Imagine a world in which humans weren’t forced to stoop to a criminal’s level in order to feel safe, a world in which arguments were settled with words, and power came from the mind and not a weapon. Imagine a world without guns. Unfortunately in the United States, this world has become unattainable, but stricter legislation on handguns would bring this ideal world one step closer. The handgun statistics in America speak for themselves. After comparing America’s statistics to those in other countries with stricter handgun legislation, it becomes clear that something must be done to fix the broken American system. In America, guns are too readily available to the public and the result is an overwhelming amount of deaths. Under the …show more content…
The number of handgun homicides of these countries combined doesn’t come close to equaling the 11, 334 in America.
The firearm laws in England could be used as an example for bettering America’s legislation. England has one of the lowest handgun casualty statistics in the world. One source argues that this low rate of handgun homicide is due to England’s strict firearms legislation. For instance, law in England is the requirement of justification of every firearm purchased. Under this law, the number of firearms possessed by citizens is limited and police use their own judgment on which people can be trusted with firearms. Citizens must have legitimate sporting or work-related reasons for owning a gun. In England, self- defense is not considered a legitimate reason for handgun ownership. The procedure of acquiring a handgun in England involves a thorough background check, interviews with two people the applicant has known for at least two years, and the approval from a family doctor. Additionally, an applicant must keep the gun in safe storage strictly mandated and checked by officials (Magoon 94). Under such strict and wise legislation, England experiences 11,197 less handgun deaths per year than America. Where England’s legislation succeeds, America’s fails. In America, it is simply too easy for a person to obtain a gun. A New York State investigation argues that this is especially the case at gun shows, where
On average, there is a shooting throughout the country where the victim was left defenseless each day. even with strict gun control laws set in by the federal government, many Americans still have faith in our second amendment. Gun control is proven ineffective, According to Richard Epstein of the New york University of Law, “We can confidently predict that crime will go up unless and until there is a vast expansion of the public police force.” (Epstein 1). While gun control law are in place there are still too many guns for the federal government to keep track of within the country, Richard Epstein states that “upwards of 200 million firearms of all descriptions are available for general use in the United States.” (Epstein 2). With recent
The right to bear arms is a wonderful thing. The law is great for multiple reasons and should not be taken away by Obama. Reason one for the right to bear arms is to be used as self defense in case of an attack by another person. Reason two for the right to bear arms helps citizens to save their own life and live a safe life. Reason three, in order to get a gun the person must go under a background check. Reason four, people are excluded if they have a criminal act against someone. Reason five, this law does not carelessly let a person own a firearm.
Gun control is a very controversial issue among society at present. Many feel guns are the cause of a great amount of crime. This has been an especially popular topic recently in lieu of the shooting at Columbine and other high schools across the country. Are these crimes reason to take away our freedom to bear arms? I do not believe so. The average person uses guns mainly as a means of protection. If limitations are placed on guns, they will only stop the average American from obtaining a gun. The real criminals out there will still be able to obtain guns through the black market. Every American should have the right to protect them self.
The issue of gun control begins with the careless distribution of firearms and how easy they are to obtain. In the United States, many mass killings by gunmen in civilian settings set
The United States is one of the few countries were the right to bear arms is protected by the constitution. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most violent with incidents involving guns this year reaching an estimated 36,212 and an approximate 9,050 deaths (“Gun Violence Archive”). There are an estimated 310 million firearms in households across American, these are only estimates because current gun laws do not require them to be registered or tracked. A more staggering estimate is that most of the guns owned by private citizens are semi-automatic guns, the same type of gun used in almost all mass shootings. While these privately owned guns are legally purchased, many times, they land in the hands of criminals, and owners never report them stolen. Mass shootings and gun crimes are not the only issues with gun violence the one never talked about is suicide, more guns available equals more suicides. The United States is one of the easiest countries to own a gun legally or illegally, stricter gun control laws are necessary.
Eighty-nine people depart from this earth due to gun violence in the US every day. From school children, to victims of domestic violence, to people going about their daily lives, this status quo is unacceptable. On Tuesday January 5th, 2016 President Obama announced that he would send proposals on reducing gun violence in America to Congress. His spokesman, Jay Carney, mentioned that this is “a complex problem that will require a complex solution.” The ability to own a gun is considered by some a birthright of Americans. However, with crime rates involving handguns rising each day it has become quite clear. Handgun laws must become stricter in order to reduce homicide and crime. The question is, “which solution in most effective in decreasing gun violence?” Gun control is a major conflict that is constantly reoccurring and the US is seemingly divided over it.
