Gun Control Law Misconceptions

1255 Words3 Pages

Gun control has raised various debates in the public policy for quite a long time. Gun control involves the banning of ownership of some or all types of firearms, waiting period and the so called ban on Saturday night specials. These gun control laws have not been useful in combating crimes as many studies conducted before and after the laws have shown no correlation. In most cases there are misconceptions like high death rates in children related to the gun associated accident and the effectiveness of these control laws in other countries which are false. Indeed gun ownership has contributed to significant decline in the crime rates and therefore gun laws should be changed to make it easier for Americans to purchase handguns, carry them as concealed weapons, and better protect themselves. False misconceptions surround gun control The first false misconception is that thousands of children perish annually in gun related accidents. The mainstream media doesn’t give the true picture of the gun accidents concerning children which is actually record low. According to Spitzer, there were 642 deaths for children under the age of 15 years and of which only 142 were from gun related accidents in 1997. These other deaths can be attributed from accidents involving space heaters, bikes and drowning among others. The claim that in one day 12 children perish from violence involving guns is usually repeated by the proponents of the gun control law, but in reality these “children” are up to the age of 20 years, most of which die in violence from gangs and they but young adult males. The second misconception is that a massive number of firearms which end up in the hands of criminals are attributed to Gun shows. Gun show loop holes aren’t pr... ... middle of paper ... ...amor for major change in the constitutional and social systems. Indeed faulty notion is the basis for gun control that weapons cannot be trusted by the American citizens because they are too ill tempered and clumsy. Gun control is only possible only through the obvious abrogation of the constitutional rights explicitly. Individual rights are violated when it’s enforced such as seizures and intrusive search and women and blacks who are the ones that mostly need the weapon for protection are the ones that are victimized severely. There is very minimal value as crime fighting remedies witnessed by the various gun control proposals like waiting periods, licensing and bans. Crime reduction through banning of guns can be equated to seeking to reduce drunken driving through ban of alcohol. Indeed crime is deterred significantly through civilian gun ownership (Halbrook 6).

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