Gun Control Essay Research Paper Englishper 23March

Gun Control Essay, Research Paper

English-per. 2

3.March 2,000

GUN CONTROL

Gun control is an issue that has been debated by Americans since the 1960?s (Dolan 1). The debate questions the right of Americans to bear arms, this including, handguns, shotguns, and rifles. Some say a simple restriction of these arms is in order while some think they should be banned altogether (Dolan 1). Both sides hold strong opinions often causing conflict in the matter and confusion among the citizens of the United States. However, the opponents do agree that a death rate of 30 million a year due to the powerful and deadly weapon is too high; only they have different views on how to lower this rate.

These arms, proven by statistics, provide the result of 30 million murders, suicides, and accidental deaths each year (Dolan 1). The number of firearms is estimated to be over 150 million and outnumber all of ours cars, trucks, and busses by more than 25 million (Dolan 7). A large percentage of these firearms are held by half of the nation?s families that for the most part use them for the lawful protection of their homes and will most likely never be used (Dolan 7). ?And the millions more are kept by responsible sportsmen for hunting, trapshooting, and target shooting,? this was a reply from Dolan to an English visitor to America, who was astonished by the figures of firearms (7). ?I?d say that the United States is an armed camp,? said the English visitor (Dolan 7). In despondence to Dolan?s defending the millions of guns owned by citizens for protection or sport, the Englishman said, ?One hundred and fifty million guns. It doesn?t matter what they?re used for. I they?re loaded someone?s bound to get hurt.?(Dolan 7-8). America has one of the highest death rates due to guns, however, gun deaths are on the rise in other countries, such as, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Australia (Hawkes 4). In the United States handguns are used in more than 184,000 armed robberies every year and more than 11,000 murders and manslaughter?s (Hawkes 6). Every 20 minutes someone in the United States dies by a gun as a result of murders, accidents, or suicides (Hawkes 5).

Although, all guns are deadly, the most dangerous is the handgun (Dolan 9). The handgun is responsible for 50 percent of the United States murders, leading to a figure of 30 murders a day and when you add suicides and fatal accidents the daily death-rate rises to over sixty (Dolan 9).

All of this leads to one of the most important and difficult issues of today, gun control. With so many different views on the issue it has been hard to come to reforms. A contributor to the rise of guns is the power it holds. Although, the gun has played a major part in our history, the larger result of the gun is a cycle: man lead to war- war lead to guns-guns led to crime- crime leads to fear- fear leads to more guns. ?The right to own guns is set out in the American Constitution: ?the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,?? (Hawkes 10). The private ownership of guns is claimed by many to be a tradition. The must of having a gun was used by the settler for hunting and protection and went on later to play a major role in the winning of our nations independence (Dolan 13). This reflects the protective use of the gun, however, the growing violence in our nation has seemed to conflict with the right of citizens to protect themselves and their families. To say our nation has done nothing to control the violence and deaths by guns would be wrong. The nation has made many attempts for gun control, such as, State and Local Laws, which covers the aspects of issuance of gun permits and regulations (Dolan 20). Part of this includes a waiting period, which is not quite effective and not always mandatory. These laws, however, are not issued by all states, which still makes it very simple for a criminal or mentally disturbed person to purchase a gun. Only in the following states writes Dolan, are people required to have a permit or something equivalent to purchase a handgun: Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, North Carolina, Missouri, Virginia (in certain counties), and Illinois ( requires an I.D. card issued by the state) (Dolan 21). There are also Federal Laws, which came about in the 1900?s (Dolan 21). The Gun Control Act of 1968 consists of two main parts called ?Titles? (Dolan 29). Title I is aimed at stopping underground sales, while Title II hits at discouraging the manufacture, import, and sales, of the weapons most favored by the criminal (Dolan 29-30). These laws, however, issued from the earlier 1900?s to the 1960?s have obviously not been enough to lower the millions of deaths due to the gun. The crime and death rate is higher than ever and it has become a realization in our present day that further reforms must be taken to end or at least lower the unnecessary deaths of our citizens.

Pro-control supporters vary in their opinions for control. Some just want the ability for a person to acquire a gun much more difficult, some believe ownership of handguns should be banned only in areas known to have exceptionally high crime rates, and some who hope for banning of handguns everywhere in our nation (Dolan 37-38). Anti-gun controlists hold two basic beliefs. First, they defend themselves with the Second Amendment, saying that laws banning firearms will violate thei