Gun Control: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

More or Less Strict Gun Laws?

There is a lot up in the air about what will really happen if we do have stricter gun laws. Will people be more safe, or are we handing over power to the criminals? There are two side to every argument so, as in my previous blogs I shall let you be the judge on this.

Pro-gun control activists see guns as a big problem and there needs to be very strict laws to help prevent further damage. "There were 464,033 total gun deaths between 1999 and 2013." There is an average of about 200 people that go to the emergency room with gunshot wounds, whether it be intentional or accidental. By having federal universal background checks, tracking of ammunition purchases, and gun identification requirements could lower the death rate by guns at eighty-five percent as projected by the Lancet study conducted in March 2016. "Legally owned guns are mostly stolen and used by criminals."(ProCon.org) Less guns equal a less opportunity to be stolen and used in crimes. "Between 1999 and 2013 there were 270,237 firearm suicides in the United States, accounting for about 52% of all suicides during those years." A person who is wanting to commit suicide is less likely to do so with a poison or knife, if a gun in unavailable. Guns kill people. (ProCons.org)

You see, I have a problem with that last sentence. If guns kill people, then spoons make people fat. Do you see how silly that sounds? Why are we putting all of the blame on the gun itself and not the person using it? Having stricter gun control laws won't help with any one but the criminal. Disarming citizen won't have any affect on the criminal. The black market is going to win in this case because, that's where the guns will be purchased. "Journalist John Stossel explained, "Criminals don't obey the law… Without the fear of retaliation from victims who might be packing heat, criminals in possession of these [illegal] weapons now have a much easier job... As the saying goes, 'If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.'" " (ProCon.org)"According to the CDC's "Leading Causes of Death Reports," between 1999 and 2013, Americans were 21.5 times more likely to die of heart disease (9,691,733 deaths); 18.7 times more likely to die of malignant tumors (8,458,868 deaths); and 2.4 times more likely to die of diabetes or 2.3 times more likely to die of Alzheimer's (1,080,298 and 1,053,207 respectively) than to die from a firearm (whether by accident, homicide, or suicide)."(ProCon.org) Professor James Wright and Peter Rossi point out that possibly the most effective deterrent to crime in a nation is an armed citizen. (Myths about gun control)  There were 1,800 prisoners interviewed and Wright and Rossi found out the following:

• 81% agreed the "smart criminal" will try to find out if a potential victim is armed.
• 74% felt that burglars avoided occupied dwellings for fear of being shot.
• 80% of "handgun predators" had encountered armed citizens.
• 40% did not commit a specific crime for fear that the victim was armed.
• 34% of "handgun predators" were scared off or shot at by armed victims.
• 57% felt that the typical criminal feared being shot by citizens more than he feared being shot by police.

It all depends on who is behind the gun. Of course, having a well educated person holding the gun is vital to this argument as well. If you don't know how to use something what do you usually do? You get out the instructions, or if you don't have any you go educate yourself. We do have a problem with uneducated people running around with guns. I propose as to buying a gun, a class on how to handle it should be mandatory. The decision is ultimately yours' on how you stand on these issues.

People.duke.edu. NRA Institute of Legislation Act. October,1994. http://people.duke.edu/~gnsmith/articles/myths.htm. Accessed 08 October,2016.

ProCon.org.last updated 06/28/2016. http://gun-control.procon.org/ Accessed 08 October, 2016.