Gun safety has always been a hot topic of discussion in the United States. Whenever there is a mass shooting the topic of gun control always comes up, and it seems the two sides, whether one is for or against it, always have the same arguments.

The side that wants less restrictions on guns (pro-gun) always say that the second amendment protects their right to have guns and think that any type of regulation is an attempt to take away guns from people.

The side that wants stricter regulation on guns (anti-gun) always have statistics about lower crime rates in other countries and claim stricter regulation is the reason.

Both sides go back and forth, never coming to an agreement, until the media gets tired of covering gun control. Then people forget about it – until somebody else kills a large group of people with a military style weapon, and it starts all over again.

While it is true that the lowest crime rates are typically in countries with more restrictions on guns, this does not mean that more gun control equals less crime.

According to GunsandAmmo.com, some of the best countries for gun owners (countries with easier access to guns) are some of the safest. Czech Republic, Switzerland, Canada, and Finland are all countries that made Guns & Ammo’s “Top 10 Best Countries for Gun Owners”, and also lifestyle9.com’s “Top 10 Safest Countries to Live In.”

However, Honduras was also on the list of best countries for gun owners, but according to The Huffington Post, has the highest homicide rate in the world (90.4 murders per 100,000 people).

Pro-gun people in the United States always claim the Second Amendment protects their right to have guns, but there is more to the amendment then just the right to have firearms.

The Second Amendment states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

When people bring up their right to keep and bear arms, they usually neglect to mention that it’s for the purposes of having a well-regulated militia. Why are people not required to sign up for the militia when they buy a gun in america?

Switzerland, which has no formal military, requires all able-bodied men to sign up for the militia. Just like all able-bodied men in The United States are required to sign up for the draft.

Militiamen in Switzerland are issued personal equipment, which includes a personal weapon and ammunition. The members of the militia have the option to keep their equipment at home, or storing it in their unit’s armory. Upon retirement the militiamen are allowed to keep their personal weapon, if it has been well maintained.

“The information I received prior to my service in the armed forces was mostly adequate for the average American,” said gun owner and US Marine veteran, Greg Maisch. “Although I had to actively seek out the training myself. Without that, I would have had no training at all, which is unacceptable in my mind.”

Maisch, 27, started learning about guns when his dad took him to an indoor shooting range on his 12th birthday, and learned what he could before he joined the Marines.

Instead of registering for the draft, every able-bodied man should be required to join a militia and obtain a gun by their 18th birthday. The United States should require anybody who joins a militia to go through, at the very least, basic gun safety and maintenance training.

Rather than Americans trying to hide from the danger of guns, we should be more educated on how to safely use them, if anything.