I am female, 23, from West Virginia (guess that probably gives away MY opinion).
I find this a very sensitive subject considering the state I live in. It's easy for people to say "ban guns" or "more control" when they have no idea what life is like in rural areas--especially in poor states such as mine. It might be the year 2001--but people DO still rely on hunting as a source of food. There isn't an answer to the gun control question because once you take them away--you have starving people, if you keep them--you have criminals. It's a lose lose situation.
At this point, the laws vary state to state and I feel that it should be left up to the state. I was on CNN's website recently and they had a site that gave the basic gun laws of each state. I'll try to find it and post the website.
As for school shootings. School shootings are statistically down. They receive more attention via the media--making them seem like they are more common. However, the statistics of deaths related to school shootings is up. Kids aren't going to school and shooting one person anymore, they are killing multipule people. I did receive this info via the internet previously, I will try to find that source again.
Obviously gun related deaths and crimes will go down with a ban on firearms, but I feel that if someone wants to kill someone--they'll do it with any means they can aquire.
Another reality that we'll have to live with is a rise of animal population. The deer population is already very high, and with 80% of the US's forests GONE--deer and other animals have nowhere to go but to towns and cities. We'll have a higher rate of starving animals, higher rate of animals being hit on the road, and a higher rate of human encounters with wild animals (which CAN be disasterous and deadly).
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