Kids like this really get me going. They are the future of our country, and I feel it behooves us to try and educate the young. This is what I posted on her board:
Miss Kaleigh:
I will try to answer the questions posed by your page, and explain where the flaws are in your logic. After that, I shan't reply again in this board, as I believe that the best way to converse on this subject is via e-mail, which is why I included my address.
I will take your points one by one:
>Back then, literally a bear could walk into your back yard.
Agreed, and now, we don't have to worry about that. We have to worry about criminals walking into your back yard, your car, your home, with plans to take what is yours. Don't you feel that if a criminal were planning to hurt your mother, your father, sister, brother, you would hope that there's a way to protect them? Can you count on the police to do that, when the response time can be up to 1/2 hour? Someone could seriously hurt or kill your entire family in less than 2 minutes.
>And thats my point. If this law had to do with anything else then guns...
Miss, this is not a law. It is a right. There are considerable differences. A right cannot be taken away. Were that the case, then they could take away your right to freedom of speech and religion (Amendment 1); They could come in and search your home anytime, without consent (Amendment IV); The government could put you in jail without Due Process (Amendment V); Slavery would be legal (Amendment XIII); Your right to vote in elections could be removed (Amendment XV); Women could be disallowed to vote (Amendment XIX).
Would you like to see this document altered? Suppose a large number of people start deciding slavery is a good thing again, and the cry is raised to repeal the 13th amendment? Suppose men decide women don't have the ability to make an honest decision and their right to vote be taken away? Where does it stop? I disagree that the laws need to be changed. There are over 20,000 guns laws already, and the government does not enforce them. Did you know that young lady? that's TWENTY THOUSAND. If we enforce the laws already out there, violent crime would decrease dramatically.
>If we banned the guns, our crime rates would take a drastic drop.
There's an old saying "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. How well will you sleep at night knowing that only bad guys have guns and are on the streets, running around without any worry that anyone but police can stop them? There are a lot more criminals than cops. Additionally, all studies show that when the citizenry is armed, the crime rates drop, not the other way around. Florida recently changed its guns laws, making it easier to own a gun. The State as a whole has experienced a 40% DROP in violent crimes, and this is over several years, not a new development. Think this through: If you are a criminal, where would you feel safer robbing someone: In a city where guns are outlawed, and you know that no one has one, or a city where the person might be able to stop you, put you in jail, or possibly hurt you for trying to hurt them?
A last thought to ponder: Over 2,000,000 times a year a gun is used to prevent crimes. Very, very few of these times is the gun ever fired. Would you prefer to see a possible 2,000,000 more people dead each year than protect themselves?
I put your entire page down to the fact that you are young, and haven't lived in the violent world that is really out there. I imagine that you have parents that protect you, and keep you safe, and I applaud them for that. However, know that there is a world out there that has a darker side, and that people need to protect themselves from it. More importantly, parents need to take a more active interest in their children, be aware of what's going on in their lives, so that when troubled children near the breaking point, a parent is there to help, and these tragedies you write about don't happen.
I want to thank you for allowing me to rxpress my views on your page.
Joseph A. Gerardi.