Ho Fai Tung, 14, St. Marks School, Mass.,
USA
“A free people ought not only to be armed
and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to
maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government.”
-George Washington
When George Washington fought for the independence
of the United States of America, he did so on the foundation of freedom and
liberty for its people. He managed to break free of one of the largest empires
in human history. This would not have been possible had the citizens of
American not been armed and able to fight. Whilst guns have been responsible
for many acts of violence, it has been shown throughout history that guns have
been responsible for a lot of good as well.
Weapon ownership has been a controversial
topic for a long time, escalating in recent history with the invention of
automatic firearms and high explosives. I believe that the many positives of
weapon ownership outweigh the negatives of it. The historical reason for owning
a weapon is self defense; it was the reason that our ancestors created the most
basic of fighting tools. On a larger scale, this includes the defense of people
or an ideal, such as those of George Washington. His revolution would not have
been possible if not for the firearms that he and his forces possessed.
In the modern day, this must be emphasized
further as the advancement of technology means that governments have an
unprecedented amount of control over their citizens. It is a common pattern
that the worst dictatorships in history are also the ones with the most control
over the weapons in their empires. Many countries have guns to thank for their
freedom, such as in Mozambique, where the national flag shows two AK-47s as a
symbol of their rebellion.
There are those that would argue against
gun ownership by stating the acts of violence that have recently been committed
through those means. However, could this not have been prevented if there was
an armed person with good intentions and training to stop them? If guns were to
be outlawed, this would effectively give the government complete ownership and
control over its people. Not only that, but it would also give more control to
the criminals who know how to illegally acquire guns, allowing them to commit
whatever atrocities they wanted until the police arrived after the average 15
minute response time. If guns were to be eliminated, the average citizen would
be forced to live in fear of oppression from both the government and the
hardened criminals.
The quote above has been proven correct
many times throughout the course of human history, with examples of successful
armed revolutions and unsuccessful unarmed protests. Many countries that are
now free are in this state due to weapons. In the event of gun illegalisation,
the government would have even more control over the people than it already does
and armed criminals would roam freely as long as they could get away within 15
minutes. This is not the kind of country that was envisioned when George
Washington founded the United States and it is only the people who are ignorant
to these dangers that believe that gun ownership is negative for society.
