Persuasive Essay On Gun Laws

A world where not everyone is properly trained to have a weapon should not be the same world where everyone has a weapon. To some, guns and other weapons seem to have become essential in the pursuit of self-defense, and are often used to ensure one’s safety. However, with 400,000 gun-related crimes in the United States every year, ending in 30,000 related deaths and 70,000 related injuries, one begins to wonder if people really are safer when everyone possesses a gun. Gun laws should be increased and heavily enforced because of the weakness of current laws, the interest of public health and safety, and the progress of newer legislations. The Second Amendment, passed in 1791, states that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security

David Hemenway stated in Private Guns, Public Health that the high number of deaths and injuries due to gun-related incidents, as well as the “accompanying dread and fear of firearm violence – is clearly within the purview of public health” (History). While some are convinced that guns ultimately keep everyone safer, others still have a fear of guns and other weapons, and what the people who wield them are capable of. Many Americans have one or more guns kept in their household. Multiple studies have shown that guns in the home prove a greater chance of injury or death to a household member, not an intruder. The guns meant for self-defense from outside forces are “more likely to be involved in an accidental shooting, criminal assault or suicide attempt” (Stronger). To continue, there is no true evidence that people permitted to carry concealed weapons in public have a positive effect on crime rates, either; it may even increase crime. One can use common sense to conclude that “putting more guns into more hands does not make anyone safer” (Stronger). If anything, more guns only increases the chance of a gun-related incident. And with an estimated 270 million firearms owned in the United States, that is a very large risk being taken. Especially since the lack of regulations makes it difficult to know how many of them are owned

This is an accurate statement; there is no concrete proof that the number of defensive weapons offsets the number of offensive ones. They may also say that sensible gun laws will have no noticeable effect on the number of firearm-related incidents in the United States. However, this statement is false. Sensible gun laws have been proven effective on both state and national levels. For instance, despite the loopholes, the Brady Act has prevented the sale of firearms to “more than 1.6 million prohibited purchasers” (Stronger). Child access prevention laws that have been enacted in a dozen states for at least a year have resulted in a reduction of “unintentional firearm deaths” by 23 percent among children under fifteen years old (Stronger). According to a 2009 study by The Violence Policy Center, states with stricter gun laws and lower rates of ownership had lower rates of related deaths, as opposed to the states with weaker gun laws and higher rates of ownership (Stronger). People who are already law-abiding citizens should have no qualms with enforced background checks, for, in theory, they should have nothing to hide. In fact, the idea that most registered gun owners are against more restrictions is also false. A poll conducted in 2004 showed that a total of over 50 percent of gun owners were in favor of continuing the ban on assault