Gun Control Laws

It is true that gun control policies are hard to enforce but the good of having them and making it more difficult for criminals to obtain firearms far outweighs the difficulty of enforcement. The basic argument put out by PoeJoe is not that control is bad, but that it is hard to enforce. That reason does not mean and that these policies should be abandoned. As for your argument that gun control rates increase with stricter gun control laws you fail to acknowledge alternate causes. Look at the places you cite as examples, D.C. and New Jersey. Both those places have huge poverty rates, some of the biggest in the nation. It is no surprise that D.C. and Jersey would have increased crime since the people there are so desperate. Here are some stats that tend to prove the foregoing point: In 1987, more than 3,000 men aged 15 to 24 were murdered with firearms in the U.S. (annual homicide rate in this age group was 21.9 per 100,000 people, three quarters of these gun murders). Canada, with about one-fifth U.S. population, had 17 gun murders in this category (overall rate, 2.9 per 100,000.) And Japan lost eight young men (overall rate 0.5 per 100,000.) As for humans being inherently evil, that is simply not true. Sociological studies show that humans come into this world tabula rassa, meaning blank slate. If you want to cut down on violent crime you have to attack the root of it, the poverty and accessibility of firearms to the public. So my position is not only for strict gun control laws, but more enforcement. The USFG should pass legislation to crack down on the illegal gun trade. Basically there is major laws dealing with stopping the illegal gun trade but the money and resources are not there. Proper funding and resources have to given to the members of the law enforcement community. There are only 22 federal gun control laws, of which 20 are not enforced due to the lack of funding. Third-Way.com explains it: "The current Administration has not displayed anywhere near the same aggressiveness with the other 20 major federal firearms laws, even though enforcement of most of these laws could greatly reduce gun violence. Prosecutions for 11 of the remaining 20 major federal gun laws were either the same or lower in 2002 than 2000. For example, the number of corrupt gun store prosecutions dropped from 36 to 27. The number of prosecutions for illegally selling to a minor stayed at 7. The number of federal prosecutions for lying on the background check form did increase – from 501 to 587 cases – but that still means that 99.6% of violators were not prosecuted in FY2002, compared to 99.7% in FY 2000. During the first full fiscal year of the Bush Administration, the proportion of federal cases devoted to the two most frequently prosecuted statutes actually increased from 83% to 86% of total federal prosecutions. Crimes associated with corrupt gun stores, illegal firearms traffickers, straw purchasers, gun thieves, those who obliterate firearm serial numbers, sell to minors, bring guns to schools, and lie on a background check form to obtain a firearm were barely enforced under President Clinton and are still barely enforced under President Bush. "