Lauren Tobin
Democratic Stance

Recently, a new law was passed by the Kansas State Congress that allows residents to carry an unconcealed weapon without a license.

You read that correctly: without a license. This means one can openly carry a gun to parks, grocery stores, even restaurants unless otherwise prohibited by the establishment.

Some individuals like to believe this will increase security; however, this new law places far too much trust in complete strangers. We cannot rely on faith to prevent a fatal shooting, especially when new laws are increasing their likelihood.

The formidable truth is that we are currently living in a nation in which the sale of a motorized vehicle is more regulated than that of a deadly weapon.

According to a physician in West Virginia, Alan Ruben, who has published several editorials on the topic, gun related incidents are the second leading cause of injury death in America.

To translate that, during the first seven years of the Iraq war, 4,440 American soldiers were killed.

Almost as many Americans are killed every month from gun-related violence.

Guns can be used as a mechanism to end another human’s life — there is no way of denying that. Owning a firearm is a huge responsibility, and one does not need to tote it around like the latest fashion statement.

Instead, the state of Kansas should be making it more difficult to obtain a firearm. If an individual purchasing said weapon is truly a “law abiding citizen” and does not plan to use it out of malice, they should have no problem complying with stricter laws.

I understand the argument is that once a person secures a weapon, what they do with it is up to them. And this is true; no amount of legislation can prevent their course of action. But let’s focus on the root of the problem: if we can’t stop them once they get it, why not make it harder for them to acquire it in the first place?

Take the shooting at Fort Hood for example.  In 2009, a man gunned down 13 men and women and wounded 29 others at the military base.

To this day, it remains the deadliest attack ever to occur on an American military base. Those that were killed were not simply civilians; they were members of our heavily-trained army, yet they could not stop the shooter.

People should realize that just because you own a gun doesn’t mean you will now have cat-like reflexes and courage comparable to Jason Bourne.

To conclude that increasing gun freedoms would positively benefit the world is naïve and irresponsible, especially when it concerns the lives of others. Simply put, adding guns to the equation does not equal a safer world.

Jessica Skaggs
Republican Stance

You’re in class. You’re waiting to get back that huge test you took last week, and see if you pulled out a 100 percent. Your teacher takes forever to hand it back, but finally does.

You got a 99 percent.

One question wrong.

Now, do you blame yourself for that one missed problem, or the pencil?

Obviously you take responsibility for your mistake, and don’t blame the tool you used to make that mistake.

For some reason though, when looking at guns, this simple concept is reversed.

The reality is, guns don’t kill people. People kill people.

And more specifically, the problem occurs when bad people kill people. Which is an important point to keep in mind.

Some individuals are in favor of gun control simply because they believe that fewer guns would equate to fewer gun-related deaths.

However, violence would only increase because, unfortunately crazy people exist.

Therefore, if they really want to, then they will always find a way to inflict harm on others, whether it be by a car, a knife, or by a homemade bomb.

So with this being the case, how do we stop these people from obtaining objects that will harm others, and maintain a civilized society?

You take it away. But where do you stop? And at what price?

Gun ownership is not only a constitutional freedom, but also the most efficient way to keep society safe. Depriving decent citizens the right to protect themselves, is not only morally corrupt, but also more dangerous.

The shooting at Fort Hood is a perfect example of this. Gun legislation restricted trained personnel from carrying a weapon to protect themselves from a crazed shooter. Only the two cops on staff that day were permitted to carry a gun.

The best way to keep society non-violent, is to own a weapon. Mahatma Gandhi, often regarded as one of the most peaceful men to walk the earth, went so far as to say,

“Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest … if we want to learn the use of arms, here is a golden opportunity.”

Guns are just a tool. A knife is a tool. A vehicle is a tool. There is no solution to keep these tools from being used in a violent or uncivilized manner, that would not handicap law-abiding citizens.