Gun Control
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Gun Control
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Introduction
I often wonder, should any citizen around the world be able to carry firearms? Can a person really feel safe from crime no matter where they may go? According to the bill of rights, the second amendment to the constitution of the United States reads “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”. So how do I go about interpreting this? Some believe that it only means that the people of the military should be allowed to carry firearms, where some believe it means every citizen has the right to bear arms. Right at this moment someone around the world is being part of a violent crime whether it is the aggressor or the victim. How do we as citizens protect ourselves? Should we all be allowed to carry guns for self-defense or have guns around in our household? Even though many countries have implemented strict gun control laws, none have proven to be as effective as law makers thought they would be in reducing the number of crimes happening around. I shall present an argumentive paper on why I do not feel there should be stronger gun control laws. Guns do not kill…people kill. How many people do you know who have been physically assaulted by someone using a gun? I am sure if you had its probably not more than one or two. In my thirty-four years of life, I have not witnessed or know of this happening to anyone I know. Every law-abiding citizen should have the right to buy and own a gun. There are many ways a person can use and enjoy firearms. Some examples would be hunting for food to eat, hunting for trophy mounts, competitive shooting, collecting of memorabilia etc.
Gun control laws have been a big debate worldwide. Why do leaders of countries want to have gun controls laws? Leaders believe that they can reduce the crime rate if they enforce laws about citizens owning guns, whereas some countries believe that their citizens should be able to bear arms. What can countries do to reduce their crime rate? Most of the governing bodies worldwide believe getting some background knowledge of each citizen looking to obtain a gun will help in making sure the person will be a responsible gun owner. Most of the countries, like the United States, require each citizen to have a background check done before they can purchase a firearm. The citizens of most of the countries believe it is their right to bear arms. Most law-abiding citizens feel they are safer from criminals if they own a gun and can show that they can protect themselves. They believe if a criminal approaches them, they can show their weapon and the criminal would most likely just run the opposite direction. So the wide-spread debate comes in by some citizens who believe in the right to bear arms, and those who believe that a person should not be allowed to own guns. Truth of the fact is, crime is usually committed by those who obtain guns illegally. Many of the law-abiding citizens feel that if there were harsher punishment for those who commit crime, it would help to drop the violent crime rate. These citizens believe the harsher punishments for criminals would be more effective than stricter gun laws which I totally agree to.
Gun Laws Internationally
There are different gun control laws around the world. Some countries have very strict gun control laws. Britain has brought in laws that have increasingly restricted firearm ownership by the general population. Britain banned all handguns in 1997. They introduced these strict laws after the Dunblane massacre in 1996 (Woolrich, 2000). Britains strict gun laws have proven to be a disaster. Criminals now obtain their guns illegally and crime rate has considerably gone up. Home invasions and thefts are a big hitter there, since the criminals know that the law-abiding citizens will not have a firearm in their possession. This makes every citizen a target for being a victim in some means of a violent crime. Russia has one of the highest crime rates in the world. When Russia was under the control of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the central Soviet government totally banned civilian handgun ownership. Today, even with handguns virtually unavailable to ordinary Russian citizens, the homicide rate remains high. Criminals in Russia are having no difficulty acquiring handguns and suitable ammunition (Kates, 1997). In Australia, after a tragic killing of 35 people by a maniac with a semi automatic weapon, the Prime Minister took away the rights of law-abiding citizens to carry legal firearms. The crime rates involving firearms have not changed since the addition of this law. In Canada extensive background checks are conducted on every person who wants to acquire a firearm. In 2000, 1,287 firearms licenses had been refused or revoked for public safety reasons since the law came into effect in 1998. This is over ten times more revocations from potentially dangerous individuals than the total for the past five years. Out of Canadas background checks 653 new applications have been refused for public safety reasons and they have revoked 634 licenses to individuals who were no longer eligible. In the United States more than two thousand people die from gun-related injuries. The population groups most affected by these avoidable deaths are children and young adolescents. The misuses of firearms are not just a problem in the United States, but worldwide (Agresti, 1999). The chart below gives a small comparison of some of the countries mentioned and where they fall in overall gun crimes, including suicides involving guns.
In the United States a majority of the states have right-to-carry laws. In 1994 President