Now let me get this straight before I begin. I am not trying to start a flame war! I am simply trying to see the opinions and reactions on this topic, mostly from American citizens.
Now here's the topic; guns. Yes, I know what your thinking, but hear me out. Guns are a dangerous thing, right? They're designed to kill people. Now, I suppose you could say the same for cigarettes, a pack of cigarettes lying in a draw doesn't kill anyone. Neither does a gun lying in a draw. The point here is that a gun left untouched, is much safer than a gun being touched.
Now, I'm going to tell you a very interesting fact. I'm Australian, and the last mass shooting in Australia occured 15 years ago, after which semi-automatic and automatic rifles in Australia were banned. The last mass shooting in america was less than a week ago, and the one before that was 6 months ago. Now, I don't believe firearms in America should be totally banned, because they're not in Australia. I just think there should be a limit on what kind of weapons can be sold, and who can buy them.
Here is some comparrison on American and Australian gun laws.
Australia
-Only bolt-action rifles may be sold (yes, that means no handguns)
-These weapons must be sold to the buyer on government property
-Buyers must have a valid reason to own the weapon (farming, hunting, ect)
-12 month police background check must be completed
-No citizen may own more than 2 firearms
America
-All kinds of weapons may be sold
-Weapons don't have to be sold on government property
-Buyer doesn't need valid reason (Anyone can say "to protect myself")
-Shorter background check (I'm not sure about exact length)
-Citizens can own many firearms
Now, most Americans usually say "Even if gun laws are changed, criminals can still buy it off the black market". That is very true, but Australia has a black market too, you know. Yet, we don't have mass shootings every 6 months. Also, guns are legal in America so they can apparently 'overthrow the government.' How exactly would that work? I doubt an angry mob can take on the US Army, even if they did have guns.
Now, as I said, I'm not trying to start a flame war. I just hope I can open the eyes of at least one of you. What are your thoughts on this topic, and how I've approached it.