Every year, over 30,000 innocent Americans die by firearms due to the lack of gun control laws. Today, in most states, almost anyone can walk into a store and buy a gun. A gun in the hands of the wrong person is life threatening. For example, take the case of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut when 20 year old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 innocent children and 6 staff members. This is just one of the many cases where someone who is deranged, with access to guns can take lives. I firmly believe that America should ban guns because the detrimental effects as noted above far outweigh the positives.

The most pervasive argument statement stated by proponents to allow guns is for self defense, but according to Dr. Arthur Kellerman, of Emory University of Atlanta,  “For every time a gun is used in self defense, or in a legally justified shooting, there were 22 accidental, suicidal, or criminal shootings”. This hardly supports the notion that having a gun handy makes people safer.

In the United Kingdom, where guns are banned, there were only 138 firearm related results a year; this is 29,862 less than the U.S. According to David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, “The stakes are too high, the costs are too dear, and I am not and will not be afraid to keep fighting to ban guns;  Statistics have shown that without guns we can save more lives. So there should be no reason to allow them, and even one life saved makes all the difference”.

Gun proponents may even argue that in the second amendment it states that you have “the right to bear arms”, but this was written in 1791, primarily to prevent others from entering their property or commiting treason; at a time where law enforcement was not as prevalent today.

I can fully say that firearms should not be allowed in the United States, in order to save more lives, and make our country as safe as possible.