It is understandable that people would want something changed about guns after the murders at the Sandy Hook school in Connecticut. People have already tried to restrict guns; there was an assault weapons ban from 1994 to 2004. After the ban on assault weapons stopped, there was not a noticeable increase of crime. So why keep trying something that hasn’t worked in the past? Do gun control supporters think that another ban would actually work?

Some might ask what an assault weapon is. Well, an assault weapon is classified as a semi-automatic firearm that looks like a military firearm. An assault weapon that would be included in the ban isn’t a machine gun because these firearms are already tightly restricted. The government thinks that a gun that looks military is somehow more dangerous. When the assault weapons ban stopped; if the assault weapons were more dangerous, then the crime rate with rifles should go up right? Well according to Gun control has a clear record of failure; the crime rate didn’t rise at all. More people are killed will bare hands than with any rifle and semi-automatic rifles are merely a small group of all the different types of rifles.

According to the FBI, the rates of violent crimes and murders have dropped by half in the U.S. We have more guns in this country than ever and our crime rate is half as high as 20 years ago. Accidental shooting deaths have also declined. The reason there are fewer accidental deaths is because there is better education. For example, the Eddie Eagle program teaches kids not to touch guns and to tell an adult if they find one. There are various gun safety programs including ones by the National Rifle Association.

According to Gun control has a clear record of failure; the conceal carry movement started in Florida and the media named it the “gunshine state” and predicted that every fender bender would end in a gunfight. Well, that didn’t happen. We don’t need to take guns away because the guns aren’t the problem. The people who want to use guns in a bad way are the problem.