Gun Control in the United States

I will provide a rebuttal and then present some alternate arguments. Pro changes their argument. In Round 1, my opponent states “strict gun control laws in the United States lead to less murders. ” Yet, now in Round 2 they say, “gun control is only a factor in reducing gun crimes. ” So which is it? The first quote is what I assumed Pro's position was. The second quote is MY position. If my opponent now wishes to advocate the latter, then we both agree and this debate is now pointless. Pro misquotes my argument. My opponent states at the end of Round 2 that my position is “we shouldn't have gun laws. ” This is not my position. I state very clearly in Round 1 that, “I am not opposed to regulating firearms . . . my goal is to show that merely making stricter gun laws does not by itself decrease gun violence. ” Once again, if this is what my opponent now believes, we should delete this debate because we are in agreement. Facts do not speak for themselves, they require interpretation. This is why, when Pro says in Round 2, “this website was about the facts, not the reasons,” they admit to not making an argument. The reasons are what we’re after here. For example, if I see a person running, that is a fact – someone is running. But this fact gives me no actual understanding as to why. Is he exercising? Is he running from the police? Did the tiger escape from the local zoo? I don’t know, I need to do further analysis. To make facts useful, you must analyze them. My opponent, by their own admission, does not do this. My opponent absurdly states “In Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, there are many gun laws. ” Do we really think only 3% of Palestinians have access to weapons? Do we really think gun laws are enforced and followed in Afghanistan? I’ve been to Afghanistan, and I can tell you the answer is no. Perhaps the reason “the amount of guns purchased is low” in these countries is because people don’t need to purchase them – they already have them, or they smuggle them in. And yet, according to my opponent’s own sources, the murder rate in Afghanistan is still supposedly lower than America’s. My opponent uses unreliable sources. I would not consider the Mack Family Blog (zeigen. com), Wikipedia, and a website that looks like a high school web design project (sunray22b. net) authorities on gun policy. There are lots of credible resources out there, I challenge Pro to use them. Now, on to some alternate arguments: More gun laws do not necessarily stop gun violence. According to the Cato Institute, the Columbine shooters broke around 20 different gun laws in order to amass the arsenal of weapons they eventually used (1). More laws didn’t stop them. Maybe we need to focus on better enforcement of existing laws rather than adding new ones. According to the National Research Council 2013 report on gun violence, suicide accounts for 61% of all deaths from firearm related violence in the U. S (2). Maybe we have more of a suicide than a homicide problem. Maybe we need to look into more effective mental health programs, rather than simply more gun laws. Furthermore, stricter gun laws do not apply to people who don’t follow the law anyway – criminals. Criminals are a major source of gun related crimes, and making more laws won’t stop them – they will just make law abiding citizens easier targets. Although an exact number is hard to pinpoint, it is estimated that between 500,000 and 3,000,000 crimes are prevented each year by law abiding citizens using legal firearms for defense (3). Maybe we have a criminal problem, and need to focus on cleaning up crime infested areas, rather than simply more gun laws. As I hope I’ve made clear, I am absolutely in favor of gun control. I think we need laws and they should be well enforced. I am combating what I thought my opponent’s position was – that we should enact more and stricter gun laws because it will decrease murder rates. I apologize if my opponent was looking to debate someone who thinks “we shouldn’t have gun laws,” but this is not my position. . http://www.cato.org... . http://www.nap.edu... . http://www.nap.edu...