Gun Control Laws Do NOT Deter Crime

Gun control is a very controversial topic that has has a huge impact on the United States of America. One side believes that if guns were taken away as a whole, the country would see significantly less gun related crimes and death, while the other opposing side thinks that taking away guns is not only against the Second Amendment but would lead to an increase in crime and death because the government would take guns away from people who are legally registered to own and conceal guns. The ongoing debate will continue until the foreseeable future but their are plenty of reasons why more gun laws should be made. Taking away guns is not the answer, learning how to deal with gun violence is the key.

One of the main topics concerning gun control is crime rate. Crime rate could increase if guns are banned. It is so easy for criminals to get their hands on guns, whether they are illegal or not. Guns are not the problem in the country, it is the person with the weapon. It does not matter how much the government regulates gun control, they cannot regulate the people. Banning guns will not stop crime rate from going up. The U.S. has an estimated amount of 220+ million guns and machine tools, so criminals can easily make their own weapons (“Will You Be”). The United States will only be in more trouble if guns are banned. Banning guns does not mean criminals will automatically stop what they are doing. Most criminals illegally make and buy their own weapons, anyway. Most of the crimes committed are not with the use of a gun. Many are used with different types of weapons or tools. “Getting rid of guns does not get rid of violence. Some people think that

In a speech regarding the Charleston, South Carolina shooting in June of 2015, President Obama stated, “More than 11,000 people were killed by gun violence in 2013 alone.” After the Sandy Hook shooting, in Newtown, Connecticut with a death toll of 26, Congress has still failed to pass these regulations which 90% of Americans wish to have. While tightening the gun control may not guarantee the complete absence of mass shootings or gun violence and crime, it has definately been shown to significantly reduce these rates. America is in need of tighter gun control laws because current regulations do not deter violence and crime, and the interpretation of the constitutional right has since been misconstrued.

The only reason for our nation to enact gun control laws is to reduce violent crime. There is no other logical reason for gun control outside of reducing crime. If gun control proves to be ineffective in reducing crime rates then why have it? While researching this I found time after time where statistics have shown laws such as banning handguns to be completely ineffective in reducing crime rates and I also found where allowing the carry of these same weapons resulting in a reduction of crime rates. One of the major aspects that should be heavily considered by those wanting to take away the legal ownership of firearms in the U.S is that we would also be taking them away from the people who have weapons for their intended purpose. Washington DC had a law in place from 1976 through 2008 that made it illegal for residence to possess handguns and also required trigger locks on all other firearms rendering them useless. During this period of time murder rates in DC were seventy six

While many people believe there should be more gun control and the possibility of banning guns all together, I believe the gun control laws should not be changed. Although there are many reasons that may persuade people to choose to ban guns, I believe that there are several other reasons that lead to all the tragedies with guns in America. Banning guns is not an answer the gun problem in America, there are a few other things that could be done to stop gun violence. In this essay I will tell about why I believe gun control laws should not be changed.

There are a lot of different opinions on gun control. Some people think we should have gun control and strongly support it. I for one am not one of those people. I strongly believe that gun control would not work. Guns are not weapons they are tools used to protect your self, it is not the fault of a good samaritan that an unlawful samaritan uses them in the wrong ways. Guns are not the problem it is the people that get a hold of them. A gun can not fire a bullet its self just like a car can not drive its self.

With the Gun Control Law, it would reduce gun deaths. I know this because first of all, reported by “ProCon.org” guns are rarely used in self defense situations. About 11,000 homicides happen a year, meaning death by firearms (guns). If we had the Gun Control Law it would hold back many gun deaths (homicides) from happening

Crime cannot be prevented by gun control. Criminals can steal firearms, use a fake ID, or illegally manufacture firearms. A criminal can easily work around a background check if they don’t have a serious offense on their record. Also states with a higher gun ownership rate have a lower violent crime rate. On average when states makes stricter conceal and carry laws they see a spike of 10% in violent crimes(proton.org). Owning a gun is a deterrent for criminals, because when a criminal knows that many people in an area own firearms they are less likely to try to break entry in that area.

Throughout the past 20 years, the purchase of guns have increased drastically but at the same time, crimes with firearms are down a shocking 69% (Snyder). Gun control is often used to create laws for the intention of reducing gun injuries or death by gun and might involve background checks or creating difficulty to own a gun altogether. Some believe strict gun laws will help America reduce murder rates. However, others believe gun control will remove the right to bear arms as an individual. America needs to refrain from enforcing gun control because citizens have the constitutional right to own guns and gun control will fail to decrease murder rates which would better be decreased by a basic education of gun safety.

Gun control is, put simply, damaging our rights. It has been shown countless times in history that gun control has little to no positive effect on crime in the area that the gun control was implemented. In some cases, crime rates actually rose in those areas. In modern American society, there are several statistics that can prove my viewpoint on this topic as the proper one. A survey of over 18 thousand prison inmates showed that 30% of state offenders and 35% of federal offenders were in the possession of a firearm while committing the crime. Another survey of inmates convicted of felons throughout 11 state prisons had stated that 34% had been “scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured” by an armed would-be victim. 69% knew someone that had been. On another note, there were 40% of these felons that made the choice not to commit a crime due to an armed person in the vicinity. In 2008, over 5 million violent crimes, including rape, assault, and murder occurred in the United States. However, only 8% of offenders were visibly armed with a gun. And while I'm on the topic of violent crimes, only 1 in 12 offenders are sentenced to prison (Agresti).

The first reason why gun control laws should be enacted is because lots of people die from guns every day. Countless people in the USA have been affected by someone they know having to die from guns. According to the CDC, ¨There were 464,033 total gun deaths between 1999 and 2013: 270,237 suicides (58.2% of total deaths); 174,773 homicides (37.7%); and 9,983 unintentional deaths (2.2%)¨(CDC, "Data & Statistics (WISQARS)," (wisqars.cdc.gov). Those figures alone tell just how dangerous guns are when placed in the hands of human beings. It is so easy for people to be able to get guns that almost anyone can get their hands on one if they want to. For instance, according to Mayors. "The Connection between Domestic Violence and Weak Gun Laws is alarmingly high." (www.ncdsv.org). If it is easy for people to get guns they can be used for almost any reason. This quote shows how having weak gun laws contributes to Domestic Violence. We need to make gun control laws to protect us because lots of people are dying or being hurt from gun usage.

Gun control laws are not always effective and that is why each year they are improving them and making them to where they can be more effective. One of the laws that was the most effective was the Brady act which required all individuals that were interested in owning a gun to have a background check that was implemented by the federal government (Kwon, & Baack, 2005). This act has had a very positive impact on the crimes rates and has helped protect our society. There are many articles that show that with stricter gun laws being implemented that there are a decrease in crimes being committed throughout the United Stares (Kwon, & Baack, 2005). Studies show that countries who have low gun ownership have fewer gun related deaths. In reality if

People have argued for decades whether we should or shouldn’t enact more gun control laws. More gun control laws should be enacted because it could reduce gun violence along with reducing the amount of deaths and crimes caused by guns and reduce teenagers from obtaining guns.

No: Armed civilians are unlikely to stop crimes and are more likely to make dangerous situations.

Any debate on crime needs to focus on crime prevention and not the guns of law abiding citizens. Controlling guns is not a crime prevention strategy, it only prevents the those who are physically weaker than their attackers like women, elderly, and disabled from defending themselves against bigger, faster and stronger aggressors.