GUN CONTROL RESEARCH

Gun Control Research

Gun Control Research

Gun Control

A gun is a mechanical device that expels a projectile. In most cases the projectile is a gyroscopically stabilized bullet which can accurately travel a large distance. Most guns burn solid propellants to produce high-pressure gas, which drives the projectile through the barrel. Guns have been used for hundreds of years in the history of our world and nation. On one side there are those who completely agree with the control laws and on the other there are those who oppose gun control laws. (Barone 2001)

Thesis Statement

"Gun control is not effective as it has not been shown to actually reduce the number of gun-related crimes."

Gun Control Law

Gun control opponents provide many uses for a gun, such as the second amendment, self-defense, hunting, or target practice. The second amendment preserves the right to own a gun, which states, "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." One does not have to belong to a well regulated militia in order to have the right to keep and bear arms. The militia clause is merely one, and not the only, rationale for preserving the right. (http://www.guncite.com/gun-control-research.html )

Citizens Need Fire Arms To Protect Themselves Against Criminals

Guns kept in the home for self-protection are 43 times more likely to kill a family member or friend than to kill in self-defense. The presence of a gun in the home triples the risk of homicide in the home. Three fifths of all U.S. suicides involve firearms. In 1997 alone, 35,957 Americans were killed with firearms, in homicides, suicides, and accidents.

The founders were expressing a preference for a militia over a standing army. Even if today's well regulated militia is the National Guard, the Second Amendment still protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. There are approximately two million defensive gun uses per year by law-abiding citizens. (Barone 2001)

That was one of the findings in a national survey conducted by Gary Kleck, a Florida State University criminologist in 1998. Kleck also analyzed data from the Department of Justice where he found victims that defended themselves with a gun against a robbery or an assault had the least chance of being injured, or of having the crime completed. Doing nothing, trying to escape, reasoning with the offender, or physical resistance, other than with a gun, all had higher probabilities of injury and crime completion. Using more recent data, Lawrence Southwick Jr. found that victims using guns were consistently less likely to lose cash or other property than other victims, and also establishing that this was true regardless of what weaponry was possessed or used by the offenders. (www.muse.com)

Gun Control Is Ineffective And Why Crime Will Rise

The myths attached to gun ownership stop many people from thinking of them as a consumer product. As a result, the standard risk analysis applied to other dangerous products: pesticides, prescription drugs, or toasters, has never been applied ...