The United States has 270 million guns, the most in the world, consequently, this brings the question of gun control and the Second Amendment.( Should More Gun Control Be Enacted ). The Second Amendment protects the right to individual gun ownership, banning the ownership of assault weapons would be unconstitutional. Most criminals who obtain guns do so illegally, thus putting a censorship on gun ownership would not prevent them from getting firearms. Gun control does not stop crime, the criminals that commit these crimes have no respect for the law. Citizens have the right to assault weapons because the Second Amendment protects individual gun ownership, banning the ownership of …show more content…
John R. Lott, Jr., a gun rights activist said, “The problem with such [gun control] laws is that they take away guns from law-abiding citizens while would-be criminals ignore them.”( Should More Gun Control Be Enacted ). With gun control restrictions in place, the citizens who abide by the law would have their weapons taken away, while the criminals who commit the shootings and murders would ignore them and continue committing felonies. However, in 2014, the city of Chicago had 2,089 victims of shootings and 390 murders, and police recovered 50,000 guns that came from all fifty states between 2001 and March of 2012.( Should More Gun Control Be Enacted ). Moreover, with Chicago’s ban on gun shops, shooting ranges, assault weapons, and high-capacity magazines, those guns would have had to be brought in illegally. According to a report in May 2013 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 37.4% of state prison inmates who had or used a firearm, said that they obtained it from a friend or family member.( Should More Gun Control Be Enacted ). Those inmates did not own guns, so they got it from law-abiding citizens such as their friends or family. Nevertheless, gun control only takes away the guns from citizens who follow the law; criminals do not care whether there are gun control laws or not, they will keep getting guns by any means