Imagine that you are getting robbed at gunpoint. What would you do right after you scream, “please don’t shoot me!?” You most likely would stand there trembling, scared out of your mind, as your whole life flashed before your eyes. You most likely would wonder if you will ever see your family and friends again. But, you should think, “I wish I had a gun so I could protect myself.”  This is exactly why all people ought to be allowed to and should own guns.

The gun laws prevent many people from owning guns. Also, they prevent guns from being in certain areas and buildings. But, you never know where the next crime is going to happen so there is no reason for the government to stop people from their constitutional-given right, their  Second Amendment right to Bear Arms.
Primarily, if people have guns then everyone can feel more safe in their homes, jobs, cars, and anywhere else. In fact, Benjamin Wallace-Wells says, “When gun owners talk about mastering a firearm for the first time,…the new gun changing the balance of their confrontation with violence and restoring their conviction. The gun becomes a prophylaxis against fear” (New York Times). People feel especially safe when they know that their safety/lives are in their own hands. So, if one is allowed to have a gun by his or her side, then the thought is that he or she can be ready and able to protect his/herself. If everyone knew where the next crime would happen then surely people would give up guns, but since they can not, guns are necessary. 

Gun control laws limits the ownership of  guns but, citizens and criminals alike may acquire guns anyhow, and very easily these days,  so why not allow the citizens who reserve the right to own guns to own guns. For Example, Don B. Kates wrote, “In 1946, when there were 344 guns for every 1,000 Americans, the murder rate was 6 deaths per 100,000 population. Fifty-five years later (2000), when the number of guns had swelled to 951.1 per 1,000 Americans, the murder rate was 6 per 100,00” (Armed for Safety). When almost everyone in America had a gun the death rate was the same as when only one-third of the population owned guns. This is exactly why the people who are responsible shouldn’t be punished by gun control laws simply because of the criminals in this world.

Finally, police officers usually aren’t around at the exact time that a crime actually occurs. A civilian having a gun would help curb violence that police could not get to fast enough. Haley Draznin, referring to the Sandy Hook shooting says, “According to the report , the first call to police was at 9:35 a.m; the first officer arrived two minutes and 41 seconds after the first radio broadcast of a shooting.  The elapsed time between the first police officer's arrival and police entry to the school was just under six minutes” (CNN). Now, this tragedy was extremely unexpected but the fact still remains that it took an entire six minutes for first responders to actually arrive at the school. Adam Lanza had affected many lives and completed most of the damage by then, nothing else could have been done; guns are not allowed in schools because of gun control laws. However, what if the principal had a gun on hand, in his office? So many lives would have been saved. Gun control laws prevent people from bringing guns into so many places but shootings happen everywhere, even in schools. These laws are truly a hindrance to the safety of the people.

Advocates for gun control may say that, owning a gun at home represents a real danger and a false hope of safety. But, in reality you can never be too safe. Most of the time when people are unprepared they are sitting ducks for chaos. For example, in 1991, Suzanna Gratia of Killeen, Texas was eating with her parents at a local restaurant, when a deranged man drove through the window and began to shoot. Suzanna reached for her hand gun but soon remembered she had left it in the car, as she was worried about the “GUN CONTROL” laws. The man eventually kills her parents and twenty-one other people (Gordon Witkin: THE GREAT DEBATE: SHOULD YOU OWN A GUN?).

The only real dangers are the gun control laws. If people like Suzanna were allowed to carry guns for protection, she could have saved many lives. Yet, these gun control laws scared her so much it cost her the lives of her parents. The price of losing a loved one is a price many people are not willing to pay.

Gun control advocates might also argue that the use of guns to commit crimes are way larger than the number of guns used for protection. But, when people are able to protect themselves there are virtually no shots fired. Just the sight of a gun being pointed at an attacker scares them off. In 1993, Gary Kleck, the poster child of the NRA did an experiment. He called 4977 households at random, and after collecting and extrapolating the data found that there were 800,000 to 2.45 million guns used in self defense annually. Rarely anyone is shot in these incidents (Gordon Witkin: THE GREAT DEBATE: SHOULD YOU OWN A GUN?). Bottom line, when guns are purchased for protection they are generally never fired. 

In conclusion, gun control laws are extremely unnecessary and there is no such thing as too safe. All people should be allowed to own guns for three reasons. One, people feel more safe when they believe they are in control. Secondly, although gun control laws are designed to stop people from owning guns, these laws have yet to deter criminals or responsible citizens from owning them; at least the government will have proper registry on gun ownership if the laws are more relaxed. Finally, the police response time will never be as fast as a gun on your hip or in your purse.