Preview

Gun Control

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1811 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gun Control
"Would More Stringent Gun Control Laws Save Lives?"
BCOM 275

"Would More Stringent Gun Control Laws Save Lives?"
I. Introduction

A. Background information

1. Chicago has the strongest gun control regime in the nation. Chicago had over 500 murders in 2012 and are on pace to surpass that in 2013.

2. Handgun crime in the United Kingdom rose by 40% in the two years after the U.K. passed its gun ban in 1997. (BBC).

3. Washington, D.C. Implemented a gun ban in 1976. After the gun ban was instituted the city ranked first or second in murder rate for 15 years (Levy, 2008).

4. The 2nd Amendment 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.

B. Thesis Statement:

The debate is “Would more stringent gun controls save lives”? The pro argument is that gun control will save lives. The con argument is, gun controls will not save lives. Evaluations of ethical, moral, statistical, and legal issues are identified in relation to gun controls. The team presents the audience with arguments for both sides. The arguments are established to inform the audience of gun control and allow them to make an educated decision on choosing which argument to side with.

II. Con argument of debate.
A. Owning or not owning a gun will not make you less susceptible to experiencing crime.

1. In 2010, in four counties, 444 domestic homicides relating to guns were recorded. In only 8 of these instances, the gun involved had been kept in the home (Lott, pg. 25, 2010)

2. Guns in the wrong hands are dangerous, but in the right hands they are used for protection and deterrence. According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Georgia 's homicide rate dropped 21% after making it easier to get guns, whereas Wisconsin 's rate went up 33% during the same time period after making it more



References: Brady Campaign. (2011, April). Bady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Retrieved from http://www.bradycampaign.org/ OK, Let 's Debate Gun Control! Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444025204577544881193377296.html. Levy, R. A. (2008, Winter). Doctors for Gun Control. Regulation, 31(4), 7-9. Lott, J. R. (2010). More guns, less crime: Understanding crime and gun-control laws. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. National Rifle Association. (2011,April). Villence Policy Center. Retrieved from http://www.nra.org/home.aspx Should civilian possession of handguns and other non-hunting guns be banned or severely restricted?

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    As mentioned earlier, Washington, D.C. and the United Kingdom adopted stringent gun control laws and it literally increased crime. If laws become too tough to handle, people will work their way around the laws. Owning or not owning a gun will not make people less susceptible to experiencing crime. In 2010, across four counties, 444 domestic homicides relating to guns were recorded. In only eight of these instances, the gun involved had been kept in the home. Furthermore, the instances when the gun in the home had been used, it is safe to say that it was used in self-defense. Most homicide victims are killed by weapons carried by the intruder (Lott, pg. 26,…

    • 1963 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chicago is a city that has enforced very strict gun laws in order to lessen crime rates. However, despite all their limits and restrictions, Chicago has a high number of gun-related crimes.As a matter of fact, according to Chicago Police, 20% of the 1375 guns retrieved from criminal activities from 2008 to 2012 were purchased from a single shop called Chuck’s Gun Shop, just a few miles away from the city in the village of Riverdale, Illinois. This shows that despite all the strict gun laws in Chicago, criminals are still able to find a way to retrieve firearms through neighboring cities and states to commit their crimes. It illustrates how stricter gun laws must be enforced throughout the entire nation to ensure that criminals will not be able…

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gun Control Philosophy

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The United States has the highest total and per capita of gun owners in the world which is clearly with inside the United States Constitution. As far back as 1792 a federal law was signed by President…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, in order to really solve the violence problem United States is facing, there needs to be realistic solutions, and banning the possession of guns is not a realistic solution. Legislations who ban types of guns are ineffective in the long term. For example, the Violent Crime Control Act and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 which banned assault weapons, did not seem to have any effect on crime at all. Between the years 1994-2004, gun violence using the banned assault weapons did not change dramatically, however, gun crimes using non-banned semi-automatic weapons were rising between the years 1994-2004. The bill was finally expired on September 13, 2004 when it was ruled unconstitutional.…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Because of events like the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, America should consider having stricter gun control laws made as it reduces gun deaths and homicide rates, machine guns cause a lot of damage, and these weapons are rarely used in self defense. Firstly, there is a relationship between states with a high percentage of gun ownership and higher crime rates. Looking at states that have little to no gun control laws shows that, “States with the highest gun-ownership levels….had 6.8 times the rate of firearm assaults, 2.8 times the rate of firearm homicides, and twice the rate of overall homicides than states with the lowest gun-ownership levels”. If the risk of citizens getting killed increases when guns are more available, it is therefore very important to consider making laws on how available these weapons should be. Additionally, when high-capacity or machine guns are…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    A common phenomenon in the United States is the ownership of guns by civilians for the purpose of personal protection and safety. However, the constitutional privilege has several challenges that the government has tried to solve by drafting laws and implementing policies that limit the use, sale, manufacture, possession, and transfer of guns (Jacobs 54). The issue of gun control is a hotly contested issue that has been discussed both in the academe and the political arena. The debate has attracted opponents and proponents who give varied reasons with regard to appropriate solutions to the problem of violence and crime in America. Different states deal with the problem in different ways. Some states have…

