Tday is Gun Day in Colorado and debates are flying back and forth on gun rights in the Colorado House of Representatives. There are those who argue that guns kill people and there are those who argue that people kill people. The reality is, however, is that people kill people and law-abiding gun owners should not be punished because the actions of a few.

Many gun control advocates use mass shootings to further their stance on gun control. However, if one takes a look at China, a country with strict gun laws, one will see a different story.

Banning guns will not prevent mass murders. If you read the headlines in China, you will see things such as “Knifeman Injures 23 in Henan School Attack.” to report several recent and similar attacks in the region. In 2010, eight children were killed and five were injured by a knife wielding assailant outside a primary school. In the two months following, eight students were killed and fifty seven were injured in four similar knife attacks and in October of 2012, three children were killed and thirteen injured by a man swinging a machete in a daycare center. China has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Perhaps they also need to ban knives?

Further evidence is shown by the Century Movie Theater shooting in 2012. The defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban limited most clip sizes to 10 rounds; police say James Holmes had a .223-caliber Smith & Wesson AR-15 assault-style rifle with a drum clip that could hold up to 100 rounds and shoot as many as 60 times in a minute. Colorado also has an assualt weapon ban that was enacted in 2004. Despite this, Holmes acquired the AR-15.

Taking away a gun will not stop a criminal from acquiring one or from killing. Instead, put guns into the hands of those who protect us or into the hands who will abide by the law and protect the lives and buisnesses around them. Let’s not ignore the problem, let’s discourage it by allowing citizens to legally own guns and protect the land of the free. I would rather have a gun and not need it than not have a gun and need it.