Gun Control Laws In California

Recent fire arm legislation has challenged the rights of every citizen in the state of California. Such legislation is paving the way for the confiscation of other amendments as well. Although, there are parties against the fight for guns; many do not realize the importance of people being able to protect themselves. Gun laws in California are becoming more restrictive, as a result these laws are costing innocent citizens their rights and even some lives.

Last year, then-Republican candidate Carly Fiorina claimed that states with strict gun laws had “the highest gun crime rate in the nation” (Robertson, 2015). The following month, President Barack Obama stated that states with stricter gun laws “tend to have the fewest gun deaths” (Robertson, 2015). The West might have been won with a Smith & Wesson, but in our modern society guns are the subject of much debate. While some groups push for fewer guns and more gun control, others insist that increased gun control leads to increased crime. Both sides cite statistics in support of their views, yet experts who have reviewed the same data have concluded that the data is inconclusive. The contenders on both sides don’t ever address the other factors that contribute to crime, such as poverty, racial tensions, a strained and overworked police force, and the deterioration of family social structure. As a nation, we need to move beyond the never-ending debate over gun control. We need to work out a compromise that will help law enforcement put a stop to these terrible mass shootings while preserving Second Amendment rights.

Using this definition, a 2016 study published in the journal Violence and Victims reported that 292 mass shooting incidents took place worldwide between 1966 and 2012; nearly one-third of these were in the United States.”(DiLascio, 2017). The statistics are the answer to whether or not limiting firearms in The United States will help in the overall goal of limiting firearm violence. Other Countries such as England and Japan have more regulations on firearms and it limits the firearm related murders in those Countries. “Have some of the tightest gun control measures in the world, also feature some of the world’s lowest gun homicide rates (per 100,000 people, 0.04 killings and 0.03, respectively).The United States, by contrast, has a rate of 3.42 gun murders per 100,000 people-100 times greater than England or Japan” (Ballaro, 2016). Over the years gun crime has decreased a lot. “ Although gun crime declined steadily throughout the 1990s and early 2000s-thanks in part, perhaps, to the assault weapons ban still in force at the time-it increased sharply in 2005 and has been on a steady rise since. In 2008, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan group of 300 US mayors, found that homicides from handguns were highest in states with the most lenient gun laws” (Ballaro,

One of the main topics of debate is whether or not gun laws actually correspond with lower murder rates. “The average annual gun death rate ranged from almost 3 per 100,000 in Hawaii to 18 per 100,000 in Louisiana. Hawaii had 16 gun laws, and along with New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts was among states with the most laws and fewest deaths. States with the fewest laws and most deaths included Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma.” (CBSnews.com). These statistics can lead one to believe that more gun laws equate to lower death rates. What these numbers prove is that some gun regulations help lower death rates. However, what gun control activists would have you believe that a full on gun ban would lower these numbers more. This is not the case as evident in the following, “During the years in which the D.C. handgun ban and trigger lock law was in effect, the Washington, D.C. murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at the outset of the law, while the U.S. murder rate averaged 11% lower” (James D.

In 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School was victim of a terrible mass shooting that prompted several states and cities to pass strict gun control measures. This sparked a widely debated and controversial issue for “gun friendly” states in the South and West, who responded with bills that would strengthen Stand Your Ground laws and allow weapons in most public places. The nation continues to be divided on gun control policies, as it is very controversial and continues to be a very hot topic in society today. There has been a rise in gun violence throughout the years, and it has been widely been debated that guns are too easily accessible and there is a continued push for stricter gun laws that can reduce the risk of gun violence.

Current Gun Control regulations do not deter violence and crime. It has been shown that places that have relaxed their gun control laws have a higher crime and death rate. Data proves that homicide rates “[...] among the metro areas whose principal city is in a state that requires some form of permit to purchase a gun, is 4.32 per 100,000 residents, compared with 5.74 among cities in no-permit states”(Bailey). This is evidence that there is a correlation between gun control and death rates. It is also proven with statistical evidence that places with the least amount of gun control have the most violence. Statistics show that “‘none of the states with the most gun violence require permits to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Gun owners are also not required to register

The study found that “states with the strictest gun control laws had lower rates of gun-related homicides and suicides.” Although this result cannot draw a causal relationship between gun control policies and homicides, it proves that legislative strength and firearm deaths and ownership are negatively correlated.

We know that states with the most gun laws tend to have the fewest gun deaths. So the notion that gun laws don’t work, or just will make it harder for law-abiding citizens and criminals [to] still get their guns is not borne out by the evidence.

The studies and research on gun control has opened up many ideas on how weak the current laws really are. Crime rates consist of high numbers. “Since 1982, there have been at least 62 mass shootings across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii”

Guns in the U.S has been a problem for many years now. So much so that America is what comes to mind when people think about guns. America is the most known nation in the world when it comes to firearms, with citizens owning about an astonishing 270 million of the world’s 875 million firearms(Marshall). That is thirty percent on the world registered firearms. The reason why Americans own so may guns comes down to the second Amendment, which claims, “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.” (Rauch) This grants the citizens from America the right to own and buy firearms. Since this amendment is vague, it comes down to

B. Background and Audience Relevance: According to one of the LA Times article published in September 2016 about 64% California residents are pro gun-control but 2016 was year when 1.3 million guns were sold in California. Which means people are scared and they are buying guns. And when scared people have guns, terrible things happen.

Gun control and conceal-carry legislature has long been a topic of debate that boasts complex arguments for both second amendment rights and general safety. A key component of gun control lies in the question of allowing personal firearms on college campuses. Emphasizing sexual assault, many campuses are reaching out to allow permit holders to carry concealed weapons. A study by the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault found that one out of every four women will be the victim of sexual assault at some point in her academic career. Keep in mind that there is a significant under-representation of attacks as many sexual assaults go unreported. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the over 50% of rapes and sexual assaults

Gun control and conceal-carry legislature has long been a topic of debate that boasts complex arguments for both second amendment rights and general safety. A key component of gun control lies in the question of allowing personal firearms on college campuses. Emphasizing sexual assault, many campuses are reaching out to allow permit holders to carry concealed weapons. A study by the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault found that one out of every four women will be the victim of sexual assault at some point in her academic career. Keep in mind that there is a significant under-representation of attacks as many sexual assaults go unreported. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the over 50% of rapes and sexual assaults

America has the highest total gun per capita in the world, which would amount to about 270,000,000 guns, or in other words 88.8 guns per 100 people (ProCon). Now, most states have common gun control laws which include background checks, waiting periods, and registration requirements to purchase or sell guns, but not all states require these. However, we have made some progress, after the Stoneman Douglas massacre, “state lawmakers around the country have introduced bills to ban bump stocks, ban assault weapons, and expand background checks...”

FBI statistics accumulated on a countrywide level show that in states that have strict gun control laws, there are higher crime rates. If gun control laws have any effect, it may be to increase crime! For instance, New Jersey adopted what sponsors described as “the most stringent gun law” in the nation in 1966; two years later the murder rate was up 46 percent and the reported robbery rate had nearly doubled. In 1968, Hawaii imposed a series of increasingly harsh measures, and its murder rate, then a low 2.4 per 100,000 per year, tripled to 7.2 by 1977. In opposition, states with liberal gun carry laws have much lower crime rates. In Florida the homicide rate dropped from 37 percent above the national average to 3 percent below the national average after the state changed its concealed carry law in 1987. In 1987, Florida’s murder rate was 11.4 per 100,000 compared with the national rate of 8.2. By 1992, the national rate had risen to 9.3 per 100,000 while Florida’s had dropped to 9, and in 1993, it continued to drop another .3 to 8.7 per 100,000. Between 1987 and 1992, rape increased nationally by 14.4 percent. But in Florida, it increased only 2.9 percent and in 1993 rape in Florida decreased .2 percent. Florida issued 204,108 concealed carry licenses during the first six and half years