Gun Control is Ineffective



Gun Control is Ineffective

Introduction

The right to legally own a firearm is the constitutional right of every law abiding citizen. It has been proven time and time again that ownership of firearms can deter crimes. At the same time, gun control, if enforced, will increase crimes against the victims. There have been several campaigns by groups to enforce gun control which present death statistics in countries which have enforced these restrictions. There is no better deterrent to crime than the thought that the subject of the crime may possess a weapon. By enforcing gun control, the sale and purchase of guns will shift to the black market, where criminals will benefit only and law abiding citizens will not have any access to them. This paper will discuss gun control and gun violence and its prevalence in our society, the laws and legislature along with how the gun control is ineffective.

Gun Control

The gun control topic has always sparked a political and social debate regarding the restriction and availability of guns in America. In the politics of U.S, gun control has been one of the most controversial and intractable issues. Numerous opinion polls and surveys have determined that the majority of the citizens of America believe in the constitutional rights of the Americans to own a gun, whereas numerous individuals also believe that the government should regulate the usage of guns and firearms more strictly (Doeden, 2011). The gun control law determines whether the general citizens of America can own a gun or not. A restriction or control is necessary for ensuring that the firearms are owned by those individuals who are powerless against the crimes, instead of the, criminal minded individuals. However, the same law can restrict owning of weapons for defense purposes for the individuals who can become the targets of criminals. This main problem of the gun control law is that it can be utilized in either way. The law can leave the victims of the criminals helpless and can also motivate the ordinary individuals to become criminals (Goss, 2006).

One of the popular arguments which arise is that if the guns ownership must be restricted then why are those same guns used for the protection of the president, prime minister, congressmen, and other influential individuals while ordinary individuals are not allowed to own the firearms for their own and their family's protection? Some of the opponents of the gun control laws also argue that restricting the gun ownership indicates the common citizen completely surrenders himself and hands over his possessions to the criminals and must not defend himself against the criminal act (Nisbet, 2001). This also indicate that if the an individual witness a criminal act in progress, he/she will be helpless to prevent it. As per the crime statistics provided by the FBI, there have been 12,996 murders in the previous years in America, of which, 8,775 were committed through the usage of guns. Even though, the FBI has indicated that this data is incomplete, ...