Gun Control in America

976 Words2 Pages

American citizens have the fundamental right to defend themselves. Americans also have the right to resist any crime that as the potential to cause great bodily harm or damage. To ignore these rights would be completely ignorant. Here in America, the right to carry weapons to defend oneself is a huge privilege that citizens of some other developed countries do not have. Healthy American citizens should rightfully carry weapons to defend themselves from any act of violence committed against or directed towards them.
John Lott once said, ”Some people use guns for horrible things, but some people use guns to prevent horrible things from happening”(Interview with John R. Lott Jr.,4). It is legal to use guns to prevent great bodily injury or death. The second amendment allows the individual to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation (Right-to-Carry, 1). The definition of resist is to, “withstand, strive against, or oppose.” Healthy American citizens have the right to do just that when it comes to any crime that can potentially cause them great bodily harm, or has the potential to kill them. Criminologist Gary Kleck concluded,” robbery and assault victims who used a gun to resist were less likely to be attacked or suffer an injury than those who did not use a gun or any other method to resist, or those who did not resist at all”(Right-to-Carry,1). Concealed handgun laws lower violent crimes for two reasons. First, criminals are afraid of potential victims that can defend themselves. Second, victims with guns are capable of protecting themselves (Interview with John R. Lott Jr., 1). Criminals who face higher penalties, like a gunshot wound, tend to not commit crimes. For every year a concealed weapon law is effective, murder r...

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