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Gun Control vs. Crime Rate

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Jessica Vickers
Dr. Jonne Akens
Engl 1302
25 February 2013
Gun Control vs. Crime Rate According to the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, “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.” In this very amendment lies the main issue of gun control. “To many, the language of the amendment appears to grant to the people the absolute right to bear arms. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the amendment merely protects the right of states to form a state militia.” (Kimberlin) Gun control, or the controlling of firearms, is any act or proposal by any local, state, or federal agency to inhibit, deter, …show more content…

The gunman then ran and took his own life (Benner, 2012). The latter side of the debate shows how civilians are capable of stopping a crime before the police are able to arrive. “Some even claim that more guns will help to control the crime and prevent mass shootings from occurring.” (Wicked) After being subjected to so much information, how is the reader to know which side is right? According to Wicked, “This can be a difficult question to answer and requires detailed analysis to come to an informed decision. Studies that have been done on the issue of gun control have found many things that gun control affects and many things that it does not affect. One key item that studies have found is that gun control laws affect the use of specific guns in violent crimes, but do not affect the rate of crime itself.” The controlling of firearms by either banning the sale, transfer, importation, or manufacture of, as well as controlling the amount of ammunition available and the storage of that ammunition, is irrelevant to the reduction of violent crime.
When debating the effect that a particular law, or ban of item, has on the rate of violent crime, it is beneficial to look back at the effect that laws and bans similar to these have had on the crime rate throughout history. The 1994 Assault Weapons ban which Dianne Feinstein proposed and that of which Congress passed would be a prime example. “This ban specifically selected fire arms

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