FREE ESSAY ON GUN CONTROL

GUN CONTROL

Gun Control
In 1988, handguns killed 7 people in Great Britain, 19 in Sweden, 53 in Switzerland, 25
in Israel, 13 in Australia, 8 in Canada, and 8,915 in the United States. These figures
are shocking and there doesn't seem to be a solution. Gun control is a problem that our
country has got to face. (Gun Control).
One of the most alarming issues dealing with gun control is juvenile violence. A large
percent of crimes committed with guns are by children. No one has yet been able to
pinpoint the exact reason children committed such a terrible crime. Many experts feel
that risk factors associated with juvenile crime are poverty, repeated exposure to
violence, drugs, easy access to firearms, and unstable family life. All of these issues
play a big role in the increase of juvenile crime. Possibly out of all of these issues
the most important, is the deteration of the family. Many of these children are not being
brought up in a nice environment at home. (Reasons). 
Juveniles are not the only ones committing crimes with guns. Adults are just as guilty at
contributing to the nations violence. It is even easier for an adult to purchase a
firearm. Even if the adult has a felony, it is still easy for them to get a gun. There
are many people willing to sell a felon a gun, if the price is right. If they can not buy
one, they can easily pay someone to buy one for them. If an individual wants a firearm
bad enough, chances are they will get one. (Brennen and Polsby 2).
Myth #1: Guns cause crime. There is no relationship between the number of guns and the
amount of crime in the United States. Between 1973 and 1992, the rate of gun ownership
increased by 45% while the homicide rate during that period fell by nearly 10%. 
Myth #2: Gun control laws reduce crime. Firearms have not been regulated in the United
States for most the past thirty years. The number of firearms in private hands has
increased continuously by millions per year. Yet the rate of crime, violent crime,
and homicide has shown no significant correlation. 
Myth #3: Gun control laws stop friends from killing friends. Most murderers and victims
of homicide have criminal records and they are likely to have other criminals as friends.
While it is true that in many cases of homicide the offender and victim know each other,
it is not true that these friends killing friends are the plain ordinary folks often
portrayed in the anti-gun propaganda. 
Myth #4: Gun control laws keep criminals from obtaining guns. In surveys of prisoners,
only 7% of criminals' handguns were obtained from legitimate sources. Three-fourths of
the felons report that they would have no trouble obtaining a gun when they were
released. 
Myth #5: Required waiting periods would prevent some of the most vicious crimes. The
Brady Bill waiting period imposes waiting periods on handguns, the least deadly type of
firearm, while imposing no such restriction on much more deadly weapons such as rifles or
shotguns. While handguns are preferred by criminals because of their portability and
concealability not every criminal who planned to use a handgun will abandon his criminal
plans when confronted by a waiting period. 
Myth #6: Guns don't work as self-protection against criminals. Guns are about as valuable
to civilians as they are to police officers. As many as 65 lives are protected by guns
for every life lost to a gun. Every year potential victims kill between 2,000 and 3,000
criminals, and wound an additional 9,000 to 17,000. Private citizens mistakenly kill
innocent people only thirty times a year, compared to about 310 mistaken killings by
police. Criminals succeed in taking a gun away from an armed victim less than 1% of the
time. Myth #7: Guns aren't needed as self-protection. Approximately 83% of the population
will be victims in their lives, and there is only one police officer for every 3,300
people. 
Myth #8: Gun control laws are needed to prevent the purchase of Saturday Night Specials
and assault weapons. Inexpensive handguns are involved in only 1% to 3% of violent
crimes; criminals generally prefer larger caliber and more expensive handguns. In the
past fifty years no civilian has ever used a legally owned machine gun in a violent
crime, and no UZI has ever been used to kill a police officer. 
Myth #9: Gun control laws are especially needed to prevent gun accidents in the home.
Many people mistakenly conclude that children die frequently in gun accidents and that
sharp restrictions on gun ownership are necessary to address the problem. There are
accidents that occur in the home, but that number has fallen dramatically. The death rate
from firearm accidents is lower than that from accidental drowning, inhalation, and
digestion of foreign objects. 
Myth #10: Gun ownership is not a constitutional right. The Second Amendment reflects the
founders' belief that armed citizens were necessary precaution against tyranny by our own
government and its army. (Gun Control). 
