Guns Don't Kill People, Criminals Kill People Essay

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

With the popular culture providing positive images of guns, the United States has a gun prevalence that is very rare in the modern world. While many people appreciate the “gun culture”, guns are heavily involved in violence in the United States. According to U.S. Department of Justice, since 1960, more than 750,000 Americans have died under firearms, including homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries. The figure 1 provides a comprehensive survey of U.S. violent crimes for the period from 1993 to 2011.This figure illustrates that from 1993 to 2011, about 60% to 70% of homicides were associated with a firearm. Over the same period, between 6% and 9% of all nonfatal violence, with about 20% to 30% of robberies and 22% to 32% of aggravated assaults involving a firearm.

If gun control is regulated, then we will have less crime. Access to firearms makes killing easy, efficient, and impersonal, which increases the lethality of crime. Josh Sugarmann, the Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center has once said, "We recoil in horror and search for explanations, but we never face up to the obvious preventive measure: a ban on the handy killing machines that make crimes so easy.”Allowing untrained people to carry guns puts others at risk and it can result in self-inflicting injuries both by suicide and unintentional incidents. Gun violence in America kills more than 30,000 and injures almost 70,000 each year. Guns can be misused and abused, which is why gun

In the first article, “The University should allow concealed carry,” by Andrew Parks, statistics are used to support his argument on allowing concealed carry at The University of Alabama. Parks includes the rarity of a shooting in Texas, his home state. He claims, “ The last time such a shooting took place in the general public was on Oct. 16, 1991” (Parks). The reason for the rarity of a shooting in Texas is due to the gun laws not being as strict as most states. Parks believes what many other Americans believe, that allowing citizens to carry firearms is a deterrent to crime and shootings. The following statistics prove Parks’ belief that conceal carry reduces

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

Gun control laws do not deter crime; gun ownership deters crime. A Nov. 26, 2013 study found that, between 1980 and 2009, "assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level" and "states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murders." While gun ownership doubled in the twentieth century, the murder rate decreased. John R. Lott, Jr., PhD, author of More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, stated, "States with the largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest drops in violent crimes... The effect on 'shall-issue' [concealed gun] laws on these crimes [where two or more people were killed] has been dramatic. When states passed these laws, the number of multiple-victim shootings declined by 84 percent. Deaths from these shootings plummeted on average by 90 percent and injuries by 82 percent." A Dec. 10, 2014 Pew survey found that 57% of people believe that owning a gun protects

Is the violent crime rate affected by citizens legally carrying concealed weapons? One side argues being legally allowed to conceal carry weapons lowers the violent crime rate. Another side argues being legally allowed to conceal carry weapons increases the violent crime rate. Currently, there are forty three states that are “right-to-carry” states and seven states “may-issue” which makes it very hard to obtain a concealed weapons permit. This paper will compare violent crime rates within the state of Florida before and after the implementation of legally concealed weapons. This paper will evaluate how legally concealed weapons affect the crime rate. Such findings will be gathered from a combination of studies and sources, including: an interview study of police officers (qualitative data on how concealed weapons effect crime rate), crime rate statistics illustrating Florida’s violent crime rates per capita and various experts within the field of concealed weapons and their impact on violent crime rates. The improvement of police methodology will also be evaluated to test the impact of concealed weapons and its effect on the violent crime rate.

These may be relatively small samples taken over a short amount of time but here is one more fact to think about in 2012 there were 41 states with right-to-carry laws, of them 34 experienced declines in violent crime from the

Gun control has become an increasingly controversial topic in the nation due to the continuous debates relating to gun control and whether or not laws should be passed to make it harder for guns to be obtained. Guns serve for a variety of purposes that range from good to bad. Guns are not for everyone. Some individuals cannot handle guns properly, and some choose to use guns inappropriately. Lately, guns have become more of a problem in our society. There has been an increasing amount of shootings that have taken many lives and have wounded people emotionally, not just physically. Although guns are used for protection, firearms are reportedly used more in crimes. More and more shootings are breaking out across the nation. As a result, the

