Gun Control in the United States
Gun control is a very heated issue within the country. There are advocates for both sides for wanting stricter gun control and less gun control. Firearms are such a big part of American history that it has been included in our constitution as one of our inalienable rights. The people who want stricter gun control believe that making it harder to get guns and limiting the types of guns people can use makes everyone safer since there’s less firearms in the public. Those who want more lax gun laws believe that it acts as a deterrent and as a safety measure to protect innocent citizens and themselves. As with most gun control debates there is always a lot of statistics involved in the argument. Taking a look at numbers helps to see if gun control laws are effective or not. The argument for more lax gun control laws makes more sense and has the statistics to back it up.
Gun laws control what firearms may be purchased, who may purchase them, and restrict the use of firearms. Lawmakers believe that this will reduce the prevalence of guns which in turn reduces the violent crime rate. This is the belief that less guns equals less crime. A total of 478,400 fatal and nonfatal crimes were committed with a firearm in 2011. Out of all those crimes, homicides accounted for 11,101 of them (Planty 2013: 1). The issue of controlling firearms could be considered a form of human rights infringement. Some firearms advocates consider that owning firearms is an issue of having the right to defend themselves. Putting stricter gun control laws in place only affect law abiding citizens. Criminals inherently do not follow the laws so it makes sense that gun control laws will not affect them. Background checks and mental hea...
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...since they are far superior than a handgun due to their low recoil, accuracy, and ammunition capacity. If there were three armed robbers breaking into your house, would you choose to be armed with a handgun or rifle? Most crime is committed with handguns. Homicidal behavior is influenced by drugs, alcohol, socioeconomic factors, and mental state rather than the availability of a firearm. Criminals obtain guns illegally and will not follow gun control laws since they are criminals. Gun ownership does not increase aggression in a law-abiding citizen. The ability to open carry and conceal carry should be allowed with permits. Background checks should be a necessity. About half of U.S. households have at least one gun. Around 2.5 million times a year a crime victim uses a gun for self-defense (Kleck 1999: 275). Guns are used to protect oneself and they represent freedom.
Left, right, Liberal, Conservative, Democratic, Republican. There are a lot of synonyms for the sides of our nation divided. Divided on many things: religion, political views, morals, etc.. For a nation that prides ourselves on extraordinary security and unity, it is quite ironic that so many issues can cause such distress and uproar within communities. One such issue is gun control. As a white male in a middle-lower class family that has never owned a gun, I may be somewhat biased. Objectively as I can, I am going to report the facts and more importantly, try to find the core issues at play.
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.
Those who argue for gun control usually state guns are a part of most violent crimes. However, this is not always true. While it is true that limiting gun ownership with laws could prevent individuals from possessing guns, it does not prevent people from illegally having or using guns. Those who carry guns legally are not the problem. According to Mark Gius, the author of “Gun Ownership and the Gun Control Index”, “…only about 25% of total violent crime is committed by a person using a gun, no inferences...
Gun control has been a controversial issue for many years. A vast majority of citizens believe that if gun control is strictly enforced it would quickly reduce the threat of crime. Many innocent people feel they have the right to bear arms for protection, or even just the pleasure of hunting. Americans have a constitutional right to own hand guns and stricter laws and licensing will not affectively save lives.
Gun control is a highly controversial topic in today’s world where the fight is between the liberal and the conservatives. Many people believe that guns should be banned due to many recent massacres that have happened whereas others are wanting people to have background checks done before owning a gun. I am against gun control because banning handguns in the United States should not be allowed because handguns fail to protect the people and it is ineffective.
Ultimately, it is a person’s choice to use firearms to commit violent crimes. So criminals should be controlled, not the guns which they share with millions of law-abiding citizens. Gun control supporters claim that gun control lowers crime rate. We as people need to take a stand and fight for our Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. Gun control advocates need to realize that passing laws that honest gun owners will not obey is a self-defeating strategy. Gun owners are not about to surrender their liberties or their right to bear arms. The Federal Govement of the United States should not be able to take away the right of law-abiding citizens to own a gun.
So why is gun control such a hot debate? Perhaps to answer this question it would be important to look at some key statistics concerning handguns in our society. In this nation, where nearly half of all US households own at least one gun, nearly 30,000 people die from a gunshot each year (Dahl). From this alone it is no wonder gun control is such an important issue, however as bad as this may seem, the number of firearm related incidents have decreased over the years. In the early 1990’s the number of people killed or wounded by firearms soared. Since 1993 however the US has seen a steady drop in deaths due to firearm (The Lancet). Fatal firearms accidents have declined as well, nearly 40 percent in the last decade, and are now at the lowest levels ever recorded (Poe). So why the sudden drop? Antigun advocates would like to attribute this to an increase in gun control laws while pro gun advocates point to a decrease in unemployment rates along with other social factors.
