Gun Control and the Black Market Essay examples

“Gun control means control. It means control for the government and the government starts controlling the people.”(Luke Scott) I believe this quote is accurate because the more the government tries to make gun control less of a problem the more of our second amendment right is being taken away. There are number of ways that a criminal can obtain a gun, legally or illegally, but an honest citizen will go through through the legal process. Taking our 2nd amendment will only make the people vulnerable to government power.

Guns are a deadly weapon, and should be used with caution. This is why there are gun control laws. The methods of gun control at present consist of the government restricting the ability of individual citizens to purchase weapons. The different types of gun control vary from waiting periods between when you purchase the gun and when you actually get it, background checks so that high-risk people can't purchase guns through legal channels, and completely banning certain types of guns. There are countless ways for criminals to avoid these government regulations, causing them to only render the ability of innocent citizens protecting their home and family's ability to purchase guns. The "waiting period" method of gun control is basically a two-step process. The first step in the procedure is that the person wanting a gun goes to his local shop to place the initial order. Then, he must wait one to two weeks while the government performs a small background check for past criminal activities, disorderly conduct, or lack of mental/emotional stability.3 During this time, if the purchaser of the gun wanted the gun for impulse reasons, it is hoped that they will not still want to cause harm after a couple weeks. Unfortunately, underage buyers

Even though a criminal intends to use the firearm in an illegal way, they can still obtain it though legal means, some not knowing they will commit a crime with the weapon in the future. Criminals and people who are not in the right frame of mind are the reason that gun control is such a major issue, especially for law-abiding citizens who live with a set of more restricted rights due to this issue.

Gun control in the United States has been a controversial issue for some time now. So much so that the Supreme Court even refuses to address this issue directly. Gun control really boils down to the the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Many people have different interpretations of the Second Amendment and the trenches are dug in deep on this issue. The Second Amendment can not provide the right to bear all types of arms to protect the people from governmental tyranny. If the Second Amendment was absolute, then we would allow the public to possess nuclear weapons, missiles, and other such arms, because like the 9 mm handgun that is an arm, a nuclear warhead is also a type of arm. The more our government restricts our rights to own

These guns are sold on what is called the black market to basically anyone. Anyone of any age, with no waiting period, no matter what your criminal record is, can purchase these guns. The fact that these guns are sold illegally allows guns to fall into the wrong hands. Gang members and murderers purchase these guns and go onto the streets and kill members of our own families. These problems are trying to be prevented by catching them and putting them in jail. By this point it is too late, someone?s child or mother has been killed. If the guns were taken out of their hands the crime would never be committed.

Laws have been put into place to help insure that guns are only sold to the people that are able to pass back ground checks. “With the 1994 Brady Handgun Violence and Prevention Act, Congress imposed a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases to allow law enforcement officers time to perform criminal background checks of potential buyers” (Front Line). This does not mean that guns do not fall into the hands of children and adults who are not lawfully registered to own them. There are guns shows that are held in almost any U.S. town at any given time, most of the dealers follow protocol but some do not. Pawn shops also buy and sell guns on a daily basis; most of these guys are just out to make a quick sell. They have no idea if the gun that they are buying was just used in a crime or not.

Gun violence in America is a huge topic of discussion. Many people have heard about this topic on the news or in the newspaper, but have very little knowledge on this ongoing topic. Those who have a lack of information on gun control tend to not feel strongly towards guns or people owning or carrying guns. People that have never been around guns are often scared of them, but the truth is a gun is nothing more than a hunk of metal. For a gun to go off the gun needs a shooter, so should the real topic of discussion be “Should there be stricter gun laws for the owner?” However, in the United States it isn’t very difficult to obtain or own a gun. Guns are very common in America and anybody could simply sell their firearm to another person with the ending result of now anybody can own a gun. (Degrazia 2) “The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act mandates background checks of gun buyers, but only if the seller is a licensed dealer; private sales, including those at gun shows and those conducted online, are exempt.” Degrazia states that anyone can get a gun without having a background check, this including anyone over 18. Being able to purchase firearms easily in America can be a serious topic of discussion because many people are getting killed with firearms, school shootings are on a rise, however in zones where guns by law have to be in every household the crime rate is significantly lower than surrounding areas.

The problem with statements like the above is that people are forgetting about the black market. If a person is planning on buying a handgun for criminal purposes, he is not likely to buy it through a dealer. If he buys a gun through a dealer, the gun has to be registered in that person’s name. If the gun is used in any crime or murder where a shot is fired and the gun is left behind, the police could very easily trace the gun to that person.

Also, many people obtain guns from stealing it from another person, or buying it off a citizen who is unknowledgable or uncaring for the law, or the temperment of the buyer. Besides, if a person who is of age, and has a clear record wishes to buy a gun to be violent with it, there is no way of preventing him or her.

Only 2 percent of the guns that criminals have used are obtained through purchase from the gun show according to the Department of Justice of U.S. These ones were purchased by persons legally who went through the background checks successfully (Spitzer 47).

-Despite Chicago’s 1982 ban on every type of gun, except shotguns and rifles, and the fact that it

States with weaker firearm laws attracts larger purchases. Gun traffickers will go to states with weaker gun laws and make big purchases, then sell them in stronger firearm lawed states. Firearms sold in ¨multiple guns sales” (selling more than one pistol per week) are often used for crime. In 1999, 22 percent of all handguns recovered in crime were purchased in multiple guns sales. Therefore limiting gun ownership will limit large

Most firearms used in crime and in gangland violence were purchased outside of the legal method and any attempt to restrict sales would not affect these users of firearms.

40% of all guns sold are sold by unlicensed sellers (“Children’s Defense Fund”). Criminals can easily obtain guns from these sellers. The criminal responsible for the Aurora shooting, bout 6,000 rounds of ammunition illegally over the internet over a course of 60 days (Miller). Why would you want this much illegal ammunition to be purchased? The answer is: you wouldn’t.

In most states in the U.S people are eligible to carry around guns for protection reasons, as long as they use it according to law, are over the age limit, and they have have a good reason to do so. But when there are laws, there are people who break those laws. Teens and even children are finding ways to get hold of