Fellow Dutchman ‘Joey’ left a comment in the Tragedy At Amish Schoolhouse thread. His comment was the following:
When does America finally do something about the amount of guns freely available to anyone in the country?
The reason that I quote Joey is that he is asking a question many, many, many, many (fellow) Europeans ask themselves (and if possible they will ask this to Americans) just about every time something is reported about a tragedy like this one at the Amish schoolhouse, or when we hear about the gang wars in US cities, the list goes on and on.
One could very well argue that, rationally, guns cause more harm than good. That the right to bear arms, is not protecting Americans, but hurting Americans.
That, although legally people indeed have the, unquestionable, right to bear arms, it is quite a different thing politically: laws can be changed.
Guns do not serve some noble purpose: they are designed to help people kill (or severely wound) other people (or animals).
On the other hand the conviction that people should have the right to own weapons / guns, is deeply ingrained in American culture / history. One could very well make this case by simply pointing out that the right to bear arms is the second Amendement of the Bill of Rights: that says it all, doesn’t it?
Personally, I would enjoy knowing more about that -> the conviction that people should be able to own all kinds of weapons, that taking away that right would somehow severely limit one’s personal freedom, &c. So if any one of you could explain that to me: it would be greatly appreciated.
However, the intention of this post is not that ‘request’, the intention is to start a debate: the right to bear arms: unquestionable or time to change the law?
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