Gun Control

Despite the intense feelings on both sides of the "gun debate" everyone is motivated by the same thing: Will gun control increase or decrease the number of lives lost? Gun control is defined as the "regulation of the purchase and ownership of firearms in an effort to reduce their criminal or unsafe use" (Funk & Wagnalls, 1). There have been debates throughout time regarding the 2nd Amendment and its meaning. Advocates of gun rights have maintained that the 2nd Amendment gives individuals a fundamental right to own firearms, while federal courts for much of the 20th century generally assumed that this right was collective (for purposes of forming a militia) rather than for individuals. This dispute was resolved when the Supreme Court struck down a District of Columbia ban on handgun ownership in D.C. v. Heller (2008). The justices ruled (in a 5-4 majority) that the 2nd Amendment protects the individual right of "law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home." This decision did not overturn any previous, longstanding limitations on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill. In this piece, I will discuss why gun control legislation is so detrimental to our society and to those of us who own firearms and respect their purpose. Most importantly, the public needs to understand that banning guns does not prevent crime. Decreasing the availability of something rarely decreases a market for it. Take prohibition for example. Did banning alcohol prevent Americans from consuming alcohol? No. Most politicians in Washington strongly supported the imposition of the ban of alcohol. Regardless of the law, those producing alcohol continued to do so. The same theory can be applied to guns, except the rebellion associated with guns would be much deadlier. Everyone has heard about Chicago"s handgun ban, this ban was in effect from 1981 to 2014. In 2013, prior to the bans being lifted, Chicago had a total of 2,185 shootings, 455 of which were homicides. In 2014, Chicago had a total of 456 homicides. As shown by those statistics, banning guns didn"t prevent crime in Chicago. What makes gun control advocates think it would work anywhere else? Gun laws don"t matter if they aren"t followed. Gun laws are founded on the principle of making a nation safer by limiting its civilian population"s access to guns, but laws against murder and violence don"t apply to those who commit those offense. Murders don"t care that murder is illegal. They sole thing the criminally-minded care about is not getting caught. Advocates of gun control need to understand that banning guns does not prevent mass murders. The only time the majority of the public starts talking about gun control is after a horrific event, such as a school shooting. They seek changes to laws that a majority of the public supports"expanding background checks, an assault weapons ban and limits on high-capacity ammunition. "Tighter restrictions on gun-buying, eliminating multiple gun sales and closing the gun-show loophole may reduce America"s gun violence problem, but mass murder is unlike any other form of violent conflict," says James Alan Fox of CNN. Mass killers are "determined, deliberate and dead-set on murder." Taking away their ability to purchase an "assault rifle" will just steer them in another direction. They are methodical and irrational. Gun control legislation won"t prevent bad things from happening. It won"t stop murder. It won"t stop violent crimes. However, what it will prevent are law-abiding citizens from being able to protect themselves when they are the victims of violence. I believe in gun-safety and gun education. Learning about guns and understanding them is vital to being a responsible firearm owner. Taking away something specifically laid out by our constitution is unimaginable to me. References Gun Control. (2014). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 1p. 1. James Alan, F. (n.d.). Gun control or carry permits won't stop mass murder - CNN.com. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://www.cnn.com... Illustrating Chicago Crime, Murder and Mayhem. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://heyjackass.com...