Every 23.1 seconds, a violent crime takes place. Every 385 seconds, a criminal will commit a violent crime while armed with a firearm. Every 3500 seconds, a criminal will fire his firearm during the course of the violent crime. Every three and a half hours, a victim of a violent crime will be shot. Is this due to the lack of gun control? Or is this a result of individual? Guns; a privilege or a right? The Second Amendment secures citizens’ right to bear arms. Many citizens choose to do so. There are enough firearms in the United States (about 200 million) to arm more than half of the population of the country. It has been over two hundred years since the Second Amendment became law, and many citizens still proudly use their rights. However, …show more content…
Gun control would place harsher restrictions on obtaining firearms, and in some cases, complete bans on some types of firearms. However, gun control and weapons bans rarely accomplish their goals and have a minimal effect on crime. Many gun control activists associate greater control with less crime. However, they overlook the root causes of firearm-related crime and already declining crime rates. Some misattribute such decreases to gun control laws already in place, neglecting to make connections between what the law does, and what crimes decreased. Firearms play an important role in defense of life and property not only for citizens, but for law enforcement individuals as well. Though some state that higher gun control would protect citizens, there is no correlation between state murder rates and gun control laws. Rather, there is a direct correlation regard murder rates and poverty. Many also neglect to state that the United State has very few gun laws compared to many European countries and that these countries have much higher crime rates. In addition, many forget to mention the already sharply declining crime rates of the United States, including declining homicide rates and firearm-related crimes. Those who do mention such decrease mistakenly …show more content…
Allowing citizens to carry firearms provides personal defense. Lieutenant Mori of the Washington County Police believes that stricter gun control would result in many homes losing an important means of defense. Twenty nine percent of homes in the United States have a firearm (Kangas). Without a firearm in high-risk areas, a family would be at criminals’ mercy. Forty six percent of adults purchase firearms, mainly handguns, for protection against crime (Guns in America). Three quarters of the handguns citizens purchase are for self-protection (Guns in America). Sixty seven percent of gun owning females and forty one percent of gun owning males purchased firearms for protection. “An estimated annual average of 62,000 violent crimes victims…used a firearm in an effort to defend themselves” (Guns and Crimes). Placing firearms into the hands of trained citizens could increase the amount of crime. Seventy one percent of violent crime victims take some action to protect themselves (Violent Crime). Only about two percent, however, use a firearm for defense, and this is almost always wards off the attacker (Violent Crime). With proper training, an armed victim can properly defend themselves from the attacker. Allowing law enforcement to carry firearms provides necessary defense. “A gun saved my life” (Lieutenant Mori). A suspect with hostages, hidden from
... the Second Amendment provides a collective right to bear arms for individuals associated with an organized military force. This court’s ruling was the first to ever favor the right to bear arms for an individual and has changed how states regulate gun ownership.
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states "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.
Many gun supporters will say that more guns bring down the crime rate. These same believers will give facts stating that the more guns in a state, the less likely gun owners will use them. “The chances of innocent people being the victims of violent crime, including murder, decrease—not increase—when access to guns is made easier” (Luik). Luik emphasizes that guns will not make any innocent people killers, it will make crime and death rates go down. They argue that the states with the lowest crime rates are the same states that have a higher gun ownership rate than any other state.
Guns and crime are two words that people tend to relate, some people say more guns means more crime, and others say less guns is more crime. One thing is for sure, the current gun control measures are not working. Two articles, one by John C Moorhouse and Brent Wanner, another one by William J vizzard, take this topic and convey their own opinion about it. In their article, “Does Gun Control, Reduce Crime Or Does Crime Increase Gun Control”, Moorhouse and Wanner, come to the conclusion that Gun Control doesn’t reduce crime. Moorhouse and Wanner, believe that the current gun control measure fail to make any difference, on the contrary, more crime is increasing gun control. Likewise, “The Current And Future State of Gun Policy In The United
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, that since there is a necessity for a Free State and regulated militia, the right of the American people to keep and bear arms would not be infringed by the United States government. One cannot stop and wonder the calamities that are caused by guns in their completely proper usage. This nation needs to have a talk over its malignant obsession with guns.
The Second Amendment states, “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.” This statement basically means that people should be able to own guns for their own security and that right should not be taken away. The Second Amendment was added to the Constitution because the creators of the Constitution wanted to make sure that it protected basic rights, including the right to bear arms. It was also added to the Constitution because shortly after it was ratified, James Madison wanted to give more power to the state militia and to give more power to the people to give them the ability to fight back against the Federalists and the tyrannical government they were creating. After fighting off the British, the Second Amendment was created to give citizens the opportunity to fight back against controlling government and protect themselves with their own weapons.
Guns are not the trouble, people are. The United States is #1 in world gun ownership, and yet is only 28th in the world in gun murders per 100,000 people. The number of unintentional fatalities due to firearms declined by 58 percent between 1991 and 2011 Based on these facts, one can see the guns not the causes of gun violence. moreover, civilians who get permits take gun safety courses and have criminal background...
