Gun Control

Drive-by shootings, accidental misfires, curious children.. unfortunate events involving guns happen every day. But these sort of things just don't happen to you, right?

Sunday evening, a military surplus .30cal round was carelessly shot into my parent's home. The bullet landed 3ft from them in their living room. A report was filed with the local police & an investigation is being conducted. It is assumed that some idiots in a nearby orange grove decided to have target practice.

My parents live in a quiet rural area with barely any neighbors. Nothing like this has ever happened before.

I'm not exactly knowledgeable when it comes to firearms. (To be honest, I think I've only held a gun once and they really freak me out.) After a quick google search about the type of bullet found, I was shocked at what the results were: "Assault weapon", "AK-47", "Military ammo", etc. What is someone doing with this type of weapon?! It's obviously not needed to practice for hunting season. Unless they're hunting for humans or something!

There has been a lot of talk over the past few months about new "gun control" laws President Obama has proposed. I haven't followed any of the debates and I don't know the specifics. If my research is correct, these proposed laws will ban citizens from purchasing assault weapons. I didn't really have an opinion until now. I think If people wish to own of these types of weapons, they should, at the very least, be educated. There should be some type of certification requirement that includes a lesson on responsible practices. For starters, "Do not shoot an assault weapon near residences.."

Accidents happen, but they can certainly be prevented. My family was lucky, but what if yours wasn't?

What are your thoughts on gun control? Have you or someone you know experienced a similar situation?