In the United States, the debate over gun control and gun ownership is a hotter topic than ever, with major media attention and coverage. All kinds of proposals can be heard, from calls to ban certain weapons to removing all forms of gun control. Here we will cut throught all the noise and give you an explanation on the Second Amendment, what it is, why we have it, and why you should care. First off, we must explain the Second Amendment in context: After the 13 colonies gained their independence from Great Britain, they were very concerned with the new government they were going to form. The Founding Fathers took every possible measure to make sure that they kept the government from growing too much. So they after writing the Constitution, they added ten Amendments (what is known as the Bill of Rights) to make keep the Federal government from infringing on the people 's rights. Of these ten, the second states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, …show more content…
Now, that is not the only reason we have the 2nd, there is another function it serves, security. Wait, what? If we take away the weapons, then people won 't kill each other, right? Not quite, stay with me, let 's go over it. Let 's take a little time out, I 'm gonna ask you a question, think of your answer, and then keep on reading. Ready? Here it goes: How many people have governments killed in the 20th century (1900-2000)? Got it? Good, keep on reading. What was your guess, 10 million, 35, 50, 80, 100? The number is 260,000,000. Let 's put that in context. That 's the population of: France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Venezuela, together, all gone. That is the amount of people that would die if all the deaths of the Civil War happened in a single day for a year. Think about that. The violence of the state is horrible, but that is not the only type of violence gun ownership can prevent. Below is a beautiful infographic put together by Vici Media on