People are entitled to own and possess any thing they wish, so long as its not against the law. Of course, I refer to gun control. The second Amendment protects that right. But, we must also consider when the Amendment was passed and when it was ratified; 1791. This occurred a few years after the end of the American Revolution and after the drafting of the Constitution. Certainly, conditions of daily existence have changed tremendously from the conditions existing at that time. Of course, the Amendment was passed at that time for a reason and a purpose. Hence, I say lets not tamper with the Amendment and lets keep it. But,that Amendment does not have anything to do with the right to easily acquire automatic weapons, normally used in war-like situations, for use by 'crazies' to kill innocent children. Sure, we can't control the 'crazies'. Sure, people have a right to own a gun and to use it to protect their homes and families, but what does that have to do with making them available to anyone who wants an automatic weapon to just slaughter other human beings? That doesn't make any sense. The issue is availability and the potential for mis-use. I'm sure that people who do not want gun control are not saying, "Well, let them get those guns 'over-the-counter' and slaughter whomever they want"; At least I hope not. But, thats the effect of not controlling availability of war-like weapons. Sure, the bad guys will always be able to get them, but is that a reason for just neglecting the problem. We're not talking about normal people were talking about a few crazies who have no respect for the human condition. Easy availability! Some amount of control has become necessary! Don't eliminate guns in homes used for self-defense, defense of property, guns used for hunting and target practice, but please get them out of the hands of the crazies! It used to be that a man could walk down main street with his pistol wrapped around his waist, but you can't do that anymore: those days are over. Some clear thinking must be done and some degree of control must be implemented. We cannot ignore the problem! To ignore the problem is to not care about innocent lives.