This is not an opinion. This is one of two opposing arguments I will be sharing for the purposes of expanding my thinking and scrutinising my current beliefs. While I do not intend to share my conclusive opinion on the subject matter, I invite you to make use of the comment section if you have any valuable insights.
While it would be wonderful to reside in a world where no one out there meant to do us harm, this is unfortunately not the reality we have found ourselves participating in. As a consequence of the dangers out there, and the fact that whether legal or not, some citizens will forever find a way to source and wield firearms, it is in the best interest of the general public that we be permitted to acquire the means to defend ourselves, our loved ones and our property from would-be attackers.
Inhabiting an area where guns are illegal, a criminal who gets their hands on one is far more likely to indulge in armed robberies than if they were in a place where the average citizen may also be armed. For it is that much easier to commit an armed robbery, in a place of business or in a street or alley way, if you can be convinced that the target of your robbery, or the people in the immediate vicinity of the crime, are not also wielding a firearm.
It is through the absence of guns, that the wielder of one seizes the power to influence those without. But arm us all, and that power is negated.
In addition to protection against other members of the public, and as a deterrent to armed robberies, the necessity for the average civilian to be permitted to bear a firearm is superseded by the public's collective power to withstand, rebel against, or simply to dissuade the extreme abuse of power from our governments.
Tyranny at the hands of governing forces is a repetitive occurrence throughout history and still exists in modern times depending on one's location. It would be naive to resign ourselves to the belief that our government, wherever we may be, will never succumb to such abuses of power. Therefore, to grant them the permission to be armed while removing the same right from ourselves puts us in a position of great weakness, and opens the doors to future abuse that we will be without the power to defend ourselves against.
While it could be argued that everyone walking around carrying a firearm could lead to many instances of murder or attempted murder, I would note the observation that we all walk around with fists every day and yet very few of us decide to punch another. If someone is intent on murdering another human being, then they do not need a gun to do so. But if the person they are intent on murdering happens to be carrying a gun, then they may very well be dissuaded from trying.
So while I am certain many of us wish to have found ourselves in a world where guns did not exist and had no reason to, the fact that they do exist, and the fact that many who carry them are intent on causing harm to others, suggests to me that for the sake of minimising the dangers posed by such persons, the average citizen ought to be permitted to carry the means of defending their self, should they desire to do so.
I can't add a whole lot to this one since it basically sums up my views on the subject. Maybe I would add that people should be educated on gun safety, encouraged to do some target practice so they feel comfortable with the firearm- being nervous with it is a recipe for disaster. You wouldn't want to pull a gun on a gunman if you didn't know how to use it.
You are not all wrong. When writing the opposing argument to this topic, I did mention that anxiety, in someone who is armed, could lead to a fatal mistake. And unfortunately, anxiety is something that far too many of us, and more it seems each day, are afflicted by.
I didn't like the structure I chose for this experiment, however. I think starting to tomorrow I am going to change it to a formal debate between myself and I, beginning with the side I currently align with each time, and picking it apart point by point.
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