I can't help but shake my head at all these people talking about how everyone should have the right to be armed and gun control is stupid. I mean, if somebody sneaks up behind you, pulls out a gun, and says "give me all your money or I'll kill you," what are you gonna do? Pull out your own gun and shoot him before he can pull the trigger? Or are you going to always have your gun loaded, cocked, and in your hand? (although I can't imagine someone pulling a gun on you if that were the case)

I can understand why it might make someone feel safer to have a gun on them when they feel like they are in a dangerous place, but, if you stop and think about it logically, you'd be a lot safer if the government made a concerted effort to rid the country of as many firearms as possible (maybe they could use the ridiculous amount of funds spent on the war on drugs, as well as the draconian punishments given to users/dealers, to instead prevent the sale of guns). The bottom line is that making it legal to purchase firearms, even if it's only legal for certain qualified individuals, makes it easier for criminals, or potential criminals, to get a hold of them (think about all the money unscrupulous people can make by buying guns legally and selling them on the black market).

I mean, I'm no criminal and I don't know any personally so I can't say for sure, but I would guess that the majority of guns used in violent crimes were either purchased legally, or purchased from someone who purchased it legally, or stolen from someone who purchased it legally, or purchased from someone who purchased it from someone who purchased it from someone legally, etc. If we made it completely illegal for anybody to purchase guns, I don't see how you can argue against the fact that it would definitely make it more difficult for a criminal to procure one.

To put it simply, instead of thinking "I should be allowed to carry a gun just in case some dude on the street pulls one out on me," you should instead think "if I'm allowed to carry a gun, there's a MUCH greater chance of some dude on the street pulling one out on me," and like I said earlier, unless you've got it locked, loaded and in your hand at all times, that gun isn't going to do you much good in such a situation.