According to Dr. John R. Lott Jr, world recognized economist, this is not the case at all. Lott holds a Ph.D in economics from the University of California of Los Angeles has rigorgously decidated to finding the correlation between violence and guns within the United States. According to this findings “Consealed Carry Permit Holders Across the United States” several misconceptions where cleared in a scienfic manner. First, the number of consealed handgun permits are increasing each year. Just within the past 2015 year, 1.7 million additional permits were issued. This has resulted in a 15.4% increase in permits within one calendar year. Where John R. Lott Jr. makes a distinction in his research center, that although permits are increasing, this does not neccesarily mean that violence is increasing as well. To the contrary belief violence is decreasing at a significant rate. Just between the years of 2007 and 2014 murder rates have fallen to an dismounting rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people. Looking at both variables closely this has represented a 25% drop in overall murder rate while the percentage of permits have increased at a rate of 175%. This provides a basis that lets concerned families, verterans and students that the possession of Firearms is not a direct correlation to violence within

In the United States of America the right to bear arms gave birth to a phenomenon called the “gun culture,” the term coined in 1970 by a historian Richard Hofstadter, which describes America’s heritage and affection for weapons(1). Not only did gun culture become an inseparable part of American democracy, but also it is considered to be synonymous with independence and freedom, the most important values for American society. Even though the crime rate and murder rate in the U.S. is higher than in any other developed country, U.S. citizens oppose every attempt made to pass gun control legislation(2). However, it may sound like a paradox, but the crime level in the most liberal states, when it comes to gun ownership, is the lowest in the

People all across the world are debating about whether to require the start of reducing gun violence. Guns have always been a part of American culture, even before we became the America we know today. In colonial times and the days of the Wild West, guns were an essential part of survival. They were needed to kill animals for food and to protect against unwanted trespassers and predators. However, in these modern times, because we have conveniences such as Hannaford and organized police systems, guns have gone from tools of necessity to novelty toys. For the most part, people own guns in this century for sporting reasons or to protect their families and home from intrusion. The simplicity of a gun and the lack of effort it requires owning

To being with, carrying concealed guns increase crimes. ‘’A 1995 study of five major cities found that gun-related homicides increased by an average of 4.5 per 100,000 people states that allowed concealed carry. Also, another study conducted over 33 years found that concealed carry states had increase in assaults, robberies, auto , theft, and burglaries.’’(Leroy king 1)

A study conducted in 2013 by Mark Gius, a professor at Quinnipiac University, found that, between 1980 and 2009, “assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level” (qtd. in “States”). The study went on to conclude that, “states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murders” (“States”). In the city of Chicago, crime rates did not plummet until Illinois’ ban on concealed carry was overturned. Kelly Riddell, writer for The Washington Times, proclaims, “Since Illinois started granting concealed carry permits this year, the number of robberies that have led to arrests in Chicago has declined 20 percent from last year, according to police department statistics.” Historically, the city has had some of the strictest laws against gun ownership in the United States. Simultaneously, Chicago also suffered from some of the worst crime rates. With citizens able to defend themselves, criminals are deterred and crime rates have dropped. Chicago proves that increased gun laws have no effect on crime rates. Overall, while gun ownership has nearly doubled in the twentieth century, the murder rate has decreased. John R. Lott, Jr., stated, "States with the largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest drops in violent crimes.” When gun

Additionally, in states that have laws permitting concealed weapons for those who qualify, there has been a measurable reduction in violent crimes and murder. There are forty states that allow those who have permits to carry a handgun. Consequently, there are approximately 3.5 million U.S. citizens that are permitted to have a concealed weapon on their person, or in their car (Kates & Mauser, 2007). John Lott and David Mustard conducted a study on the concealed handguns law. They analyzed FBI crime statistics for the entire United States, covering the years from 1977 to 1992. With conservative approximations, states enacting the concealed weapons law had a reduction in rape by 5%, robbery by 3%, aggravated assault by 7%, and murder by 8.5% (Lott, n.d.).