Gun Control As A Crime example essay topic

The book titled 'Guns in America' written by Helen Strahinich defines gun control as any las that restricts the ownership or sale of firearms (Strahinich 2). The history of the gun control debate can be traced back to colonial times when guns were being outlawed to keep them out of the hands of the poor. Today, the subject still remains so controversial that many politicians fear touching the subject. Will banning guns eliminate crime? Will criminals still be al be to obtain firearms? These are two of the most controversial questions that fuel the fire in the debate spotlight. t These following two examples best illustrate how easily one can put forth arguments either for or against gun control.

In 1995, a gang of four masked the ives armed with Tec-9 semiautomatic pistols book into Marsha Bealty's home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The thieves were surprised when they were confronted by Marsha and her room ate armed with 9 mm pistols. The immediately fled when threatened by the two women. (Blackman) The two sides of this argument are the pro and anti gun groups. The anti-gun groups main goals range from more stringent gun control laws to a total ban on handguns. The political supporters of this group are su sally liberal democrats and a few other small independent groups such as Handgun Control Inc.

Their main arguments are question in g th e original intent of the framers of the constitution an the way of life in the time it was written, and also the purpose of guns in modern society. For the most part, their claims are mainly emotional and use popular incidences an the high number of people killed annually from firearms and, gun in households. On the other side of the fence is the pro-gun who lobby to support law abiding citizens's e cond amendment rights to keep and bear arms. Their supporters tend to be conservative republicans and pro-gun groups. The most popular of these groups is the NRA (National Rifle Association) which is a strong political group consisting of over three million members. Theses groups tend to use statistics and sases were lives have been saved by the use of firearms while strongly stressing gun and training programs.

They favor strict interpretation of the Bill of Rights. INt hsi paper I am taking a stand against gun control. I feel that law abiding citizens should be entitled to their second amendment rights to keep and bear arms for the purposes of protection of home, property, and person. According to the Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco and Firearms, there are currently 230 million legally owned guns in the united states of which 75-80 million are handguns. These firearms are owned by around 70 million people (Nisbet 275). Most of the illegal firearms come into our country from our unprotected borders or are manufactured illegally like David Kore sh did in Waco.

Not many are stolen. OUt of all these legal gun owners, around 99.6 percent do not use their guns in the commission of a cream. Statistic are very easily manipulated. Out of the 30,000 deaths that occur each year as a result of firearms, 15,000 are suicides and on average 14,000 are accidents. On average 12,000 people are killed each year by guns in homicides. If there are this many homicides and 99.6% of the legal gun owners do not use their guns in the commission of a crime, then this would mean that the vast majority of these crimes are committed with illegally owned firearms.

So why are politicians going after law abiding citizens when they are not the ones committing the crime? Man y politicians think that it looks good on t hier record that they lowered the number of guns. Does the philosophy of disarming law abides work? This idea was tried in Washington, D.C. In 1976 Washington enacted a ban on all weapons in the community including mace and pepper spray.

Twenty-five years later, their crime rate tripled giving them the highest in the county while the rest of the nations's went up around 12% since 1976. How do the Voters feel? Sever reputable polls came up with close to the same results when questioning registered voters. Included in these polls were ten reputable DMI (Decision Making Information, Gallup, and Cad dell poll which was sponsored by the Center for Anti-Gun Violence. Out of these polls and the 1500 in home interviews conducted by DMI under the supervision of Dr. Richard B. Within, the results were as follows' 88% of registered voters believe that the have the individual right to bear arms: 47% of the registered voters acknowledge gun ownership, In 14% of these households, a firearm had been used in defense of self, family, or property. Eighty-three percent of the people surveyed feel safer with the firearms in their household.

Half of these people believe that restrictions are a step in the direction of total confiscation. Seventy-eight percent believe that gun control laws only affect law abiding citizens and criminals will always be al be to posses firearms. Ninety three percent of these voters favor strict zero tolerance penalties for people who use their firearms in criminal activity. Eight three percent oppose a handgun ban, while 72% think that domestic shootings do not justify a ban on handguns. Eighty eight percent think that banning firearms will not stop criminals from obtaining firearms (Gottfried 43). This shows that most Americans do not view gun control as a crime fighting tool.

Another survey was conducted on the opposite side of the law to find out more ao but the dark side of the subject. Professors James Wright and Peter Rossi gained recognition across the world when they began a landmark study which was funded by the department of justice. The Study consisted of 1800 inmates under incarceration across the country. This study proves that a armed citizens are the most effective deterrent against crime.

Eighty five percent questioned agreed that the 'smart criminal' would attempt to find out if a potential victim is armed. Seventy five percent would avoid an occupied dwelling in fear of being shot, 80% of handgun 'predators' encountered armed citizens. Fifty three percent did not commit a specific crime in fear that the perspective victim was armed. Fifty seven percent of 'handgun predators' were scared off of shot at by armed citizens. Sixty percent of these criminals feared being shot by citizens more than the police (Gottfried 85). right to carry laws can also be an effective tool in stopping crimes.

Thirty one states have adopted right to carry laws. Eleven of these states enacted their laws within the past two years. Professors John R. Lott, Jr. and David Mustard, who have done extensive studies on the subject of the 'Right to Carry' have come to the same conclusion that most other criminologists have-'Allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters crime' (NRA 3) According to their studies 1570 murders, 4177 rapes, and 60000 aggravated would have been avoided yearly. States that have right to carry laws have an overall lower crime rate than states that do not. Ever since Florida adopted right to carry laws in 1987 its homicide rate decreased 36%, firearm homicide rates decreased 37%, and handgun homicide rates decreased 41% (NRA 2). As florida's crime rate decreased drastically, the firearm homicide rate for the nation increased 15% and the handgun homicide rate increased 41%.

Ony two on hundredths of one percent of carry licenses in Florida have been revoked for misuse (NRA 3). Phoenix, Arizona has the most lenient gun control laws in the country and has the highest number of armed citizens car ring weapons. Many people see their extremely low crime rate as a result of their armed citizens. Professor Gary Kleck of Florida State University, one of the most highly respected criminologists in the country, estimated that 1500 to 2800 criminals are killed legal in justifiable self defense and an additional 8000 to 16000 are wounded. Kleck also finds 2.5 million protective uses for firearms each year. In most of these cases a civilian used a firearm to apprehend, threaten, or shoot a criminal.

The majority of protective uses do not involve discharging a firearm. Two hundred and fifteen thousand uses are against dangerous animals such as rabid ra coons (Nisbet 123). In conclusion, do not believe what liberal politicians say about guns, research the subject for yourself before you make up your mind. And remember do not trust a politic an who does not trust you with a gun.

Bibliography

Gottfried, Ted. Gun Control: Public Safety and the Right to Bear Arms. Brookfield: Millbrook 1993 NRA Firearm Fact Sheet.
FAirfax: NRA Institute for Legislative Action 1997 Strahinich, Helen.
Guns in America. Ontario: Walker 1992 The Gun Control Debate.
Ed. Lee Nisbet. Buffalo: Prometheus 1990.