Guns. A touchy subject here at school and at most political rallies. But why? Is it because guns kill tens of thousands of people per year? Or because the conservatives are scared the liberals are going to take them away?

The first ever recorded incident of a school shooting happened in 1764 in Greencastle, Pennsylvania. School shootings have been going on since the mid 18th century yet we still can’t figure out a way to put an end to them. In 1996, England saw the deadliest massacre in UKs history-the Dumblane Primary School Massacre. After that, they decided to ban firearms and the only attacks they have seen since are stabbings or terrorist attacks.

“If there is an active shooter in a public place, it will take the police a little while to respond. If a there is a citizen with a firearm, there is a possibility the threat can be stopped immediately,” Keagan Gale said in regards to concealed carry of firearms in the United States.

Between 1955 and 1975, the Vietnam War killed over 58,000 American soldiers – less than the number of civilians killed with guns in the U.S. in an average two-year period. In the first seven years of the U.S.-Iraq War, over 4,400 American soldiers were killed. Almost as many civilians are killed with guns in the U.S., however, every seven weeks, according to Giffords Law Center. More Americans are dying in their home country where they thought they were safe than fighting oversees in wars.

By taking away guns from law abiding citizens, we are leaving them defenseless against actual criminals with guns. Those criminals are always going to find a way to get a gun, so why take them away from people who can protect themselves? Because hopefully by getting rid of as many guns as possible, we can slowly get them out of the hands of criminals.

Should the United States repeal the 2nd Amendment? If we decided to do that, hell would break loose. Conservatives everywhere would most likely refuse to give up their guns that they use for “protection” while the liberals would be crying tears of joy. We, the people of the United States, need to find some middle ground on this and many other issues.

Guns have many great uses. You can use them for hunting for food, shooting for sport, or scaring your daughters boyfriend. Past that, firearms and concealed carry laws, in my opinion, have no use in society. They escalate situations into deadly ones in no time flat. Carrying a handgun on your hip constantly for “protection” is BS. If you want to protect yourself, go take a karate class.

Why did society have to get creative in our ways to kill people? What ever happened to a good ole’ sword fight or battling with axes?