Today in the United States many people argue over the fact of guns being legal or illegal. There are people using guns for personal safety and there are others who use them for crimes, as well as for other situations. Firearm deaths in the United States have slowly been decreasing from year to year with all these bills getting passed to promote a safer country than ever before. Guns are the main weapon for youth suicide, school shootings, and for committing murder. In 2010 there were 2,711 infants, child, and teenage firearm deaths. As in school shootings and in committing murder, studies show shooters often had multiple, non-automatic guns, shootings were planned, most youth tell before shooting, shooters have a history of being bullied or threatened, shooters have mental issues, and shooters have done suicidal gestures before (Gun Control with School Shootings). Although there are people who use guns for murdering, there are also those who oppose guns being used without the proper requirements. 85% of all respondents to the survey supporting requiring states to report people to national background-checks systems who are prohibited from owning gu...
After studying of the effects of the concealed handgun law, researchers concluded that after the first five years of the law, both robberies and rape declined by 1/10th, and murders decreased by just under 1/5th (Lott, “Carrying Concealed Weapons…”). Based on these statistics, the crime rate is greatly affected as more guns are added to the equation. As more civilians purchase guns, the amount of crimes have decreased immensely. By allowing guns to be sold to the general public, our country has become a safer place; guns in our society have not established a more dangerous world. Undeniably, by allowing more guns into circulation, the criminals are more likely to be turned off from committing crimes. For one well known example, New York City’s crime rate has dropped tremendously in the past few years. According to research, robbery decreased by more than half, aggravated assault by just under 40%, and rape has dwindled to a fraction of what it was before (Rosen). These numbers are mind blowing; they show that as more guns are distributed among the hands of the public, the streets of the city have become significantly safer. Thus, criminals have started to realize that their prey is no longer unarmed and is ready to protect themselves. By having such an abundance of armed people across the city, criminals have inversely been deterred from committing crimes. Although there has been roughly 700,000 crimes that involve guns (Connell), there has also been 2.5 million annual defensive gun cases that have been tossed aside (Lott, “Carrying Concealed Weapons…”). Each of these cases that have been ignored all involve guns which have been used to prevent
What if someone broke into your house and he cut your phone line what would you do? Pull out a gun. The problem with gun control laws is they take away guns from law abiding citizens. -footnote 70 In 2010 there were 230 "justifiable homicides" in which a private citizen used a firearm to kill a felon, compared to 8,275 criminal gun homicides (or, 36 criminal homicides for every "justifiable homicide.) -footnote 17 Despite Chicago's ban on gun shops shooting ranges and assault weapons and high capacity magazines in 2014 Chicago had 2,089 shooting victims including at least 390 murders. -footnote 71 72 73.73 Of the 84,495,500 property crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.12% of victims (103,000) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm. -footnote 16 According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics May 2013 report, 37.4% of state prison inmates who "used, carried, or possessed a firearm when they committed the crime for which they were serving a prison sentence" obtained the gun from a family member or friend. -footnote
Guns are not all bad they provide protection and have recreational benefits. When guns get in the wrong hands is when violence occurs. Keeping them out of the wrong hands is more difficult than you would think; “30 to 40 Percent of all guns in circulation were purchased without a licensed firearm dealer.” Many stolen guns are used in crimes with 500,000 guns stolen on average each year (Ludwig, Cook 4). People argue that if you take away guns you can reduce violence but, violence can occur without guns. If you take away a childs toy are they going to stop having fun or find another thing to play with? Although guns make for more lethal crime they can also be used to fend off crimes(Ludwig, Cook 3). Guns are a necessity for many families in the United States, especially in the south. Many people believe that the number of guns affect violent crime rates. In the 1960s and 1970s the United states had an increase in violent crime rates; in the 1990s violent rates dropped substantially. The amount of guns owned by Americans increased every year(Burger, Warren 13). The amount of guns in circulation will keep increasing and the violent crime rates will fluctuate with other variables if this stays true. The Kansas City Gun Experiment, a test where poli...
The United States has become a Nation in which anyone can own a firearm. The Second Amendment, which constitutes the right for an individual to bear arms, has become controversial among the American people. Advocates have struggled to come up with a solution to the ongoing debate of how to reduce gun violence and how not to infringe on the Second Amendment Americans are guaranteed by their Constitution the right to bear arms with good reason; laws seeking to control guns have been ineffective to the point where every citizen in every state should have the right to carry a concealed weapon.
As a reference from present day, there been news about shooting in Pittsburg which raise questions about the safety of the local individuals. Because from a report of 2014-2015 Pittsburg city’s crime comparison has increased from the previous year. As the violent crime crime comparison per capita per has increased from 2.7 to 3.3 per 1000 capita (Pittsburg Police). The rapid increase in the crime rate arise some question about the performance and availability of police for local population. In all above circumstances, a person needs a gun to defend himself and save his and his families life. The another interesting thing about having guns is who is buying the guns, from whom and under what circumstances ? Because we need guns for our protection not to make more easily available for the criminals and unfit
The Second Amendment to the United States constitution states “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”(U.S. Constitution). The founding fathers included this in our bill of rights because they feared the federal government might oppress the population if the people did not have the means to defend themselves as a nation and as individuals.
The second amendment states “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The Founding Fathers included this in the Bill of Rights because they feared the Federal Government might oppress the population if the people did not have the means to defend themselves as a nation or individuals.