Guns And Gun Control

Gun ownership in the United States is one of the most controversial issues today. The US ranks #1 in gun ownership based on number of guns per capita with 112.6 guns per 100 residents (2014). Lately, there is the so-called American gun crisis due to a series of mass shootings that are becoming more frequent and deadlier. Now, and more than ever, gun ownership is on the hot seat after the shooting in San Bernardino, California. And with this, we tackle the debate over concealed carry – its pros and cons.

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

Secondly, we should have the right to conceal one at all times for safety reasons. According to “Should Adults Have the Right to Carry a Concealed Handgun?” “States that implemented ‘shall-issue’ concealed carry laws reduced murders by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults by 7%, and robbery by 3%, according to a 2000 analysis of FBI crime data by economist and political commentator John R. Lott Jr., PhD. Lott calculated that 1,570 murders, 4,177 rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults, and 12,000 robberies could have been prevented between 1977 and 1992 if concealed carry had been legal in every US state during that time period. In addition, a 2013 peer-reviewed study in Applied Economic Letters, found that between 1980 and 2009, ‘states with more restrictive CCW (carrying concealed weapons) laws had gun-related murder rates that were 10% higher.’Detroit Chief of Police Larry Craig said permitted concealed weapons are ‘a deterrent,’ and ‘Good Americans with CPLs (concealed permit licenses) translates into crime reduction.’ A 2013 survey of 15,000 current and retired police officers found that 91.3% support the concealed carry of guns by civilians.” Crime numbers reduced when states allow citizens to conceal a weapon at all times, while states that made it difficult to conceal a gun saw the crime rates jack up. We should be able to carry concealed weapons to stop crime in its tracks.

This paper discusses and is centered around the on-going debate over gun control, I directly address how each major political party views this subject and what I believe the United States Government should do to be able to best combat this tremendous issue. I use research from multiple sources that contrast each side of the argument and give an overall insight into the world of modernized gun control.

The matter of gun control has become an increasingly controversial issue. Whenever, a nationalized tragedy ensues that involves gun violence, the question on what to accomplish regarding America’s gun control takes center stage. While exploring this topic, this essay will attempt to discuss the circumstances that prohibit a person from possessing firearms, also regulations to prevent these persons from possessing firearms. Upon reflecting on the personal side of the gun control debate, stricter gun control begins to infringe upon our rights, as citizens and they should concentrate on enforcing the current laws in the books, instead of making additional laws.

By concealing the weapon, citizens can go about their day normally without being distracted by a handgun on someone’s person. Many Americans are beginning to grasp the concept that gun control laws are rapidly becoming useless. John C. Moorhouse and Brent Wanner, authors of “Gun Control Law Do Not Reduce Violent Crimes” State that the reason gun control is ineffective, is because it does next to nothing to stop criminals from getting their hands on firearms (Gun Control Laws Do Not Reduce). To reduce gun crime, more needs to be done to stop criminals, instead of focusing efforts on law abiding citizens, they are not the ones to worry about.

Today, I am going to tell you about the right to carry concealed gun and why we need it. I have researched both sides of this controversy, and the need to carry concealed gun is the stronger argument. According to Deborah Homsher, author of Women & Guns: Politics and the Culture of Firearms in America, when states passed the laws which give adults the right to carry concealed guns if they don 't have a criminal record or mental illness, “the number of multiple-victim shootings declined by 84 percent” (265). Furthermore, a 2015 report from the Crime Prevention Research found that the number of concealed guns permits has soared, growing from 4.6 million in 2007 to over 12.8 million in 2014 (6). First, I’m going to tell you effective of carry concealed gun. Second, I’ll tell you the purpose of being

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.

Recently, the topic of gun control has been at the top of everybody’s list in regard to what this country needs to focus on. With the recent tragedies in Las Vegas and Orlando, some may claim that giving more people the ability to carry a concealed weapon would deter some criminals from committing crimes due to fear of failure. This theory was discussed and tested in an article by David Fortunato entitled, “Can Easing Concealed Carry Deter Crime?” This article shows results of many surveys and case studies completed within the US regarding topics like types of permits, ease of issuance, and the perceived number or carriers per state. It then goes on to break down this data, and draws a conclusion from it that may surprise some.

On March 24, 1998, firing from the woods overlooking their school, 13-year-old Andrew Golden and 11-year-old Mitchell Johnson shot and killed four middle school students and a teacher and injured ten other students in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The two boys had a semiautomatic M-1 carbine with a large ammunition magazine, two other rifles, seven handguns and more than 500 rounds of ammunition which they took from the home of one of the boy?s grandfather, who had a large arsenal of weapons left unsecured. Officers arrested the two boys as they ran through the wooded area near the school, and they were convicted on five counts of capital murder and ten counts of first-degree battery in September 1998.

type of weapons in their possession out in public. One example is that since the U.S passed the

According to a World Health Organization study done in 2010, the Unites States of America has the fourth highest firearm homicide rate in the world after Afghanistan, Iraq and the Congo. More recently, a study done in 2013 by the Center for Disease Control found out that there were a total of 33,169 deaths with the use of firearms and more than half were a result of suicide. These statistics have sparked an extensive amount of modern debates on whether we as an American democracy need to amend the second amendment and regulate the purchase of as well as the right to individually bear arms. Two people who analyze this debate very differently but effectively are Zack Beauchamp who wrote “Rethinking the Right to Bear Arm”, and Nelson Lund who

Have you ever wondered if anyone around you is carrying a concealed handgun and might misuse it? A large population of the United States does in fact carry concealed handguns. That means in 10 states more than 10% of the adult population have concealed handgun permits. Some reasons that so many adults have permits is because, concealed carry can save lives, and concealed carry can make people feel safer. Some people believe that concealed carry can be a harmful thing that adults in general are allowed to carry a concealed handgun. On the other hand, adults should be able to carry concealed handguns, because most people with firearms most likely won’t misuse them.

The development of guns dates back to historical times, and up to present day there are more than 200 million guns being put to use in many different ways. Those different ways could be for recreation or outdoor sports, self- defense from another person, to hurt someone, and or to hurt yourself. The Second Amendment says, “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.” With certain requirements, one can obtain a gun and put it to use however they want. And depending on the State laws, that person can apply to become a concealed carry holder. Being a concealed carry holder allows for one person to carry a concealed firearm into public properties. Concealed carry raises the questions; who is and who is not in possession of a gun?, and will it create a more safe environment. Concealed carry can be very beneficial or detrimental to society depending how it is used. Ultimately guns create a bad environment.

According to the U.S Department of Justice “In 1994, 44 million Americans owned 192 million firearms” (p. 1), during the same year, 1,374 people were killed and 14,951 people were injured because of an unintentional firearm situation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999). Here’s the issue: the amount of people being victims of accidental gun deaths and injuries “has remained relatively constant since” wrote the University of Utah on its document Gun Control Issues, Public Health, and Safety.