There is less than a week until the election – time enough for one last plea for my man Al Gore.

I was watching CNN the other day and they mentioned each candidates stand on gun control. Neither candidate has paid much attention to the issue since early in the year, but it is still an issue. I perked up at this because I have never liked guns ,and I think we should have more gun control than we do. Al Gore has this viewpoint as well.

Most gun supporters use the argument that it is our Constitutional right to bear arms. I have always thought that this amendment was loosely interpreted. The Second Amendment states: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Note how it says “a well regulated militia.” According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of a militia is “an army composed of citizens, rather than professional soldiers, called in the time of emergency.” According to this definition, the only time the people had the right to keep and bear arms was in a time of war or when people were drafted. Hence “a time of emergency.” I don’t consider keeping a handgun with you at all times or hunting a state of emergency.

I think the writers of the Constitution probably didn’t think that the Second Amendment would have been taken so seriously and would have resulted in causing so many problems in the future.

According to the United States Department of Justice’s Web site under the Bureau of Justice Statistics page stated some alarming facts about firearms.

The national crime victimization survey conducted in 1999 said that, “562,870 victims of violent crimes stated they faced off with a firearm.” The FBI’s crime in the United States statistics estimated that “65 percent of the 15,533 murders in 1999 were committed with firearms.”

A good way to combat these statistics would be to have stricter gun control laws. The best thing to do would be to get rid of guns all together. The only people that should be allowed to carry weapons is are military or professions that require people to carry guns, such as police officers.

We should do away with all private gun ownership. There is really no point to it. The only reason I can think of that people would own a handgun would be for the intent to harm. The only semi-practical purpose for owning a gun would be for hunting. No one relies on hunting anymore for the only way of getting food; they just do it for sport. People can always hunt with a bow and arrow or not at all if guns were ever outlawed.

I know the majority of people are not a problem when it comes to owning guns. Actually, I’m sure most people would never cause any harm, but a few bad eggs spoil everything for everyone else. It would be almost impossible to spot someone out of a crowd that is buying a gun that could be a problem. And with George W. Bush (along with a huge backing from the National Rifle Association) being against almost every gun control law that is ever proposed, nothing will ever get any better.

I think that if something puts other people in harm’s way, then regardless if whether we have a constitutional right to it or not, we shouldn’t have it. Mostly everything works that way. We have a freedom of speech, but we can’t yell fire in a crowded place because it puts others at risk. We also can’t say whatever we want about others in print because if it isn’t true, it causes damage to someone else’s reputation. I don’t see how banning guns is any different because they are the cause of thousands of deaths a year.

If we elect George W. Bush to office, there will be absolutely no progress with gun control laws. It could possibly get worse if he does the same things he did for Texas. An article in the Los Angeles Times stated that, “Since becoming Texas governor, Bush has greatly liberalized state gun laws. Texas residents who receive a state permit may now carry concealed weapons, even in churches and hospitals.”

Can you imagine people carrying concealed weapons all the time? I’m sure that incidents like Columbine would be more common, and the murder and suicide rates would soar.

I wouldn’t be surprised if lots of laws against gun control were proposed because the National Rifle Association (NRA) is a huge supporter of Republicans.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “The NRA said it will spend $12 to $15 million on the election.” With that amount of cash, they will probably get what they want.

Al Gore will be in favor of making it harder for guns to get in the hands of criminals. The Los Angeles Times said Al Gore would “require handgun owners to obtain a state-issued license after passing a background check and safety test.”

That won’t solve all the problems with guns, but it is a start in the right direction if we can’t get rid of them completely.