I didn't know there was such a thing as the "gun control debate"

I'm from Ireland, and recently I've been spotting Americans talking about things like "AR-15's should be banned!" and "you can't take away our guns!" so I did some research and holy shit, it's a big deal.<br><br>In Ireland you can only get a license for a gun if you have a good reason, like you need one for hunting or target shooting or you need one for protection (although there needs to be a real threat to your life for them to allow that). And even then you need to be able to store it in a safe place, and have no mental illnesses.<br><br>Oh Jesus, and you can't just wander into a shop and buy a gun, do you know how crazy that sounds? Yes, we realize that somebody could just go out and buy a gun and kill people, so we don't allow them to just walk in off the street and buy a gun.<br><br>I've read some articles from both sides of the "gun control debate" and have come to the conclusion that the pro-gun side is just mental, what the fuck is wrong with you people? It should be illegal to just walk in somewhere and buy a dangerous weapon.<br><br>I read one article from a pro-gun writer that said "if somebody wants to be a killer they will be a killer whether they have a gun or not", but holy shit, you can't just go out and buy a goddamn AR-15. Do you know what that kind of gun is designed for? It's designed to kill people, and you can just buy one even if you have no good reason for it.<br><br>And then there's the fact that America has the highest gun-death rate out of any developed country, wtf<br><br>Also, I noticed a lot of people are just assuming anybody who opposes their view on this topic automatically wants to ban all guns, they just want stricter laws, jesus fucking christ.<br><br>Sorry for the rant, I just think it's fucking crazy how anybody could be against stricter laws on buying guns, especially in the US.