Some would say:

The right to carry a gun should be like the right to drive. You should have to be trained and have a license. At least then law abiding, trained citizens could carry guns and use them wisely. The process might also help weed out psychotics such as Loughner.

Requiring people to be licensed and know what they are doing is not an infringement of 2nd Amendment rights; you are not being stopped from owning a gun. Loughner got the gun from a dealer legally. The problem is that background checks are not taken seriously. The same is true for the wacko in Virginia Tech and so many others.

Someone who was as confused & disorganized as Loughner would have problems in a gun training class just as he had problems on a college campus. One more obstacle for him to purchase a gun. Not an obstacle to normal people.

Training & licensing does not get in the way of people owning firearms – except if you are a felon or mentally ill. Freedom of speech isn’t absolute and neither is the right to bear arms.

Others would say:

The right to self defense is a basic natural human right. No permit should be required. They would also ask, “Who determines the standards for “mentally ill” or “normal”?

Would increased government involvement in determining who’s qualified to own a gun make the public more safe or would it be used as an excuse by the government to prevent certain citizens from arming themselves? For example, what if someone in a particular administration decided that Democrats can own guns but Tea Party members are mentally ill – not normal – so they can’t own guns?

And does the fact that people have been killed by guns automatically justify more legislation, testing and permits? People are killed by drunk drivers every day – do we need to require people to pass psychological tests and obtain a license from the government in order to drink alcohol?

No permit should be required to protect your life. The right to protect is in fact a natural right that according to the 2nd Amendment “Shall NOT be infringed”.

Period.

The government should not have the power to say you need a permit to carry a gun.

Yes, people should practice safety when using a gun. Get training and understand the responsibility of using a weapon. But the government does not have the right to tell you if you are qualified to own a gun in order to protect yourself.

Whichever position you take, the reality is:

Citizens being able to own and carry guns to protect themselves does not cause an increase in crime. In fact, areas in the United states with the highest gun crime are the cities and states with the most restrictive gun laws.