When tragedy strikes, the government’s first act is to blame the incident on someone or something. After the horrific tragedy in Connecticut, the government quickly began blaming guns for the damage that was done and lives that were lost. Soon after that, our entire nation went into an uproar protesting that guns are the reason why people are dying; guns are the true killer. Hardly anyone thought to blame the sick man behind the killings, but went straight to blaming the only thing they could blame … guns.

If the argument today is that guns kill people, then it’s my job as a writer to investigate. During the weekend, I put my family’s shot gun on the front porch, and knowing it has no legs, I set it on a chair so that it may have an open view of what was happening around it. Over the course of a day, UPS dropped off a package, my neighbors walked their dog past our home, and my family and I went in and out of the house taking our dogs and garbage out. At the end of the day I had checked on our shot gun and noticed that it hadn’t been fired, and no one was hurt. It became apparent to me that guns in fact do not kill people. That leaves us with only one thesis: people kill people.

The government is currently working on a scheme to take guns away from the law abiding citizens of the U.S. Although they may be taking guns away from the good citizens of America, who’s taking guns away from the criminals with guile intentions? Even though the ultimate goal may be to eliminate the mass shootings in the U.S., taking guns from the citizens of America will not accomplish this goal. The government would not eliminate guns from society this way, but they would eliminate our ability to protect our lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

The media regularly twists gun numbers to make gun-related deaths appear predominant over every other type of death in this country. However, a rational examination of how small the percentage of gun-related deaths are when compared to the overall number of deaths in any given year helps one to see through the hype. For example, in 2011 the percent of deaths caused by guns in the U.S. was only about .34 percent. Taking away guns from the law abiding citizens of America will not end the deaths of U.S. citizens, or prevent criminals from getting their hands on them, it will only take away their ability to protect thier homes and families from dangerous situations such as break-ins, or animal attacks.

Crime has always been an issue for Americans. Guns, however, have benefited our country for decades. From defending our country from the British, to enabling us to provide food for our families, guns have been and always will be greatly appreciated by Americans. Shooting is not only a way of providing for families, but also a worldwide sport. Skeet shooting, for instance, is an Olympic sport and is very popular all over our nation. Most U.S. citizens have accomplished safety with guns; we don’t need the government taking them from us.

Alyssa VanLiere is a freshman at Homer High School.