Guns Don't Kill People, People Do

          My family and I have always been big gun advocates.  Lately one of the big debates in politics has been gun use and the legal owning of guns by citizens.  I was raised by the saying "guns don't kill people, people do" and I truly believe that it is true.  The general population thinks otherwise however, they believe that if you make guns illegal to the general population then shooting at public places, and crime rates in general will go down.  One of the biggest activists for the ownership of guns has been the NRA (national rifle association).  They fight for the second amendment for the right to bear arms.
         The NRA has avidly fought President Barack Obama in his quest to make the right to bear arms no longer a legal right.  Many believe that there is no purpose to citizens owning their own guns, and that society is more dangerous because of those owning guns.  I both agree and disagree with this thought process.  I agree that guns do kill people, but in the end the gun cannot pull its own trigger.  The problem is that the system is too trusting of people.  In the end when a gun kills a person, it was the finger of the person pulling the trigger that did it not the gun.  The people that are using the guns with bad intentions will get their hands on the same guns whether they are legal to own or illegal.
         This is where the NRA comes in to save the day.  Their main goal is " to focus on firearms education".  
They have created this country wide group to promote gun rights for all those who like owning guns.  They may not protest on the streets as often as other groups who want to make change or keep rights, but they have created an organized group that fights and protects civilian rights.  The group may not have social movements that are exactly like the book definition but I believe in many ways that if the NRA did not exist that guns would either be illegal or crime would be much worse.  Lately, the NRA had a huge breakthrough in parts of Illinois.  Recently, the right to carry a concealed weapon became legal in certain parts of the state.  This was a huge breakthrough for the NRA because this makes citizens feel safer from crime on the streets because they can now fend for themselves when the time comes.
        Overall, the NRA has had a great impact on the way we all live our lives today.  They could stand as the staple child for social movements in and before the 21st century when it comes to gun rights.  This group has impacted my life by giving me the rights to own and use guns.  As I stated before I grew up around guns, and I'm still around them all the time today, so to me they are an everyday life object.  If it wasn't for the NRA I may have grown up never knowing what it felt like to hold a gun in my hands, or have any idea what they are capable of.  So in my eyes, the NRA has made this country a lot safer than it could have been if they had not started fighting for gun rights a few decades ago.


          
http://www.sociology.org/featured/the-nra-and-polarization-in-the-gun-debate
http://home.nra.org/