On October 21st, 2017, a 64-year-old man by the name of Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of over 22,000 people at a music festival from the 32nd floor of the hotel room he was staying in and killed more than 50 people while injuring well over 500 others. As of writing, the death toll was still rising.
The first thing everyone says after a mass shooting such as this is that we need to ban all guns. While I understand their point of view and where they're coming from, what's the point of outlawing all firearms? You can outlaw all the guns that you want, but at the end of the day, someone will always find a way to obtain (and probably use) firearms.
Banning all guns will not stop mass murders.
Paddock had a legal semi-automatic rifle modified to fire fully automatically. Fully automatic rifles are illegal, but the black market exists. Private sells exist. And just like drugs, even though they're illegal, people still obtain them, sell them, use them, and ultimately get arrested and charged for possession of them.
Guns aren't the issue. The people who commit these sick, twisted crimes are the issue. Believe it or not, everyone who owns a gun does not have the intention to kill someone or go on a shooting spree at a concert. Responsible and mentally-stable people own guns for reasons like self-defense.
Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
The definition of gun control is, according to Merriam-Webster, "The regulation of the selling, owning, and use of guns." I whole-heartedly believe that gun control is what America needs. Take whatever extensive measures that need to be taken to make sure that someone buying a gun has the right intentions. But gun control will not stop mass murders or any shooting in general. A gun bought by someone who is considered "mentally stable" and well enough to own a gun can easily get that gun into the hands of someone who isn't mentally stable. It's a never-ending cycle.
Chicago is one of the most strict cities in the nation when it comes to gun control, yet there have been almost 3,000 shooting victims just this year. People will always find a way to obtain a firearm if they're made completely illegal, just like people always find a way to buy/sell illegal drugs.
If someone truly has the motive to commit a crime and mass murder, they will find a way to do it and they will do it, whether guns are illegal or they aren't.
