Why should we be pushing for more gun control?

In recent years, gun control has become a contentious issue invoking fierce debate. This has a lot to do with the events of Columbine and other school shottings that end up resulting in mass murders involving guns. We have become very reactionary as a country, and this issue is no different. However, there are lessons to be learned from the past, as well as other countries that went through similar situations who implemented their own gun control measures that we should heed. I think another important thing to consider is that the original goal, protecting our families from gun violence, has been lost in the shuffle, with groups fighting over the wording and the meaning of the second ammendment, or devaluing its words altogether. There are some who see the words of the Second Ammendment which gives the citizens of the United States the right to bear arms, as outdated, unnecessary, and irrelevant to our time. Surely some olf men in powered wigs could not fathom how advanced we are now as a country when they wrote the constitution so many years ago. These people would argue that the use of the word "militia" indicates that the founding fathers only wanted citizens to have guns because they expected everyone to be ready for war with the British at a moments notice, because at the time they lacked a real standing army, and even a police force. While it is true that the founding fathers wanted the fledging country to be ready for war, they understood the word militia to simply mean "all able-bodied men", and not the armed groups of anti-government supporters we think of today. Also, many of our founders wrote of their belief in our countries right to bear arms for all people. Thomas Jefferson once wrote simply "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms". Another argument that is popular is that the founding fathers would be in favor of gun control now because of the high levels of violence that are so common today and that gun violence was unheard of in the 1700's. This is simply untrue. There are actually many documented instances of gun violence from that time. One that comes to mind is the Boston Massacre, where a number of American citizens were gunned down by armed British toroops in the streets in Boston. Another example can be found in a newspaper article from July 7th, 1775 in the Newburn Gazette of North Carolina. In that article, it was reported how a man referred to as a "Demoniac" shot and killed three people and wounded a fourth with a sword. The man was stopped in the middle of the carnage because he was brought down by armed citizens. Another argument in favor of gun control is that European countries have banned guns in recent years and have seen violent crime dop. This is very misleading. In England for example, handguns were banned after the Dunblane Massacre of 1996 when a man shot and killed 16 primary school students and their teacher at the school they all attended. The country was rocked, and sought a swift reaction to the events. So they decided to ban guns. Anyone with a gun was given a period of time to turn in their guns, absolutely no questions asked, in an effort to make the transition smooth and once and for all stop violent crime. Now, gun control advocates like to point to England's example as one that could work here if we are commited enough to achieving real change and to seeing an end to gun violence. However, the studies done to evaluate England's progress actually show that from 1998-2005, the number of deaths and injuries from handguns, the main target of the handgun ban itself, actuallt rose 340%. Also, in the first two years of the ban, handgun use in violent crim rose 40%. The authors of the study concluded that the ban was successful in decreasing guns owned by legitimate users and owners, but not in unlicensed, criminal use which was the goal. Essentially, the country took away its protection from crime in an effort to stop crime. It seems clear to me that as a country, maybe we should take a step back from gun control, and thhink about what our goal should really be. If it is about protecting our children and families, then I think there has to be a better way to do it than what we are pursuing now.