One in three Americans owns guns. We live in a gun culture, whether you own one for hunting, show, or personal safety guns are very present, and they aren’t going away anytime soon. After the multiple mass shootings that have happened, people are calling for stricter gun laws. Stricter gun laws will NOT lower crime rates. People will always have a way to find a gun.

Think about it, gun control laws are not going to stop mass shootings. The abundance of school, religious and workplace shootings has turned up the heat on the public conversation about guns. In almost all these cases, more restrictive gun laws would not have stopped the shooters from legally or illegally obtaining a firearm. Most mass shootings are perpetrated by mentally disturbed individuals who haven’t previously been identified as dangerous. While most law-abiding citizens would obey new gun control laws, criminals would not. And with an estimated 300 million firearms in the United States, obtaining a gun will never be difficult. In Russia, handguns are banned, yet the murder rate is much higher than that of the U.S. Yet Norway, where 32 percent of households own guns, has the lowest murder rate in Western Europe. Clearly, gun laws aren’t working overseas either.

It’s estimated that someone in Chicago is shot every two point eight hours, despite the city’s very strict gun laws. “Chicago ranks as one of the most regulated cities in the nation for gun control,” the Daily Caller’s Mike Piccione wrote. “Concealed carry is almost nonexistent [and to even] purchase a gun or ammunition requires a Firearm Owners Identification card in the entire state of Illinois, and additionally, a Chicago Firearm Permit – which is required to possess a firearm in Chicago.” “Not only are the people heavily regulated in Chicago, but guns are also heavily regulated.” In 2015 the Chicago Tribune reported that 2,986 people in Chicago were victims of shootings.

At one-time President, Obama blamed the states of Indiana and Wisconsin for the failure of Chicago’s strict gun control laws. What exactly was his reasoning? Indiana and Wisconsin’s pro- Second Amendment view led to guns going into Chicago. I recommend checking out http://heyjackass.com/. This website shows you just how many people have been victims even with the strict gun laws. For the week of June 19th through June 25th, 12 people were shot and killed. Some 93 people have been shot and wounded. Some 105 people in total have been shot. Thirteen of these cases were homicides. So please tell me how stricter gun laws will help our country.

Mass shooters don’t follow the law. Studies show that most criminals come by their guns illegally, often by theft or underground purchases. This allows them to completely bypass stringent background checks and other regulations people go through when obtaining a gun legally. For example, Connecticut has one of the nation’s strictest gun laws. Gun owners must be 21 or older, apply for a local permit, be fingerprinted for a background check, wait for a 14-day period, and take a gun safety course. That didn’t stop Adam Lanza from simply stealing guns and killing 20 children and six adults at the Newtown shooting. Additional gun regulations would not have done anything to prevent the tragedy. Additional gun laws would also be difficult to enforce. Vice President Joe Biden admitted that the administration lacks the time to enforce existing gun laws on background checks, saying to an NRA representative, “We simply don’t have the time or manpower to prosecute everybody who lies on a form, that checks a wrong box, that answers a question inaccurately.” If our government would enforce the laws, we wouldn’t be having a talk about stricter gun laws.

What our government won’t say is that crime is down without gun control. Crime is a reflection of culture, not gun ownership. Violent crimes in the United States have fallen 22 percent in the last 10 years. The murder rate has actually fallen since 2004 when the federal assault rifle ban expired. I am a proud supporter of the Second Amendment; guns are meant to protect if needed. I do not believe that stricter laws will help if you disagree look how well it’s working for Chicago.