The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that everyone can remember and care about, regardless of their political views and feelings about firearms, was a horrible and unthinkable tragedy. Yet in the days that followed, Americans found themselves deeply divided on the issue of gun control. Gun control advocates have argued that we need stricter controls on who can buy guns and other weapons, that certain weapons should only be in the hands of law enforcement. order and military personnel, and that the proliferation of guns on our streets had made America dangerous. They signed petitions, called for gun control legislation, and pointed out that Sandy Hook was just one of many massacres that occurred when guns were aimed at innocent people. Opponents of gun control felt threatened by this and claimed that their 2nd right to bear arms was vulnerable, and this gun control would leave them defenseless against an oppressive government trying to impose its will. As the federal government held hearings on gun control, the gun lobby argued that if stricter control was imposed on guns, criminals would have guns, but law-abiding citizens would not. laws. Opponents of gun control saw training and arming teachers and having armed guards in schools as the solution to the problem of school shootings. What did the two parties agree on? Other than that, our society did not need better mental health care and screenings in order to prevent similar tragedies in the future. They disagreed, however, on who would provide these mental health services and who would pay for them, so even that issue was controversial. If we take a step back from the argument and look at the conflict over gun control through a sociological perspective...... middle of paper ...... ms? What does it mean to support them? At least with the First Amendment we know exactly where we stand: freedom of speech. It couldn't be clearer. But the right to bear arms leaves the Second Amendment open to different interpretations. We need a firearms license to carry a concealed weapon. Do we need a permit for knives? No. Yet both can and often do cause death. We can own a gun, or a rifle, or a machine gun, or a machete, and dozens of other tools for killing, even with our bare hands. Thus, gun control is a debate in our country that only makes sense if one broadens the prohibition or acceptance to include all items that could cause harm or death, which, ultimately would be almost impossible to do. Do we also want to end up being a prison on the outside? We cannot control the mental process of others, only that person can control what they want to do or what they intend to act..