Do stricter gun laws ensure the safety of Americans? Throughout America an ongoing argument is on if stricter gun laws should be developed in order to attempt and deter gun violence. America does not need stricter gun laws because more laws do not mean there will be less violence, gun control laws deny people a sense of safety, more gun free zones are better for criminals, and the only way to stop bad people with guns is good people with guns. More laws do not equal less violence. One reason why is because gun control laws have not proven that they deter crime.
One study conducted in 2013 proves this point; it found that between 1980 and 2009, bans on guns and concealed carrying did not significantly affect the murder rates per state (Gun Control – ProCon). ” Even though guns were banned to certain extents to try and deter violence, the murder rate per state did not change by much. Also, states with a decrease in gun violence are always met with an increase in gun violence. “States with the largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest drops in violent crimes (Gun Control – ProCon). As gun ownership increases, the amount of gun violence throughout the states has decreased. Saying that more laws will decrease the amount of gun violence does not have sufficient evidence supporting it seeing how an increase in gun ownership has led to a decrease in gun violence. States that had multiple restrictions on the carrying of guns had higher gunrelated murders(Gun Control – ProCon). As states try to put more laws and restrictions on gun owners the good people with legal guns can no longer keep themselves safe.
This make it easier for the bad people to continue to have guns and hurt people in places that violence could have been avoided if everyone with a licence was allowed to carry. Just because these laws are put into place, it doesn’t mean the violence rate will lower seeing how criminals will still get guns. 99 inmates of the Cook County Jail in Chicago were interviewed. This study found that out of the 70 inmates who had possessed a gun during their crime, only 2 or 2. 9 percent, had bought it legally at a gun store (MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough). Even with strict laws and background checks, the criminals are still getting their hands on guns. If criminals are not getting any guns legally now there is no reason to say that they will start. The guns they are using are not legal guns and there is no reason that would change. Criminals have been known to get guns from friends or the black market and not gun stores that implement background checks, so there is no definite way to stop bad people from getting guns, only ways to make it harder for good guys to get them. Some gun control laws deny people their basic rights. Americans have a natural right with the Second amendment.
Nelson Lund, a Professor at George Mason University School of Law, once stated how, “The right to self-defense and to the means of defending oneself is a basic natural right that grows out of the right to life and many gun control laws interfere with the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against violent criminals” (Gun Control – ProCon). People have a right to safety, and a right to defend themselves. Many citizens acknowledge and defend this right. By implements stricter gun laws the only thing being done is taking away some people’s ability to defend themselves against others who won’t follow any laws put into place.
This walks hand in hand with the second amendment, which “protects an individual’s right to own guns” and states that guns are needed for self-defense from threats ranging from local criminals to foreign invaders. Along with the fact that gun ownership deters crime rather than causes more crime (Second Amendment). America was built upon freedom, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and even the freedom to own guns and protect oneself from whomever may pose a threat. Bad people with guns can only be fought against by good people with the same abilities to have guns. Along with this the
Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the fundamental right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense (Second Amendment). The second amendment is not the only amendment that protects a humans right to bear arms, here are other amendments this country was built upon that protect an american’s right to protect themselves. Men and women say they feel more laws make it harder for them to be safe. 61% of men and 56% of women surveyed by Pew Research said that stricter gun laws would “make it more difficult for people to protect their homes and families (Gun Control – ProCon). The general public’s opinion is not something that should be ignored. If multiple people are pointing out how gun laws challenge their safety and their ability to feel safe then more laws are not a solution to the problem. Men and women also say they feel safer in a house with guns. A Pew Foundation report found that 79% of male gun owners and 80% of female gun owners said owning a gun made them feel safer and 64% of people living in a home in which someone else owns a gun felt safer (Gun Control – ProCon). This highlights yet another set of data that points out how the general public feels about guns.
If the presence of guns make over half of the population who were surveyed feel safer more laws should not be what politicians are aiming for. They get in the way of not only the homeowners safety but everyone else who wasn’t able to get a gun, they get in the way of how safe people feel in their own or other people’s homes. Gun free zones provide help to criminals. Most mass shootings have been in places guns aren’t allowed in America. Since at least 1950, all but two public mass shootings in America have taken place where general citizens are banned from carrying guns (A Look At The Facts).
