Gun Control Case

Many people wonder if gun control is a good or bad thing. The article I chose was about gun control. In the article it discusses most people have their minds made up on whether they are for gun control or against it. Gun control is constantly an issue. There are people who are pro-gun control and those who believe gun control is unconstitutional to the citizens. Towards the end of the article the author also discusses that in America guns have been a part of the society since its birth. Throughout history guns have been used to protect families, protect the nation, hunt for meals, and for activities such as target practice. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. I believe owning a gun is the safest and smartest way to live. Guns can protect families, communities, and innocent people from harm. The author believes, taking away our guns is like taking away our freedom.

The author begins the essay by showing data of death with guns. The author then begins to talk about why the data is decreasing or staying the same and why banning weapons would not help. It is hard to tell if taking away guns would make crime rate go up or down. In the article, the author states "Existing data does not show whether the number of people shot and killed with semiautomatic assault weapons declined during the 10-year period (1994 to 2004) that those firearms were banned from further proliferation in the United States" (Gun Control Overview. (2013). Congressional Digest, 92(3), 3-7.). Banning weapons is a very hard case to cover. Banning a weapon does not stop the criminals from illegally buying another weapon. John believes if we banned weapons there would be more violence and more people breaking laws.

Self-defense is one of the main reasons a gun owner would be against gun control. It seems that in America locks on doors aren't enough to keep out criminals. Most American's, have a gun or two in their closet, or by their bed in case of emergency. Lots of people have been killed by guns, but then again think of all the people that have been saved by guns. The author of this article believes that most of the time police officers are great, but usually show up to the scene way too late. Imagine if more people in America had hand guns to protect themselves. Then the day to day criminals would be less likely to mess with the average citizen.

After writing about the data of guns, the author discusses non related firearm crimes. The author shows that guns have also been used in a non-lethal crime and according to the article "The estimated number of firearms-related non-lethal violent crime incidents decreased from 428,670 in 2000 to 326,090 in 2009, and from 2.4 persons to 1.4 per 100,000 of the population ages 12 and older."(Gun Control Overview. (2013). Congressional Digest, 92(3), 3-7.) It is hard to understand how high the statistics are, and how the statistics got there. Non-lethal crimes happen every day, and most likely ever hour of the day. The data the author provides shows non-lethal crimes are mostly robberies, and the guns are used to scare, not harm citizens. The author shows then shows the data and how the non-lethal crime rates have gone down.

The author