Some people believe that extremely tight gun control laws will eliminate crime, but gun control laws only prevent the 'good guys' from obtaining firearms. Criminals will always have ways of getting weapons, whether it be from the black market, cross borders, or illegal street sales. New gun control laws will not stop them. Since the shootings of Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook, the frequency of mass shootings has increased greatly. Gun control is not effective as it has not been shown to actually reduce the number of gun-related crimes. Instead of considering a ban of private firearm possession, and violating individual ownership rights, it may be more practical to consider the option of partially restricting firearm access.
The second amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that “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("The Constitution of the United States," Amendment II)." This means that citizens of the United States have the right to privately own and possess firearms. However, this has created controversy because some believe that there are many who abuse this right to commit criminal acts. Some believe that this amendment only applies to the eighteenth century lifestyle when the United States was under British control. A collective rights theory asserts that citizens do not have an individual right to possess guns and that local, state and federal legislative bodies therefore possess the authority to regulate firearms without implicating a constitutional right.
During the 111th Congress, the gun control debate was looked into by two key Supreme Court decisions. In District of Columbia v. Hel...
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...duction of Crime." Texas Review of Law & Politics 8.1 (2003): 175-87. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 June 2015.
Martynenko, Natalia, and Eduard Martynenko. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Confiscating Property as a Criminal Law Measure." Internal Security 3.1 (2011): 225-30. Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 15 June 2015.
Moorhouse, John C., and Brent Wanner. "Does Gun Control Reduce Crime or Does Crime Increase Gun Control?" CATO Journal 26.1 (2006): 103-24. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 June 2015.
"Second Amendment." Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web. 10 June 2015.
Wodarz, Dominik, and Natalia L. Komarova. "Dependence of the Firearm-Related Homicide Rate on Gun Availability: A Mathematical Analysis." PLoS ONE 8.7 (2013): 1-13. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 June 2015.
• Paton, John, et al., eds. Crimes and Punishment Vol. 2 New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1986.
Many gun supporters will say that more guns bring down the crime rate. These same believers will give facts stating that the more guns in a state, the less likely gun owners will use them. “The chances of innocent people being the victims of violent crime, including murder, decrease—not increase—when access to guns is made easier” (Luik). Luik emphasizes that guns will not make any innocent people killers, it will make crime and death rates go down. They argue that the states with the lowest crime rates are the same states that have a higher gun ownership rate than any other state.
Gius, Mark. "Gun Ownership and the Gun Control Index." Atlantic Economic Journal 36 (2008): 497-498 MasterFILE Premier. 30 Oct.2013
Wilson, H. (2007). Guns, gun control, and elections. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Moorhouse, John C., and Brent Wanner. "Does Gun Control Reduce Crime Or Does Crime Increase Gun Control?." CATO Journal 26.1 (2006): 103-124. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.
Gun control laws aim to restrict or regulate firearms by selecting who can sell, buy and possess certain guns. Criminals do not obey laws and stricter gun control laws or banning guns will have little effect on reducing crimes. There are many myths about gun control reducing acts of gun violence, which are simply not true according to research. People are responsible for the crimes, not the guns themselves. Taking guns away from United States citizens that use them for many reasons, shooting practice, competition, hunting and self-defense, should not be punished for the acts of criminals. As stated by Mytheos Holt, “Guns in the right hands help public safety. Guns in the wrong hands harm public safety”. Research shows that defensive use of guns discourages criminals and reduces crime (Holt 2). Not only is it wrong to penalize law-abiding citizens, it is against the Second Amendment. It is unconstitutional to pass laws that infringe on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
In the second amendments to the U.S. Constitution, it is stated that the right of people to keep and bear arms should never be infringed under any circumstances to ensure the security of a free state. However, it seems that this amendment has been misinterpreted by many Americans since the country has seen many innocent souls falling due to high gun crimes. And that is why I decided to write a research paper to answer one question: a question that states, “To what extents, does strict gun control policies by the governments reduce gun crime rates?” And this writer strongly argues that stricter gun control policies by the governments will reduce gun crime rates significantly. I personally believe my research is very important because it will provide the evidences that leaders around the globe who are struggling to combat the rising gun crime rates needs to take aggressive roles so that no more people has to live in fear of being killed by people with weaponries like handguns.
Muncie, J., and Mclaughin, E. (1996) The Problem of Crime. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publication Ltd.
Criminals are individuals that by definition do not respect the law. Therefore, more laws and regulations will not change criminals’ conduct. In the academic journal Does Gun Control Reduce Crime Or Does Crime Increase Gun Control? Professor of economics John C. Moorhouse and Brent Wanner state, “gun control simply does not influence the behavior of criminals… there would be no surprise if it were found that criminals regularly violate the law by purchasing guns on the illegal black market tor by stealing them (Moorehouse, 122). Moorehouse and Wanner mean that even if gun control laws prevent criminals from getting guns legally they will continue to commit crime and will find alternate ways to purchase guns. In fact, according to the Southern States Police Benevolent Association ninety three percent of police officers believe that banning firearms would not prevent criminals from getting guns and ninety percent agree that banning firearms would not result in crime reduction (Duke). In addition, ninety percent of law enforcement officials believe that gun control will make agencies less efficient and will diminish their personnel’s ability to combat crime (Duke). In essence, implementin...
Ian Ayres and John J. Donohue III, ‘Shooting Down the “More Guns, Less Crime” Hypothesis’ (2003) Stanford Law Review 1193.
There should be greater restrictions on buying and obtaining guns that need to be followed. In the article “Restricting Gun Ownership Protects Society and Reduces Crime,” it talks about the history of firearm laws, the Brady bill and how it is stopping criminals. Secondly, the article talks about limiting crime, gun trafficking, and dangerous guns on the streets. Thirdly, it talks about the loopholes in gun sales and different firearm laws. According to “Restricting Gun Ownership Protects Society and Reduces Crime,” “ In 1998 alone, 30,708 Americans died from gunfire” (“Restricting Gun Ownership Protects Society and Reduces Crime”). There are many United States citizens that possess firearms, for this reason many U.S. citizens get injured or
...nforcement and criminal imprisonment had more of an effect on crime then any gun control law. Gun education and hunter’s education also improved. Focusing efforts on the root of the problem has yielded results and lowered crime. Crime rate has steadily lowered as more guns entered the private market.
Lippman, M. (2012). Contemporary Criminal Law Concepts, Cases and Controversies (3rd ed.). [Vitalsouce Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781452277660/5/3
Gun control would not deter crime as nearly 8 in 10 gun crimes are committed with illegally-possessed guns. In a poll of felons serving time behind bars, the U.S. Department of Justice found out a lot of interesting facts. “A criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he
Legal Information Institute. (2010, August 9). Retrieved February 17, 2012, from Cornell University Law School: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/criminal_law