Resolved: In the United States, private ownership of handguns ought to be banned.

Summary of previous roundsI'll admit, I didn't take aseldrew seriously because of the lack of paragraphs and line breaks. Aseldrew has shown at the least that he/she is serious in the resolution. We are pitting a potential huge threat versus a smaller but more consistent threat. The united states government could potentially become a brutal police state that only violence will hinder. The consequences as seen by other police states could be catastrophic. Versus, the down to earth everyday threat of handguns. Every human life matters. How do we weight the potential of millions to be rounded up and executed by a brutal totalitarian government versus a toddler firing off a hand gun?stupidape's argument I've held off making a serious argument until I was sure my opponent was serious. This not a fun topic to debate. HolocaustsThere has been many holocausts in history. Children do not seem to be spared from these oppressors. Have we so easily forgotten the holocausts? Has the recent terror made us not see the big picture? [3][4]ForefathersGeorge Washington didn't cross the Delaware river in vain. Our forefathers may not have predicted handguns, yet what about nerve gas, cameras, and satellites. Any argument that the Constitution is old and that our forefather did not know the technology that would advance can be cancelled out by the new technology being in the hands of dictators.People perform reckless actions all the timeEver see the way people drive these days? Cellphones and texting? People sit in their cars with the backup lights on in parking lots and don't move. This provides a red herring. Since, pedestrians then ignore cars, despite the back up lights. People still smoke, drink, and eat unhealthy. Just look up the number of obese Americans. Then, the top ten causes of death. Cancer, heart disease, and diabetes are way up there. " Heart disease: 611,105 Cancer: 584,881 Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 149,205 Accidents (unintentional injuries): 130,557 Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 128,978 Alzheimer's disease: 84,767 Diabetes: 75,578 Influenza and Pneumonia: 56,979 Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 47,112 Intentional self-harm (suicide): 41,149" [5]As you can see handguns doesn't make the top ten. People find all kinds of careless ways to hurt each other. Remember all those toys that toddlers were choking on? Speaking of toys, maybe toy manufacturers should stop making toy guns. I'm all for the banning of toy guns. Then there is the backup deaths caused by SUVS. I contend that more gun safety courses should be taught instead. How to keep guns away from children and so forth. Finally there are many lethal weapons other hand guns. Opponent's argumentMy opponent in the first round quoted a bunch of resources. Yet, without the link to the source, I cannot see the sources in their original context. Unless, my opponent can link to the sources, he or she has gained an unfair advantage. "The young child is introduced to the handgun as a toy; violence with handguns is a mainstay of television drama." aseldrewThis is a cultural problem. I present the counter proposal to show death as more real. When an evil person is killed on T.V. rarely is there a funeral for that person. An aunt, uncle, mother, father, sister, brother, friend, neighbor, and religious community member at the funeral. Instead, blam blam blam onto the next action scene. "The young child does not understand the danger of the real object or the difference between it and a toy gun. While "playing" with the family gun, one child somehow kills another child." aseldrewAgain, a cultural problem. "B. Handgun ownership proves to be associated with a culture of gun violence" aseldrewNeed proof for this. There is a world of difference between an association and a correlation. An association eliminates reverse causality and confounding factors. "He continues to use the second amendment as a mantra despite the fact, which he has failed to disprove, that larger weapons than handguns are needed to "ensure a free state" and that this debate has nothing to do with those larger weapons. We are here to debate handgun ownership not gun ownership altogether." aseldrewThis is simple, both large and small weapons are needed. Large weapons for targets that are far away, and small for close quarters. Does it make sense to fire a rocket launcher at point blank? No! SummaryMost of my opponent's argument is based upon children and adolescents with handguns. Why a child would need a handgun I don't know. This seems to be more of a cultural problem. Media showing violence on T.V. without consequences, especially when a villain dies. My opponent has failed to take the threat of an absolutist government seriously. Children and teens die to all sorts of reckless actions both on their part and from members in the community. There are many other weapons like bare hands, fists, and motor vehicles that can kill. Thanks for the debate.Links3. http://rehmat1.com...4. http://www.nytimes.com...5. http://www.cdc.gov...