In light of the stereotyped, yet nonetheless accurate, obsession of firearms that the American people proudly uphold, restricting the use of guns proves to be a much more difficult feat than one would have you believe. “America 's pervasive gun culture stems in part from its colonial history, revolutionary roots, frontier expansion, and the Second Amendment”.
Guns are one of the most controversial and debated-upon topics in America today. In the Constitution, Americans are given “the right to bear arms,” and many Americans are proud of and believe strongly in that right. Though, that right has been constantly misused. Homicides by gun are at a higher rate in the United States than any other country in the world, mass shootings are at an all time high (many of which have occurred in the past two years alone), and terrorism has been at an all-time high. So, naturally, it is a topic that needs to be discussed. In the articles Change Your Gun Laws, America (1), author Fareed Zakaria provides the readers with some harrowing statistics on guns and insight over how the U.S. laws on guns need to be managed.
For this reason, it is incredibly hard for the country to agree or disagree on controversial topics such as gun control. Gun control laws and restrictions are methods in reducing the accessibility of firearms to the ordinary citizen. The belief is that with less dangerous firearms in the streets, the less crime there will be. Numerous studies and evidence show that a reduction of gun ownership can ironically increase the crime rate. This trend might seem counter intuitive but when seen at a different perspective, it becomes logical. When law abiding citizens are not able to purchase a weapon but a criminal is through illegal means such as the black market, it leaves people helpless against the gunman. Many advocates for gun control seem to ignore the facts and trends that show that gun ownership and crime rate does not have any correlation. Instead, these advocates seem to rely on the emotional appeal of people, exploiting the tragedies that are caused by shootings, wars, and criminal activities. The purpose of this essay is to educate people on the negative side effects of gun control and on how guns can actually decrease
gun-related occurrence than in any other country, and gun attacks are five times more likely to
On the other hand, in 1988, handguns killed 7 people in Great Britain, 19 in Sweden, 53 in
While in the United States there is less than a 1/250 chance of being the victim of a violent crime, including one where a firearm is used. This means that even though a civilian is more likely to be harmed by a gun in the United States, he is still less likely to be a victim of a violent crime, including murder, than a civilian in Britain or Wales. However, most of those who support an increase in gun control choose to focus on the fact that there is a 1/10,000 chance of being part of a violent crime involving a gun in the UK(Violent Crime 2). In addition to that, if one were to remove the top five cities with the highest crime rate in the United States such as Detroit, New York City, and New Orleans, coincidentally the cities with the strictest gun control, the United States’ crime rates, and gun-related murders drop, dramatically(Doeden 31). Although Australia is often referred to as an example of a country that banned guns, statistics show that violent crimes were already declining in Australia when the mandatory gun buyback was enforced from 1996 to 2003, and there is no way to prove that Australia’s decrease in crime had anything to with the mandatory gun
Former Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer once said "Yes, people pull the trigger - but guns are the instrument of death. Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror". Spitzer’s words makes one think: should we fear the person behind the gun or the gun itself? The majority of violent crimes that happen in America are not only caused by a criminal, but also the weapon in which the criminal is holding. America’s gun violence problem stems from the increasing accessibility of firearms. Many of the mass shootings in America could have been prevented if access to semi-automatic and automatic weapons were completely banned. Gun violence is an arising issue, and a change needs to be made concerning the gun laws in the U.S. Stricter gun control laws is necessary to prevent high accessibility to firearms and mass shootings, also research shows that Australia’s strict gun control laws are proven to be more efficient in preventing gun violence.
This is not the case in more peaceful countries across the world with strict gun laws. The United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Australia manage to avoid a high gun murder rate and frequent public shooting massacres. The differences are due, in part, to the way that the different countries regulate gun ownership. In 2011, in the United Kingdom there were 0.07 gun homicides for every 100,000 people, and in the United States there were three gun homicides for every 100,000 people. The United States’s neighbor to the north, Canada, also has low gun casualty statistics of 0.5 deaths per 100,000 from gun homicide. In Japan, a citizen is not permitted to even touch a firearm without a license. Breaking this law can result to up to ten years in prison. Australia’s gun deaths are 0.13 for each 100,000 people
One big fact everyone looks at is how the countries such as Britain, England, Ireland, and Jamaica have stricter gun laws, and how the gun crime has dropped (“Murder and Homicide Rates before and after Gun Bans.”). What they overlook is how the crime