Essay on Gun Control

Submitted By joshyua
Words: 1048
Pages: 5

Gun Control Violence is all around us. Students bring guns in to school and shoot classmates, employees take guns to work to shoot their bosses and even some co-workers; gun control will help prevent this kind of senseless violence. Gun control is an attempt to reduce the use of guns in violent crime by making the gun control laws stringent. Gun control laws are trying to lessen the criminal use of guns without blocking the recreational practice of guns such as target practice, hunting, and home protection. Gun control laws will reduce violent crime rate along with decreasing school violence, but spending less money on gun laws and more money on mental hospitals will help lower crime rates; of course one might argue that the Second Amendment blocks all restraints on guns but the constitution does not hinder the governments’ ability to regulate guns. With Gun control laws implemented we will see violent crime rates decrease. “Our homicide rate is 20 times the rate in England and Wales, 10 times the rate in France and Germany and is exceeded only by a few Latin American countries, notably Columbia, Mexico, and Brazil” (128-129.) Why are our homicide rates so much greater than those of European countries? The reason is that all these countries mentioned and many more all have stricter gun laws than us. Statistics show that countries with stricter gun laws have way less homicide rates. Take London, England and New York City, New York for example. In 1992 a study was carried out showing that London had an all-around higher crime rate, but New York City had 11 times the amount of homicides. In cities such as London gun control laws are very stringent while in other places like New York gun laws are way lighter. On the other hand, someone might say evidence shows that countries with the toughest gun control laws have a higher murder rate. Countries such as Japan and Australia have very strict gun control laws. Japan has possibly the most rigorous gun control laws. Nobody is allowed to have a gun, because of this crime rates with handguns should be very low; yet Japan’s crime rate after the ban of guns skyrocketed. “If a murderer intends to break a law against murder, why would he have any more respect for a law prohibiting him from possessing a gun” (133.) Again in Australia gun laws have taken away nearly all Australia’s handguns and destroyed them. Nonetheless Australia’s violent crime rates committed with a handgun are now rising. Why? Because it doesn’t matter to criminals what laws we put into place they are still going to use guns no matter what. If criminals knew people were allowed to carry around concealed handguns they would be less likely to attack, because they would be afraid of getting shot. In spite of this gun control laws will help lower the school violence rate. The amount of school mass shootings will surely drop away if we strengthen gun control laws. Mass shootings like Columbine High and Westside Elementary happened because several kids had easy access to guns. “Firearms are the single thread connecting every schoolhouse mass murder of 1997 to 1999…” (136.) Strengthening gun laws will help prevent minors from accessing firearms. Statistics show that the ratio of guns to people in the U.S.A. is about 11-13 (220 million-260 million). But is this true? We don’t need stricter gun laws because kids are almost always going to find a way to access guns. Take marijuana for example its illegal yet many teens find it easy to get all over the world. Kids aren’t allowed to walk into gun stores and buy guns; they obviously have to obtain them illegally. We set up better gun laws and kids are just going to find more ways of acquiring guns. “So long as guns are available to anyone, they will also be available to any juvenile with the means and motive to exploit his network of family, friends, and acquaintances for the purpose of obtaining a firearm” (144.) Kids are always going to have access to guns; this is why