Gun free zones seem great, a place full of peace and happiness where no one can get hurt by guns. But the sad reality of things is that gun free zones are not safe places, they are places where only those who are willing to break the law will be able to protect themselves, or hurt others. Mass shootings have been in places guns aren’t Richard Plotts killed a hospital caseworker and shot the psychiatrist that he was scheduled to meet with. Fortunately, the psychiatrist was a concealed-handgun permit holder and was able to critically wound Plotts. Plotts was still carrying 39 bullets and could have shot many other people(A Look At The Facts).
Legally someone can only carry so many bullets on them, If Plotts had been able to continue his shootings there’s no saying how many people he would have actually been able to kill. Three gang members fired on four people who had just left a party. Fortunately, one of these four was a military serviceman with a concealed-handgun permit. He was able to return fire and wound the main attacker while keeping the others at bay. The UK’s Daily Mail reported, “The night might have had a very different outcome had the incident occurred a year earlier before Illinois’s passed its concealed-handgun law(A Look At The Facts). Throughout the world people die every day at the hands of attackers with guns. These people disregard the law and what’s right and wrong. People with proper knowledge of how to use a gun can be anywhere, and without these people many more would be hurt every day. With some states only recently changing their laws America’s gun violence has a chance to finally slow down. Stricter gun laws are not known to help America. More laws do not mean there will be less violence, gun control laws deny people a sense of safety, more gun free zones are better for criminals, and the only way to stop bad people with guns is good people with guns.
The facts show this, the people show this. As the Executive Vice President of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, once stated “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” (Gun Control – ProCon). allowed in Europe. In Europe, there have been no exceptions. Every mass public shooting — and there have been plenty of mass shooting in Europe — has occurred in a gun-free zone(A Look At The Facts). Even around the world it has been shown that stricter gun laws do not stop gun violence, and that gun free zones are an obvious target for criminals.
Mass killers have been shown to say they target gun free zones. The diary of the “Dark Knight” movie-theater killer, James Holmes, was finally released just a few months ago. Out of seven theaters showing the Batman movie premiere within 20 minutes of the suspect’s apartment, only one theater banned permitted concealed handguns. That’s the one he attacked (A Look At The Facts). It has been shown that mass shooters often only shoot in places that they know they won’t be shot back at. They often account for this even when they are starting to plan out their attacks, which is a scary thought.
If someone can break the law and hurt people just because some place doesn’t allow guns, who’s to stop them from doing just that. Elliot Rodger fatally shot three people in Santa Barbara, California and explained his reasoning in his 141-page “manifesto. ” He ruled out various targets because he worried that someone with a gun would stop his killing spree (A Look At The Facts). Criminals are afraid of good people with guns, they make their plans in order to avoid places they know other people can have guns. If an account from a criminal does not show just how the criminal mind works, then what does?
Bad people will always do bad things, but if there are good people around then more damage can be avoided. Good guys often use their guns for good. An Uber driver who had just dropped off a client “shot and wounded a gunman [Everardo Custodio] who opened fire on a crowd of people (A Look At The Facts). When someone wants to hurt others, they will. People like this uber driver who carry concealed weapons with them legally are what protect the population, police are not everywhere at once but if the public is allowed to conceal carry, people will be safer than they already are.
Convicted felon Richard Plotts killed a hospital caseworker and shot the psychiatrist that he was scheduled to meet with. Fortunately, the psychiatrist was a concealed-handgun permit holder and was able to critically wound Plotts. Plotts was still carrying 39 bullets and could have shot many other people(A Look At The Facts). Legally someone can only carry so many bullets on them, If Plotts had been able to continue his shootings there’s no saying how many people he would have actually been able to kill. Three gang members fired on four people who had just left a party.
Fortunately, one of these four was a military serviceman with a concealed-handgun permit. He was able to return fire and wound the main attacker while keeping the others at bay. The UK’s Daily Mail reported, “The night might have had a very different outcome had the incident occurred a year earlier before Illinois’s passed its concealed-handgun law(A Look At The Facts). ” Throughout the world people die every day at the hands of attackers with guns. These people disregard the law and what’s right and wrong. People with proper knowledge of how to use a gun can be anywhere, and without these people many more would be hurt every day.
With some states only recently changing their laws America’s gun violence has a chance to finally slow down. Stricter gun laws are not known to help America. More laws do not mean there will be less violence, gun control laws deny people a sense of safety, more gun free zones are better for criminals, and the only way to stop bad people with guns is good people with guns. The facts show this, the people show this. As the Executive Vice President of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, once stated “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” (Gun Control – ProCon).
