The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control

In the current year, many things have changed in the political world with some of them being welcomed by all and others not as much. While this paper is not specifically about the people holding political offices, I feel as though it is important to view their influence in these issues. The policy that I am going to discuss in this paper is gun control as I feel it is a hotly debated issue in the country today, especially after the incidents we have had throughout the recent years.

Trevor Burrus from Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies showed how the use of guns for good are far greater than uses for the bad. “In the past 20 years, the cases of permit holders using their guns improperly are quite rare.”(Burrus 3). This is a problem for gun control because the valid arguable point for it is becoming increasingly smaller. This is also a problem for the media because they report vague negative gun usage rather than positive because a large majority of the media's reporters are liberal gun control advocates. Americans who concealed carry firearms are better off in a defense position rather than an unarmed civilian. “studies have found that Americans use guns defensively between 830,000 and 2.45 million times per year.” (Burrus 2). This is a problem because a very small percentage of gun related incidents make it to the news, therefore people think that there aren't as many firearm crimes than there is, and could potentially be unarmed in an emergency situation. Also this means that since there are this many people using guns defensively, there are people who die innocently because they are unarmed. From this, the government had make the laws that prevent people from being able to defend themselves in desperate defense

I feel that more guns equal more gun violence. A research that was conducted by ProCon.org in 2000, states that citizens who carry concealed weapons are more than five times less likely to be charged with committing a violent crime and fourteen times less likely to be arrested for other offenses than those who do not carry (ProCon.org). I think why any individual without any criminal record should not be able to carry a concealed weapon is because, first of all, it increases the chances of something minor turning lethal. For instance, if a man confronted another man at a bar about something minor, the confrontation could turn into a screaming match and the man with the concealed weapon could shoot the other man. These chances can increase also when the person with the concealed weapon is intoxicated, afraid, or angry (Argument Essay). In addition, not just checking background is enough. What if a person gets his licensed gun and something bad happens to him later on, and he is very upset or say short tempered, and because he hold a gun it would not take much time for him to become bad and dangerous. Secondly, why citizens should not be able to carry concealed guns is because most adults who carry them are not trained properly (Argument Essay). Even though according to the law, one of the requirements to get licensed for a gun is to pass the test, I think it still is not

Gun control has been a long debate to determine if it’s better to have stricter access to firearms. America is one of the few countries that has gun rights embedded in their constitution. But what makes the US exceptional is that it has the right to keep and bear arms, other countries do not provide the right to have access to them, but rather, the government is allowed to regulate its use. The right to bear arms has also been the cause of growing violence and crime, at least according to anti-gun lobbyists. Citizens should be aware the dangers and harm that guns present to society. Controlling the sale of firearms can greatly decrease the number of violent crimes.

The majority of anti-gun advocates voice their opinion that more guns would produce more crimes unfortunately for them there is little to no truth in that claim. In reality, when gun ownership increased the amount of murders diminished as well. When states passed concealed weapons laws there was significant drops in the number of multiple victim shootings occurring, the number of deaths, and the number of injuries at these shootings. In 1997 both Wales and England banned handguns and the instantaneous effect was a 50% increase according to crime research. They never saw a day lower than after the year they decided to ban handguns. It has been proven by many surveys that the banning of guns increases crime rate which in turn proves that gun control is not the answer.

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.

People in this country assume that more guns will equal more crime. This is simply not true. States with shall issue permits have 10% fewer gun homicides than may issue States. After Florida passed their shall issue concealed carry law, the State saw homicide rates fall from 36% above the National average, to 4% below the average. Another argument that is commonly made, is that people who conceal carry are more likely to commit crimes now that they can lawfully carry a firearm. That statement is yet another myth in the debate of gun control. Since 1988, crime rates involving concealed carriers has consistently been around .02%. People possessing a concealed carry permit are 6 times less likely to be arrested for a violent crime, and 13 times less likely to be arrested for a non-violent offense. This facts are also echoed by the National law enforcement community, who adamantly support Americans right to defend themselves. A study that was issued in 2013, found that 91% of law enforcement personnel believe concealed carry should be permitted, “without question and further restrictions.” Another 2013 study by a National police gun policy organization, found that 86% of law enforcement officers in the United States believe that concealed carry is the single most effective way to stop mass casualty shootings. Concealed weapons are frequently used to prevent crimes and mass shootings in the United States. A Florida State University study asked 4,978 people, if they have used a concealed weapon in any way, to prevent or stop a crime. 1.33% of respondents reported having done so within the past year. If you multiply these numbers to fit the United States population, that would come to 1.9 million crimes that have been prevented by a concealed firearm. The numbers and facts present do not lie. If you put these statistics next to the testimony from law enforcement, you cannot deny the

Crime cannot be prevented by gun control. Criminals can steal firearms, use a fake ID, or illegally manufacture firearms. A criminal can easily work around a background check if they don’t have a serious offense on their record. Also states with a higher gun ownership rate have a lower violent crime rate. On average when states makes stricter conceal and carry laws they see a spike of 10% in violent crimes(proton.org). Owning a gun is a deterrent for criminals, because when a criminal knows that many people in an area own firearms they are less likely to try to break entry in that area.

