This I Believe

"People kill, not gun" I once heard a man say as I passed by him. This thought seemed to linger in my mind. I went back and forth whether guns or people kill. As long as I thought about it, I still could not come to a conclusion. Eventually, the thought slipped away, and i did not think of it anymore.
The thought returned to me suddenly on a November morning, as the sun rose, and the fog lifted from the ground. I was hunting, and a deer came into view. I aimed, and with a simple pull of the trigger and a loud bang, the deer fell dead. My grandfather said, "Good job you killed it." That was when the answer seemed to jump out at me. I realized it was people that killed. I had to load the gun, and then pull the trigger. I now know each time I go hunting it is me killing the deer. Knowing this it makes it much harder to pull the trigger each time. The gun did nothing it was only me that killed the deer.

Many deaths occur each year by gunshot either by suicide or murder. Each year, 14,000 murders happen by a gun. This number wouldn't change if guns were illegal. It is the person killing not the gun, so they could use another weapon. The number of suicides per year by gun is 18,000. This number would also remain steady because these people have their mind set on dying and not having a gun would not stop them. So, removing guns would not solve anything.
Guns often save lives. There are two ways that lives are saved by guns. One way innocent lives are saved is by the police and military workers using them each day. For example, both of my grandfathers used to work in the navy and air force. They had to work with guns very frequently to help innocent people. The second way is by simply having a gun handy when a robbery happens. The gun could be used as a threat to scare the robber away. Ninety two percent of the time a gun is used as a defense no death occurs. So just having a gun could save your life.
I tell as many people as possible of my belief. I explain my reasoning, and try to convince them of my belief. I tell them how they save lives and don't end them. I clarify that in order for a gun to kill someone it needs an operator. It is the operator of the gun that ends the life I say. They did all the work such as loading, aiming, and firing the gun.
As i have said, guns are very helpful to me. They can only help me and keep me protected. Guns are not the killers that they are known as. The gun will not kill unless someone pulls the trigger. So guns should remain legal to save lives.