Through asking the question, “How do you interpret the Second Amendment?”, I was able to get a fairly interesting feel for the the people in my high school and to be honest it left me with concern. Especially since five out of the eight people I asked responded with “what’s that” or “which one is that again”. This makes me wonder what the world will be like when it is my generation’s turn to make the decisions. When I explained that it is the right to a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed though the responses were not as terrifying but it makes you see just how separated some people are on the subject and how spoonfed they are on how they see the Second Amendment. This time the responses ranged from “people have the right to own weapons” to “Each one of us individually can possess firearms and have the ability to rise up and protect ourselves, it keeps the government from getting out of control” and “the right to defend yourself”. Some people even told me it was “the right for certain people to own guns” and “It is the right to own a gun if you want and that it should be taken if it is abused.” Protecting the Second Amendment is a cause I stand for because it is the most important amendment to the whole Constitution, most people are ill informed when it comes to the negatives, and depriving citizens of this right have had proven negative repercussions.

The Second Amendment is the most important amendment to the constitution. It is the amendment to protect all other amendments. It is not only the right to protect ourselves but it is the right to remain independent and protect yourself not only from outside threats but from your very own government as well. Who is to say that someone could not come in one day and attempt to take your rights? Adolf Hitler stated, “To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.” Why would he say this? That's right, because of the Second Amendment. Even if Hitler could have won there would be no way to occupy the United States because the individual citizens would rise up and he would never be in control. Not only is it the right to protect your country and your rights but it is the right to protect yourself. The Second Amendment allows you to be able to be proactive instead of the victim. It is the middle of the night, and someone breaks into your home where your family is sound asleep and wants to take what you have and there is the very real possibility that they could kill you or someone in your family. What do you do? Call the cops? Which according to Average-Police-Response-Time, it takes police an average of 10 minutes to arrive at the scene. Go after them with a baseball bat? Hide and wait for the intruder to find you? Or do you stop the problem as soon as they threaten the place that is supposed to be safe for you and your family. If personally you do not feel comfortable with a firearm in your home than that is your choice but that choice should still be there for those that do not feel that way and want to be able to protect their families and if need be their country.
Most people's decisions and negative opinions when it comes to the Second Amendment are ill-informed when they make them. Incidents that make the citizens right to own guns get blown up in the media while the good all gets covered up and forgotten. You are going to hear about the kid that shot up the school but you are not going to hear about the incidents where someone saved the day with a gun.

The media has people afraid of firearms. If you chose not to own a firearm then that is your choice. It is when people are afraid of them and do not know how to handle them safely is when the problem comes in. Saying things like having a gun in the house makes it more likely that you will get shot is like saying that you are more likely to get in a car accident because you have a car. In a class last semester we talked about what to do it there was a shooter in school. The fact that one girl said that we should try and talk to the intruder yet again leaves me with concern. She is obviously one of those people left oblivious to the world and has been affected by how the media has construed the world. Like Abraham Lincoln said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”  Supporters of the Second Amendment should not be seen the same as those who take to to the extreme. Just like all Muslims should not be seen and judged as extremists like ISIS.

It has been proven over and over again that hindering citizens Second Amendment rights have led to very negative effects. Levels of firearm restrictions have been proven to have direct correlation to the crime rate. Countries that do not allow the individual right for their citizens to bare arms face some pretty big issues. For example, in Mexico if the citizens had that right to protect themselves there is no way the cartel would have gotten as far as it has. There is much less of a chance that a person carrying a gun will be targeted. Like Thomas Jefferson said, “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms only disarm those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. Secondly, gun bans have been proven not to deter crime. Think about it. What do those anti-gun signs really convey? Often they can be the opposite of a deterrent. It tells the bad guy with gun that there will not be anyone inside to stop them. The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

It is important to protect the Second Amendment because it is the amendment to protect all other amendments. The reasons for it being challenged are ill-informed judgements. Restrictions on the Second Amendment have also been proven to have negative correlations to violent crimes. When it comes down to it having a firearm is your choice, all I ask is that you are informed. Supporting the Second Amendment is a cause I definitely believe in. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto once said, “You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass." I do not know about you but that is the kind of place I would like to live in, a place where as a whole in the time of need we do not have to stand by and be the victim.

Works Cited
"Average-Police-Response-Time." Average-Police-Response-Time. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

"Great Quotations of World War II." Great Quotations of World War II. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

Masters, Jonathan. "U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 05 Feb. 2016

"QUOTES BY THOMAS JEFFERSON ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT."Image Quotes at Relatably.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

"Second Amendment Quotes." Famous Quotes about 'Second Amendment'N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016