The right to defend yourself should not only be protected, but is a quarter stone in a democratic country. In general, weapons that are common among criminals within a nation that has strong self-defense rights, such as the United States, should therefore allow firearms to be in the hands of it’s citizens. I believe the best approach to the issue of firearm safety and gun control within the United States requires a more indirect approach of making communities safer, reducing crime, such as decriminalizing certain drugs, and reducing the wide income inequalities in it. I would restrict firearms slightly more for the general public, but, I would note that firearm regulation is the least effective way to combat firearm deaths compared to other policies. Policies that do target gun safety should focus on the access to firearms to potentially dangerous people rather than the guns themselves.