One of the largest groups of people that are affected by these types is minorities. Some
minorities blame gun makers for their high crime rate. Kweisi Mfume, president of the
NAACP is considering joining others that are filing lawsuits against gunmakers. Mfume was
stated as saying, We represent a significant consistency that is disproportional affected
by gun violence. (Minorities). 
In 1995, there were a total of 35,957 deaths by firearms. There were 25,438 white deaths.
There was a total of 9,643 black deaths. (Death).
Handgun Control Inc. is the major organization for lobbying, and introducing legislation
on gun control. It is headed by Sarah Brady, wife of former White House Press Secretary
James Brady. She also was the one that introduced a bill to congress about waiting
periods. (Gun Control) 
Gun control, as we know it, consists of the government restricting the ability of
citizens to purchase weapons. The waiting period method of gun control is basically a
two-step process. The first step in the procedure is that the person wanting a gun goes
to his local shop to place the initial order. Then, he must wait one to two weeks while
the government performs a small background check for past criminal activities. The
problem with this method of gun control is that it stops the ordinary citizen from
purchasing a gun on the whim, but it actually protects the common criminal. If a burglar
enters a house with full intention to maim or kill; the innocent victim, who cant get a
gun to protect his family because he was arrested for drunk driving seven years ago. This
method supports the black market trade. (Pooley 15 and Larson 1).
Many cities are taking stands and suing gun makers.
They say that they are seeking compensation for cost incurred from gun violence. Many
believe that gun makers intentionally feed an illegal gun supply by negligently marketing
and distributing their products in states with weak gun registration laws. The overflow
eventually leads to a large, unregulated tide of guns in states with strict gun laws. The
states with strict gun laws claim that 90% of all gun violence comes from guns sold in
other states. (Prichard).
Another group that is being targeted, is the video game manufacturer. Parents of three
slain girls in the Heath school shootings are going after the manufacturers. They feel
that particular violent video game is partially responsible for their children's death.
They claim that the video game taught the shooter how to be and excellent marksman. The
boy had never used a gun, but was skilled enough to hit eight moving targets in only
eight shots. Another fact that looks backup the parent's belief is that of military
training. Each year billions of dollars are spent to train police and military how to
shoot. Video simulation is the best way to help overcome the natural resistance that most
people have about shooting someone. Studies show that people are extraordinary
susceptible to programming. One main difference between military training and video
games, military instructions are constantly pausing the action, where the video game in
constant action. (Blakemore).
Firearms are nowhere near the root of the problem of violence and arguably are almost
completely separated from it. As long as people come in unlike sizes, ages, shapes, and
temperament. If they diverge in their task for risk and their willingness and capacity to
prey on other people or to defend themselves from perdition; and, above all, as long as
some people have little or nothing to lose by spending their lives in crime, dispositions
to violence will persist. (Polsby and Brennen).
Works Cited
Blakemore, Bill. Creating Killers? ABCNEWS. New York: 12 May 1998.
*http://more.abcnews.go.com/onair/daileynews/wnt990512_blakemore_story.html*.
Brennen, Dennis and Daniel D. Polsby. Taking Aim at Gun Control. 30 Oct 1995.
*http://www.vixpy.demon.co.uk/gun/articles/GCPS.HTM*.
Death by Firearms 1979-1995. Time Almanac. 1999.
Hollis, Harry Jr. The Shoot-em-up Society.
Nashville: Broadman. 1974.
Gun Control. 30 Sep 1999.
*http://www.*.com/Reports/Legal_Issues/Gun_Control.shtml*.
Gun Industry. Daily News. 11 Feb 1998. New York. 30 Sep 1999.
*http://204.202.137.112/Sections/us/Dailynews/guns_brooklyn990208.html*.
Larson, Erik. The Story of a Gun. The Atlantic Monthly. Jan 1993.
Minorities. Daily News. 21 Feb 1999. Washington: 1 Oct 1999.
*http://204.202.137.112/sections/us/daileynews/naacp990221.html*.
Pooley, Eric. Kids with Guns. New York: 5 Aug 1991.
Prichard, James. Fighting Back. Associated Press. Paducah. 12 Apr 1998. 29 Sep 1999.
*http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/daileynews/paducah990412.html*.