One of the hottest topics today is gun violence and how to eliminate it.

America is a gun culture. Guns have been a big part of our nation since before the beginning and that’s not going to end. Gun rights are now constitutionally protected by the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment.

An estimated 300 million guns are currently owned by Americans. And approximately half of our families currently have one in their homes.

What are the reasons for owning a gun? Some guns are for sports or hunting. Some guns are to protect the individual and his/her families, and so help to make their owners feel safer. At the farther end of the spectrum there are even gun owners who may feel a gun gives them some control against a society they feel is infringing on their beliefs and freedoms.

Unfortunately, gun violence is escalating rapidly. The vast majority of Americans agree that something must be done to ensure our collective safety. The proposed solutions, however, are miles apart.

1. More Guns
For: The NRA and the gun lobby propose an armed population to deter gun violence; everyone should have a gun. As author David Kopel recently wrote for the New York Times, “self-defense [is] the most fundamental of all inherent, natural rights. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”

Against: Colin Goddard, an advocate with the Brady Campaign, believes, “If more guns would lead to less crime, then why is America not the safest place in the world, with 300 million guns?” As it stands now, America’s homicide rate is “about seven times higher than other developed countries.”

According to the latest National Vital Statistics Report, there were more than 32,000 gunshot deaths in 2011. Even if it’s true that guns don’t kill people, guns still make killing much easier.

2. President Obama’s new gun safety laws.
Laws up for Congressional approval include:
— Reinstating a ban on assault weapons. 
— Limiting ammunition magazines to a 10-round limit.
— Closing loopholes for gun shows and private sales.
— Banning armor-piercing bullets.
— Universal criminal background checks on all gun buyers.
— Improving access to mental health services (also helping address gun suicides); and 
— Increasing school security and safety.

Against: The NRA’s vice president recently wrote, “It’s not about protecting your children. It’s not about stopping crime. It’s about banning your guns … PERIOD!”

NRA president David Keene says he does not support universal background checks, but that the NRA does support banning “mentally incompetents” from buying guns.

Author Thomas Sewell writes, “The key fallacy of so-called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.”

For: Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords — who was shot in a mass shooting/murder in Arizona — and her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, have formed a political action committee called Americans for Responsible Solutions.

“What we want is what the majority of NRA members and other Americans want: responsible changes in our laws to require responsible gun ownership and reduce gun violence.

“Special interests purporting to represent gun owners but really advancing the interests of an ideological fringe have used big money and influence to cow Congress into submission. Rather than working to find the balance between our rights and the regulation of a dangerous product, these groups have cast simple protections for our communities as existential threats to individual liberties. Rather than conducting a dialogue, they threaten those who divert from their orthodoxy with political extinction. As a result, we are more vulnerable to gun violence.”

Whichever side of the debate you happen to be on, one thing is for sure: This is an emotional debate. Feel free to share your thoughts with a letter to the editor.

— Marylin Olds is an opinion columnist for the Kingston Community News. Comments are welcome at marylin.olds@gmail.com.