Since the birth of the thirteen original colonies, guns have been a part of our culture and society. During the early years of this country, guns were used to hunt and for protection against threats from the wilderness (Miller 19). However, as time has passed guns have become more a tool of violence than necessity. Cowboys would square off in a duel in the middle of town to settle quarrels, usually only one remained standing. Soon trains were being robbed at gun point and the violence escalated from there. Currently, the nightly headlines contain stories of police investigating a shooting or a convenience store robbery. Today, people don’t use guns for the same reasons. We no longer live in a “wilderness” society and hunting has become a sport not a way of life. “Gun violence is a problem in many neighborhoods. Armed gang members or drug dealers are on every corner. People are killed in their home in drive-by shootings” (Miller 11). Gun laws are not a new issue for government or the citizens of this country. “Before the American Revolutionary War, the colony of Massachusetts passed a law forbidding people to carry weapons in public places. During the 1800s many states passed laws against carrying concealed weapons” (Miller 21). “Gun control, it has been said, is the acid test of liberalism” (Gun Control Debate 93). Guns are employed in an enormous number of crimes in this country. In other countries with stricter gun laws, gun crime is rare (Gun Control Debate 93). To compare the number of deaths by handguns in the U.S. to four other countries in the same year Great Britain had 8, Switzerland 31, Israel 18, Australia 5, and the United States had 8,092 (Miller 34). Some Americans get very excited and worked up over the issue of gun control. The has been a constant debate over whether gun ownership is a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or whether guns are a danger causing crime and should be banned or ownership restricted has stirred up very strong emotions (Gun Control An 2). Tighter gun laws will reduce crime. Laws covering a single city are difficult to enforce, given the ease with which guns can cross city limits. Requiring background checks and waiting periods are tools that are utilized today. People agree that gun violence is a serious problem. They just can’t decide what to do about it (Miller 25). Many of the opponents of gun control believe that by making stricter laws it only makes it more difficult for law abiding citizens to protect themselves. Prisoners say, “Gun laws only affect people who obey the law. Criminals will always be able to get guns” (Miller 33). I agree that if someone is determined to hurt someone else, that person will find a way to do so, whether it’s by use of a gun or some other means. In November 1993, Congress enacted the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, commonly known as