The public tend to focus on the amount of people killed or wounded by guns, but not the amount of people that avoided being harmed because they had a firearm readily available. Police officers carry handguns in plain view every day, but are never questioned about whether they should or should not be allowed to carry a handgun. Many police officers go their entire career without upholstering their handgun to defend themselves or a civilian. Why do you think this happens? The average criminal is not going to violently approach an officer knowing that they have an effective way of defending themselves. The same concept applies for any civilian. If it was known that more of the public carried guns, delinquents would think twice before they would approach someone. Most small time criminals cannot easily gain access to guns under strong anti-gun laws, which is probably true. But most crooks that perform violent crimes do not use guns, but knives or any other easily accessible weapon to get what they want. Criminals look for easy targets to attack like women, older people, and those not carrying guns. In order to create effective gun laws, the law makers must understand the relationship between guns and violence. New gun laws must be thought out thoroughly because a lot of laws that are made do not necessarily have the intended effect of the law.The anti-gun supporter of today believes that if guns were outlawed, then the rate of violent crimes would drop

There are many rising controversy’s in America today, but gun control seems to come up often. The controversy comes from the belief that guns lead to violence and a rise in fatal accidents. Research shows otherwise in this aspect. Guns shouldn’t be banned all together they should just be regulated more effectively and prevented from being attained illegally. Gun control is a positive thing to an extent, but should not be used to prevent the correct people from obtaining a gun.

As Boss (2017) mentions, The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: “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” (p. 164). Gun control has always been a controversial issue. Due to shootings related to culture, schools, robberies, movie theatres, and accidents, guns have become an object of violence, fear, and danger. All people have been affected by gun violence or have heard of an event related to gun violence. The two articles that will be analyzed are Erik Gilbert’s “Stop Worrying About Guns in the Classroom. They’re Already Here” and a testimony by Mark Kelly “Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Gun Violence on Gun Violence on January 30, 2013”. After comparing arguments through different premises from both articles, one essay will be chosen superior to the other.

As the famous Thomas Jefferson once said, “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms… disarm not only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes… Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” This quote is saying that removing guns from the innocent people will leave criminals armed, therefore supporting killings, meaning removing guns or making stricter gun laws will cause more deaths. I am against stricter gun laws for many reasons, two of which are people are ignorant and don’t know how hard it already is to purchase guns, and two, because people suppose guns are the matter when the problem is actually people themselves. In these past few years, we have seen school shootings all across the nation. This is due to people that have problems. Take Nikolas

"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." - The Bill of Rights.“The 21st century” a backdrop for the War On Terror, has since changed that view on the right to bear arms enough to call for major gun reform. Orlando, Florida 50 killed and 53 injured June 12, 2016. San Bernardino, California 16 killed and 24 injured December 2, 2015. The media slanders two weapons of so called “terror”, the infamous AK-47 and the AR-15. The AK-47 a soviet made weapon a by product of the cold war, and the AR-15 a weapon invented to combat the AK-47. Both weapons are used in many mass shootings, in fact the New York Times calls both assault rifles

The laws or policies regulating manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification or use of firearms are known as gun control. With a great number of weapons distributed among the civilians, there is a need to come up with proper policies and restrictions on handling and use of these weapons so as to enhance security and prevent crimes. There is a great debate with those opposing these acts arguing that gun control acts do not reduce injuries and crimes done using firearms. However, this is dangerous direction of view. There should be well set out rules to regulate handling and use of these lethal weapons.

For many years, people have been pushing the American government to implement new laws that deal with gun control. Supporters of the argument claim that increased gun control will drastically reduce the crime rate in America. Nevertheless, a majority of gun control arguments are formed from strict control of data and emotional appeal. The mainstream media picks up these stories and broadcasts them to viewers without providing any context to them. While gun control activists assert that gun control is necessary, the American government should not ban guns because of the following reasons: potential vulnerability of innocent people being shot at by criminals and the inability for people to defend themselves against their own government.