Gun Control

Gun Control

Introduction

In United States of America between 1979 and 1998, gunfire killed nearly 84,000 children and teens, whereas 36,000 American soldiers killed in battle in Vietnam. (Cottrol 260)

Few Reasons for Gun Control

In spite of waiting periods, background checks, finger printing, government forms, etc., guns today are too readily available, which is responsible for recent school shootings. In the 1940''s, 1950''s and1960''s, anyone could buy guns at hardware stores, army surplus stores, gas stations, variety stores, Sears mail order, no waiting, no background check, no fingerprints, no government forms and there were no school shootings. (Cottrol 265)

The right of Internet pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights, but the use of handguns for self-defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.

Private citizens don''t need a gun for self-protection because the police are there to protect them even though the Supreme Court says the police are not responsible for their protection.

"Assault weapons" have no purpose other than to kill large numbers of people. (Davidson 452)

Owning Weapons

Given the principle of self-defense as the moral sanction of owning weapons, one can now distinguish between two general types of weapons:

Those capable of very limited destruction, and those capable of mass destruction. Examples of the former are handguns, rifles, and shotguns, and examples of the latter are machine guns, rocket launchers, tanks, bombs, and nuclear weapons. Weapons of mass destruction only have a single use: destruction of as many people and as much property as is possible. These weapons are not legitimately owned by private citizens; they are designed for and used in wars between countries (Lance 110). Again, this is a function of only the government — a function, which is legitimately delegated to this institution to protect the rights of its citizens on a large scale (such as dealing with Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, or Iraq). (Caldwell, 26)

Self-Defense

Researchers and experts argue that "Self-defense is commonly cited as a reason to own a gun. This is the explanation given by 20 percent of all gun owners and 40 percent of all handgun owners contacted for a household survey conducted in 1979”.

With respect to self-defense, the law requires that your action is commensurate with the crime committed against you. For instance, you cannot pull out a shotgun and shoot a man for simply grabbing an orange out of your backpack in the park. You do have the right, however, to chase him down and hold him until the authorities arrive, or to enlist others in your attempt to stop him. The point is: the purpose of self-defense is to stop the crime, not eradicate the world of all criminals (Lance 110). Firearms are thus available for only those times that the nature of the crime is life threatening or violent. Firearms are the best (and sometimes only) means to defend your life and property in these contexts.

Another way to understand the appropriateness of degrees of responses to criminals is to consider the ...