Gun control (or lack thereof)

Today I wonder how is it so easy to buy a weapon capable of injuring or killing so many in a blink of an eye? I myself have walked into a sporting goods store and within 30 minutes I was leaving with a .40 S&W semi-automatic pistol. While obviously I do not plan on using it to harm anyone, with the exception of personal protection of course, it did alarm me how easily a 21 year old could purchase such a deadly weapon without so much as a second glance. There were no proficiency exams, psychological evaluations, no serious background checks, just a polite man who was more than willing to help me in my purchase.

No doubt the majority of gun owners are not sociopaths and do not wish to use their weapons to cause senseless violence. But is that a good enough reason to keep our restrictions so loose on these weapons? The gun lobby in the U.S. is a very powerful group. Headed by the NRA they are constantly waving around their 2nd amendment rights. But if we stop for a minute and contemplate the 2nd amendment we may not feel the same about it. The Constitution was drafted in a very different time than our own. Their weapons were far less dangerous, proper use and training in the weapon was more common from an early age, actual threats to one's self and property were a real threat from foreign countries, and for many hunting was still a serious means of survival. None of these are really the case anymore. So why can't we at least revise and strengthen our gun laws?

If someone wants a gun THAT bad, they should be willing to wait a little longer, show a little more proficiency and knowledge with the weapon, and be willing to take any necessary tests to show that he or she can operate the weapon safely. As for handguns, I've always been torn on how we should regulate them. I personally own a handgun and I enjoy its recreational use. I operate safely, far away from other people, and only shooting at targets. But the fact still remains, handguns were made for one reason and one reason only. To kill people. We do not hunt with handguns. Their only designed purpose, from back in the old western days with their revolvers to now with the multitude of varieties of highly efficient weapons, is to kill men. Do we as Americans really feel so endangered as to make it so fast and easy to purchase a weapon regardless of the consequences? Its no coincidence that eastern countries such as Japan and China have some of the strongest gun laws and their gun deaths are counted in the single digits every year. Single digits. In some of the most populated places in the world. I think the answer is simple, people in America are too selfish, too paranoid, and refuse to acknowledge that the ways in which we leave are outdated in all the wrong ways.