The old adage says, “Live by the sword, die by the sword.” The euphemism that anyone who lives a life where violence is a means of survival will eventually die from violence. The idea is contemporary with our modern society, where many Americans oppose private gun ownership amid an ongoing costly war, and an increase in random shooting massacres and deaths related to firearms. However, in the ongoing and stirring debate over the right to bear arms, many Americans may also tell you that the most important part of living by the sword is living. Those who support the right to bear arms say that not only is gun ownership an inherited right of American citizens, it is necessary in a country that has among the highest rates of gun-related deaths in the world to firearms. Amid questionable political agendas and rising violent gun and non-gun crime, the underlying question seems to be: Is our domestic gun policy out of control, or are the Americans themselves out of control? In the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the increase in gun killings in the United States since the Columbine massacre, the arguments against guns are emotionally charged and compelling. The use of these examples has been a powerful recruiting tool in the fight against private gun ownership and in lobbying for stricter legislation governing the sale and distribution of firearms in the United States. and internationally. Furthermore, Pro-Control advocates most often use startling statistics on gun-related deaths and homicides to claim that these incidents are reflective of an ongoing killing spree in the United States, which remains among the top countries in the world for gun-related murders. deaths, a... middle of paper ... and propagating the need for American citizens to be armed in order to defend themselves against a corrupt government. The NRA has been the leading figure in anti-gun control legislation. In fact, The National Review said in 2007 that "Democrats are not 'in charge' of Congress, at least when it comes to guns—the National Rifle Association is." gun-related crimes, deaths, and homicides have remained constant for decades. As the number of American lives lost rises and efforts to reduce gun violence prove ineffective, the radical solution of a permanent gun ban moves closer to a reality. However, how this will be executed and how effective it actually is are variables that neither side of the debate can be sure of, but both could have the most serious consequences..