Before I get into the logistics of why I believe what I believe, please realize that this article is based on an opinion. This is not an article made to get people fired up about a topic that is always present in the media. It is simply to share the opinion of a supporter of gun rights.

Many people within the recent years argue over which is better, gun control or gun rights. This is a debate that has no finish line. No matter who says what or how many people vote for whichever side they believe is somehow better and more practical, this is a never-ending debate.

Yes, I am a supporter of gun rights. I believe that the community is safer having access to firearms than having them banned. I do not support this debate. It is extremely juvenile and dismissive of our basic human rights that are stated in the constitution.

Guns don't hurt people, people who choose to hurt people do it. A gun that is fully loaded and sitting on a table is only just that until someone picks it up and decides to do something with it. Until that happens it has no purpose. It can't fire itself, it can't pick itself up and shoot. It doesn't have a conscious or decision-making skills. It is as useless as a TV remote sitting on the arm of a couch. Until you pick it up and press the buttons it is an object which just sits there. These are facts that people like to forget about, these are facts in which people don't often want to realize and acknowledge. People hate comparing guns to every other inanimate object on the planet because for some reason a gun isn't as inanimate in peoples' minds. Seriously?

Violent crime, although heavily publicized, has been in a steady decline since 1999. This means that the 3 million guns that are out there 'roaming' around America aren't being used for violent crime. Many are used for self protection and hunting.

Growing up in a house where there were gun cabinets full of firearms and taught from the time I could walk how to properly handle them, I firmly believe in having the right to own a firearm. When I was 14 years old, I took an official course on hunting and gun safety. You can never be too safe and I do believe that everyone who even thinks about buying a gun should be required to take the course and prove it during the purchase (like the New York State Pistol Permit).

I feel much safer in my house knowing that I have something to defend myself with in case something were to happen. Do owning guns make my family and myself criminals? No, it does not. So why take away something from the average person who isn't using it to harm others because a few people fly off the deep end? That's the equivalent of saying no one can drive because a few people decide to drink and drive.