The problem with guns is fairly obvious: they decrease the difficulty of killing or injuring a person. In Jeffrey A. Roth's Firearms and Violence (NIJ Research in Brief, February 1994), he points out the obvious dangers. About 60 percent of all murder victims in the United States in 1989 (about 12,000 people) were killed with firearms. Firearm attacks injured another 70,000 victims, some of whom were left permanently disabled. In 1985, the cost of shootings was an estimated $14 billion nationwide for medical care, long-term disability, and premature death. In robberies and assaults, victims are far more likely to die when the perpetrator is armed with a gun than when he or she has another weapon or is unarmed.
All of this talk about gun control is really getting on my nerves. Why does it really matter who owns a gun and who doesn’t? Why is it that you have to register the gun you bought in your name? That’s not really any one's business. Why is it that everyone must pass a background check to be able to purchase a gun? Who cares if the buyer is a prison escapee? That’s a little too personal if you ask me.This is America for goodness sake, land of the free! Everyone should be able to purchase their own gun and do as they please with it. It will make life a lot easier and a lot safer.
The problem of gun control laws, their correlation with the Second Amendment, and the federal laws and policies for reducing gun violence is widely discussed in many theoretical sources and scientific research literature. For example, Phillip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig (2000) speak about gun violence in the everyday life of America. They put forward the facts about the crime and mass massacre connected to gun ownership and inappropriate use. They consider political, social, and economic reasons for gun ownership control by analyzing the psychological and moral influences of gun violence victimization and the main trends of overcoming it. The authors also provide an outline of the major measures that should be taken to reduce gun violence (Cook & Ludwig, 2000).
Gun control is an awfully big issue in the United States today. Many people in America don’t agree with the gun control laws that they have today. Gun control laws only take guns and freedom away from law-abiding citizens. Many citizens have their own reasons for owning a gun. Why would the government want to make it harder for people to own a gun? People that own guns aren’t very likely to be attacked by criminals. Owning a handgun is one of the best ways of protection when used correctly. The second amendment states “the right to bear arms”; does this grant everyone the right to own a gun? Gun control laws have not been proven to do anything for citizens. Gun control laws just make it harder for the good guy average Joe to own a gun. Gun control laws are not a good idea, and are taking part in the loss of our freedom that was given to us.
Gun violence in America is a public health crisis, which needs to be recognized and changed by legislatures, and the voting American. As conscious Americans, we need to vote for changes to gun laws that would improve background checks nation-wide, make firearm registration mandatory, restrict the sale of assault weapons and weapon modifications that give the shooter military-grade fire power, and invest in gun-safe technology and safe firearms storage designs. This type of technology will help prevent criminally oriented people from accessing guns, and will help prevent the accidental deaths of many children by guns. This essay will explain the reforms needed to help ensure Americans can still exercise their 2nd amendment right of owning firearms, and preventing the unnecessary deaths of many Americans at the same time.
The debate over gun control in America has constantly brought up over the years due to gunmen killing large amounts of civilizations in shootings. From Columbine to Sandy Hook or the shootings of the two reporters in West Virginia, these public shootings are occurring everywhere. Lawmakers and civilians alike are pushing for increased gun control in hopes of preventing the same tragedies. Anybody that has been affected by the shootings have been pushing Congress and state governments to force new sanctions on government. With the past three years, Congress has shot down all the laws despite the large amounts of public support. Adding more gun control isn’t going to stop the mass shootings from happening.
Every day some news related to gun violence are being heard all over the world. Shooting in driveway, public places, schools, homicide and suicide are some of different types of gun violence. Shooting on people and killing them is a big issue in the world and different comments are provided about that. One of the most important of them is about gun control laws. Stingl (2013) says “The term gun control as it is used in the United States refers to any action taken by the federal government or by state or local governments to regulate, through legislation, the sale, purchase, safety, and use of handguns and other types of firearms by individual citizens.” According to this idea gun control laws should be stricter and people should not be able to have access to guns easily. However, there are many other people who believe this idea is not a good solution and never help. This essay will demonstrate for and against views about the topic. People who agree with this idea consider: firstly, stricter laws will reduce violence and gun control means crime control. Secondly, some research shows people with gun are more at risks of getting shot. Thirdly, guns can always be misused by their owners and finally, stricter law is the best and the faster way to control crime and make community safe. While opponents say first of all, guns are necessary for people safety and protection. Secondly, guns are not the only tools for killing and violence; there are other weapons too and finally, gun ownership is human rights.
Listverse,. '10 Arguments For Gun Control - Listverse '. N.p., 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.