    • 2832 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Only through the blatant abrogation of explicit constitutional rights is gun control even possible. It must be enforced with such violations of individual rights as intrusive search and seizure and the most severely victimizes those who most need weapons for self-defense. With various gun control proposals on different agendas with the including of licensing, waiting periods, and bans on “Saturday night specials” are of little or if any value as crime-fighting measures because with the banning of guns to reduce crime makes more logic as banning alcohol to reduce drunk driving and with the persuasive evidence shows that civilian gun ownership can be a powerful deterrent to…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, when have criminals been a type of people to abide by the law; by definition a criminal is one who will break the law. Statistics support this assertion, 37.4% of prison inmates who used, carried, or possessed a firearm when they committed the crime for which they were serving their prison sentence obtained the gun from a family member or friend (Planty, Truman 2013). Furthermore, to advocate for gun control is also to advocate removing firearms from law abiding civilians, who could need weapons for self-defense, which happens about 2.5 Million times a year (NRA, 2014). Likewise, a survey of convicted felons found that 48% admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed (Write, Rossi, 1985). This evidence further supports the view-point that criminals are less likely to endanger themselves when committing crimes, therefore, citizens should be armed. Policies should not remove the most basic right to self protection in dire…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Second Amendment of the Constitution 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" NRA (2005). Gun rights groups, such as the NRA, argue that gun control will infringe on law-abiding citizens…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all, gun control doesn’t deter crime. A November 26, 2013 study found that between 1980 and 2009 “assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level” and “states with restriction on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murders”(www.gun-control.procon.org). Weapons didn’t stop crimes or murders, and that states with restrictions on concealed carry weapons had even more crime than…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Guns are rarely used in self-defense. In 2010, for every “justifiable homicide”, there were 36 criminals ones. It is proven that the simple presence of a firearm makes any violent dispute more likely to become fatale. A woman is 500% more likely to be murdered in a domestic dispute if a gun is present. The equation is simple: more gun = more…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Klein, E. (2012). Twelve facts about guns and mass shootings in the United States. The…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution 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.” The Founding Fathers included this in our Bill of Rights because they feared the Federal Government might oppress the population if the people did not have the means to defend themselves as a nation and as individuals. (Halbrook 65-84)…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gun Control Persuasive

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It would seem logical that the banning of firearms would lead to less firearms and less crime, but statistics show just the opposite. Washington D.C. has had a handgun ban in effect since 1976. After the ban, D.C.’s murder rate only once fell below what it was in 1976. Furthermore, Washington D.C. has been notorious for…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gun Control

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gun Control Since the days of the pioneers of the United States, firearms have been part of the American tradition as protection and a means of hunting or sport. As we near the end of the 20th century the use of guns has changed significantly. Because of fast and steady increase in crime and the fight for the right to own a hand gun, the introduction of legislation for gun control, to try to reduce the crime in the United States, has been a hotly debated issue in recent years. Although many people feel that gun control violates the right of the people, given in the second amendment "the right to bear arms", controlling distribution and sales and the registration of guns and gun owners is necessary because of the homicide rate involving guns and the violence by criminals using guns. Many people feel that gun control violates the right of the people given in the second amendment the right "to bear arms". Opponents of gun control, including the National Rifle Association, better known as the NRA, argue that the "right To bear arms" is guaranteed in the second amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and licensing restrictions penalize law-abiding citizens while in no way preventing criminal use of handguns. It is also argued that by making it difficult for guns to be bought and registered for the American public there is a threat to the personal safety of American families everywhere. However controlling the sale and distribution of firearms is necessary because of the homicide rate involving guns. In 1988 there were 9000 handgun related murders in America. Metropolitan centers and some suburban communities of America are setting new records for homicides by handguns. Larger Metropolitan centers have ten times the murder rate of all Western Europe. For example in Washington,D.C. there was an estimated 400 homicides including guns. In addition gun control has been seen as necessary because of the violence…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays