make sure that everyone who has legally obtained a gun knows how to use one.
I don't own any guns, and pretty much agree with you, but most people here in the U.S. want the right to bear arms because they feel they should be able to legally own weapons so that they can protect themselves and their families if need be. Most feel that even if you do make arms illegal, the ones who we must worry about the most with guns are the criminals who are going to obtain and misuse guns regardless. As such, the only people that an anti-gun law would keep from having guns are the ones who need them for protection or for hunting which is also a widespread hobby of people here. Furthermore, Americans are extremely against being controlled by the government... which I find funny because we rarely have major protests to enforce our will on the government like other democracies in the world.
You would never be able to create a situation where police were the only people carrying guns. If you outlawed guns, the only people to have guns would be police and criminals. Those criminals would know that all the people who obey the laws have given up their guns and can't defend themselves. You have to remember that police are not proactive in nature. They're reactive. They don't stop crimes from happening, they prosecute those who have commited crimes. A police officer can't protect you when someone tries to break into your home or hurt you or your family. That's your job. And it's a tough job without a gun. To answer your question, no, our nation would be less safe if you outlawed the legal posession of firearms.