An armed society is a polite society. This type of mindset forces would-be bad actors or criminals to think twice before committing a crime against innocent people.
As per what Pew Research finds: About seven-in-ten gun owners (72%) say protection is a major reason they own a gun. This means the majority of Americans own a gun for self-defense. Self-defense such as using a firearm is and should always be protected under the second amendment.
Despite the number of people who purchase a firearm for self-defense, enemies of our right to self-defense insist on destroying our right to bear arms at every moment, under the claim that it will reduce mass shootings.
The enemies of the second amendment who support gun bans, confiscations, mandatory buybacks, are aiming in the wrong direction if they seek to solve the root problem of actual mass shootings.
According to the study about mass shootings, funded by the Department of Justice:
"Since 1966, we found that the shooters typically have an experience with childhood trauma, a personal crisis or specific grievance, and a ‘script’ or examples that validate their feelings or provide a roadmap."
As Jillian Peterson, a psychologist at Hamline University and co-author of the study, has also found that here are some common characteristics among mass shooters.
Researchers also said:
"They were particularly struck by how many mass shooters displayed symptoms of being in some sort of crisis prior to the shooting."
This shows that these cases would have been prevented as said by Peterson.
These incidents aren't coming from out of nowhere as the study goes on to show that the study..
"..found strong links between suicidal motivations and mass shootings. Nearly 70% of shooters were suicidal before or during the shooting, and the numbers are even higher for school shooters.
These findings could have powerful implications for public policy, according to the researchers."
In addition, the majority of mass shooters have been found to exhibit a range of one to four crisis signs, while a third has faced five or more crisis signs in the run-up to the shooting.
Not only does this tell that it is more about the individual, but the study also undermines some of the arguments for gun control advocates:
Those wanting assault weapons ban, confiscations, registrations or buybacks are overlooking at what the study saying, "Nearly half the mass shooters in the database purchased their gun legally. Thirteen percent obtained their gun via “theft,” which includes borrowing from friends or family members. School shooters — overwhelmingly young — were most likely to acquire their guns in this manner.”
This means gun bans will prove ineffective at stopping actual perpetrators of crimes. Every determined mass shooter will do what it takes to commit a mass casualty tragedy regardless of any legal bans or prohibitions.
An ideal general solution aims to emphasize the mental well-being of individuals, especially for our young people. According to the Forbes Health article, it finds: "Young adults ages 18 to 25 in the U.S have the highest rate of experiencing any mental health concerns (33.7%) compared to adults aged 26 to 49 years, and the highest rate of serious mental illness (11.4%)"
Young people are very vulnerable to unhealthy mental illnesses. This leaves the possibility of unaddressed mental concerns to turn to unfortunate potential violence.
To go a step further, gun bans are found to have no impact on criminals in general. Another study has shown that, "about 1.3% of prisoners obtained a gun from a retail source and used it during their offense." In addition, "Among prisoners who possessed a gun during their offense, 90% did not obtain it from a retail source."
This proves that criminals don't care enough to get guns the right way anyways. Gun bans proposed by gun control supporters advocating for so called "assault rifle bans" often fail to see that handguns are more commonly used in gun related crimes, as shown from the same study:
"Handguns were the most common type of firearm possessed by state and federal prisoners (18% each); 11% of all prisoners used a handgun."
Yet they still pretend where they think any ban even for an "assault weapons ban" will stop mass shooters or criminals.
As US citizens, we have to be vigilant to protect our 2nd amendment. Without the 2nd Amendment, our 1st Amendment will have no "teeth" to depend on. I do believe the minute we give up our guns, that will be the second the government will eventually seek ways to either directly or indirectly control our other rights to freely express ourselves.
We cannot fall for any proposals controlling our right to self-defense. Our right to bear arms isn't a privilege, it's a constitutionally protected right and should be treated as such.
Those who support a repeal of the 2nd amendment, or oppose the entire amendment altogether, really stand against our human right to self-defense. Therefore, keeping firm and defending our means to individual self-defense is not just to protect ourselves but to keep our loved ones safe and sound at any moment's notice.
Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016 | Office of Justice Programs (ojp.gov)