“Guns do not kill, but people do.” I am sure most of us have heard this saying at some point in our lives. Surely, it is a statement of the obvious, but the logic behind it rings true. It may seem rational to ban guns entirely to prevent people from killing, but it is not the guns themselves that are the problem. The criminals who kill others are willing to break the law and risk going to prison for the rest of their lives to murder, yet they are expected to follow firearm laws? If a nationwide gun ban is enacted, criminals will not suddenly follow the law and reject the thought of buying a firearm on the black market. Banning all guns in the United States would be irrational because it would not lower crime or prevent firearm-related murders.

Outlawing firearms punishes the law-abiding citizens by leaving them defenseless against criminals who obtain their firearms illegally. Michael and Susan Gonzales of Jacksonville, Florida learned first-hand the importance of protecting yourself with a registered and legal firearm. According to Gia Fenoglio’s article in the National Journal, in the early morning hours of August 2, 2000, two intruders masked in camouflage kicked their way into Michael and Susan’s home with guns drawn. One of the intruders opened fire and struck Michael in the shoulder. Susan hastily grabbed her husband’s twenty-two caliber pistol, cocked the hammer, and squeezed the trigger. She killed one of the intruders by hitting him in the neck and back. The remaining intruder narrowly escaped to his car and sped off. This is just one of many instances where firearms have helped to protect the innocent. In fact, this is one of the millions of instances each year where firearms save lives, according to Gary Kleck. Using his own commissioned phone surveys and number extrapolation, Kleck, a criminologist and researcher, estimates that 2.5 million