Gun violence is a hot controversial issue in the US; the Democratic Liberals want stricter gun control laws while the gun raising NRA members want their rights protected. These two groups have polar opposite views on solving gun violence. Liberals want to remove guns in total while the NRA wants to arm more rightful Americans for defense. Both groups have some good ideas, but the general public needs to understand that the answer isn’t less guns. Being an avid trap shooter and hunter myself, I do appreciate having the right to bear arms. The answer isn’t to eliminate the guns but educate the population using them. Every gun owner should be required to take some sort of basic firearm training course. The simple steps that everybody goes through to earn a hunting license, like pointing your muzzle in a safe direction, treating every gun as if it were loaded, and keeping your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. These simple rules are just a few that are mentioned every single time we shoot trap, whether at practice or a meet, we are always reminded of the basic principles. Some might think that allowing a bunch of teens to shoot shotguns would be dangerous, but after five years of shooting at our local trap team, there hasn’t been a single accident. Guns are a very important part in my life, as they are one of the biggest reasons for me going to college. This how I stand over gun control, now here are the reasons why we shouldn’t inherit the gun control laws. The first reason, is provided by our founding fathers in the US Constitution. It reads, ”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.” The use of guns has been around for hundreds of years before the American Revolution, (“Gun Timeline”) and has given the US an icon as Americans. Yes, there is a line to be drawn, it is illegal to own a fully-automatic firearm, or carry guns on school grounds; but we as Americans and permitted by the Second Amendment have the right to possess a gun. But, the Second Amendment can be repealed by the Supreme Court you might say; where’s the proof that gun control isn’t the answer to gun violence? Just look at the statistics of gun violence when more citizens are armed. More guns equals less crime.
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It’s a statistic that has been proven since the 80’s. Romesh Ratnesar, a writer for Time Magazine, analyzes the book More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws by John R. Lott, Jr. showing the crime rates from 1977 to 1992. In this span of time, Lott shows how in ten states that passed right-to-carry laws, murder, rape, and aggravated assault went down on average of seven percent. While in the rest of the country without right-to-carry, murders went up 24%, rapes 71%, and a assaults doubled (Ratnesar). The reasoning behind this evidence is that criminals have a harder time choosing victims that could potentially be carrying firepower. These statistics may seem outdated, but they haven’t changed; in 2014 Illinois became the 50th state to allow concealed carry. According to the Chicago PD, after six months of concealed rights allowed, burglary and motor vehicle theft were down 20% and 26% from the previous year. The homicide rate also dropped hitting a 56 year low in the first quarter of the year (Investor 's Business, Daily). Yes, of course not everybody can acquire one of these permits, as some states require multiple hours of training and a hefty price tag ranging anywhere from ten to $1,000 dollars. No matter how many gun control laws are put into place, criminals will still find a way to get ahold of them. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 2004 37.4% of prison inmates received their guns through family and friends, and 40% were received illegally through drug deals or on the street. Only 11.3% of criminals acquired their guns legally (Planty 13). The way I see it, if a criminal wants a
It’s a statistic that has been proven since the 80’s. Romesh Ratnesar, a writer for Time Magazine, analyzes the book More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws by John R. Lott, Jr. showing the crime rates from 1977 to 1992. In this span of time, Lott shows how in ten states that passed right-to-carry laws, murder, rape, and aggravated assault went down on average of seven percent. While in the rest of the country without right-to-carry, murders went up 24%, rapes 71%, and a assaults doubled (Ratnesar). The reasoning behind this evidence is that criminals have a harder time choosing victims that could potentially be carrying firepower. These statistics may seem outdated, but they haven’t changed; in 2014 Illinois became the 50th state to allow concealed carry. According to the Chicago PD, after six months of concealed rights allowed, burglary and motor vehicle theft were down 20% and 26% from the previous year. The homicide rate also dropped hitting a 56 year low in the first quarter of the year (Investor 's Business, Daily). Yes, of course not everybody can acquire one of these permits, as some states require multiple hours of training and a hefty price tag ranging anywhere from ten to $1,000 dollars. No matter how many gun control laws are put into place, criminals will still find a way to get ahold of them. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 2004 37.4% of prison inmates received their guns through family and friends, and 40% were received illegally through drug deals or on the street. Only 11.3% of criminals acquired their guns legally (Planty 13). The way I see it, if a criminal wants a