George Washington once said, “A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them.” This train of thought has had many destructive implications in the United States today, and it must be eliminated. The second amendment was created to protect the people of the United States. However, in recent years, this freedom has harmed more than protected American citizens. The only way to guarantee human safety is to completely eradicate assault rifles and automatic guns.

A system of higher security of guns needs to be instituted in the United States. Guns cannot be given to just about anybody, because guns have the capacity to end lives. In instances such as the Las Vegas shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in US history, the gunman did have a mental illness. Therefore, the guns should not be available to all people. The government must institute a test, or something of similar nature, to make sure people carrying guns are capable of carrying them safely. Furthermore, in the case of the Columbine shooting, the shooter did not have a motive. In fact, he had a history of bullying others. This goes to show that the dangers of letting the firearms fall into the wrong hands is very possible; this leads to chaos. There are more than 300 million people in the United States; by allowing firearms to be sold without restrictive measures, too many people have access to them.

Although guns are dangerous in the hands of the wrong person, guns do provide protection to some extent. The second amendment was created to prevent the government from gaining too much power. In certain situations involving guns, police had too much control and resulted in shooting an innocent person, the specifics of the situation must be assessed. In the moment, only one thing matters when the police shoots the victim. The police has the gun, and the victim does not. Therefore, the victim needs some type of protection. This can come from a handgun, not an assault rifle. This, and parallel situations, is the extent of what anyone would need a gun for. Protective firearms must be the limit to the types of guns people can carry.

The protection of guns would not be necessary if no one had them. To reiterate, the reason guns were allowed in the first place was to contribute to the balance of power between society and government. The very idea of the government having no weapons is, quite frankly, unimaginable. But that does not need to happen. Instead, the government should use less fatal weapons for protection because the United States is not at war. However, the United States is not exactly at peace either; instead, it seems as if the country is in a hiatus from war and destruction. Guns definitely possess the capability to drive this country over the brink of permanent damage. Therefore, the complete eradication of guns rid anyone of that capability.

Although George Washington supported the right to bear arms so “free people” could  “maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,” the free people are now the ones attempting to abuse the basic human right of existence. It is time to adapt to the current times. It is time to take into account the lives the second amendment has taken. And most importantly, it is time to eliminate guns for the safety and sanity of people in the United States.