The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control Laws
Growing up in the 1980’s, living in a rural area of Arkansas, guns were carried more for hunting then they were carried for everyday protection. Today, in the year 2014, living outside of a large Metropolitan city in Indiana I see guns being carried openly for personal protection more then I see them being carried for hunting. Gun Control is a topic you can hear at many restaurant tables or amongst people standing in a store. Do people really understand what they are talking about? Will stronger gun control laws help those that carry them legally? These are questions I ask when I am part of a gun control discussion.
Increased gun control laws were brought to the forefront of the media and the government after the horrible Columbine Shooting on April 20th, 1999. Since that time there have been multiple mass shootings that have sparked many debates over gun control and what it can change. The argument has been that if we had stronger gun control laws preventing the purchase of guns and their accessories this shooting, as well as many others that have happened since that time, could have been …show more content…
prevented. I do not agree.
I have worked as a Paramedic for many years and have seen the result of gun violence. Most of the violence I see is teenagers and twenty-something adults who use violence to express their anger instead of talking or having a good ole’ fist fight. People who commit the crimes with guns most often do not have a license to carry the gun, nor did they obtain it legally. According to a study published in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policies more guns = less crime. The study found that in areas where anyone can purchase and/or carry a gun firearm crimes were much less then in restrictive gun control areas. In Kennesaw, Georgia a law was passed requiring every household to keep at least one firearm in the house. After this law was passed burglary rate dropped 89% in Kennesaw compared to only a 10.4% drop in Georgia as a whole. (www.americangunfacts.com). The Washington Post published a study about mass shootings in 2013. This study shows that 43 mass shooting has occurred in 25 states since 2009. Out of those shooters the report found that at least 11 of the shooters were not allowed to have a gun legally for various reasons.
I am a proud gun owner and I am licensed to either conceal carry or open carry my weapon.
I am fortunate enough to live in a state that allows this. I have been asked by an officer who saw my weapon to produce my license and I did very happily. I carry my gun for personal protection. I am very aware of the dangers in a larger city and I want to be able to protect myself. I do not carry my weapon to show it off or to flash it out of anger; I carry it so that I can be protected in the event I am ever approached by a criminal with a weapon of their own. Having this right makes me feel safe and more comfortable living and driving around the metropolitan area. The officer seeing my weapon and asking for my license is a wonderful form of control that I completely support. I would not feel near as safe living where I do if I were not permitted to protect
myself.
A legal gun owner and/or gun carrier is not an automatic criminal. A criminal is someone who commits an illegal act, the key word being illegal. Yes, there are people with legal rights to carry a gun that misuse their guns and there are people who purchase them legally for the wrong reasons; however, I believe that these people would purchase them illegally if they had no other alternative. People who do drugs are a great example to use. Drug users do not legally obtain their drug of choice, they are always purchased illegally. Being illegal does not stop drugs from being sold or purchased: making guns illegal to purchase and carry will not stop them from being criminals either.
I think everyone should have the right to protect themselves, their homes, and their families. I have taken self-defense classes and can use personal self-defense if needed but that will not protect me from someone who has no care for my life and pulls a gun on me. As a mother, I understand when parents fight for tighter gun control, I have seen the faces of parents after their child or a child in their neighborhood has been shot. Everyone wants to protect their loved ones. Making stronger gun control laws will put guns only in the hands of criminals and there will be no one that can stand up to them: we will not be able to protect our families. Allowing people to openly carry weapons will show criminals that we not let them win. Giving your local law enforcement the ability to see a weapon gives them the opportunity to check the person carrying it and may prevent a crime. Taking guns away from good people will not prevent a crime but it will give the criminals an open door with no one to stop them.
References
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/02/study-the-u-s-has-had-one-mass-shooting-per-month-since-2009/
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf
http://www.americangunfacts.com/
Increased gun control laws were brought to the forefront of the media and the government after the horrible Columbine Shooting on April 20th, 1999. Since that time there have been multiple mass shootings that have sparked many debates over gun control and what it can change. The argument has been that if we had stronger gun control laws preventing the purchase of guns and their accessories this shooting, as well as many others that have happened since that time, could have been …show more content…
prevented. I do not agree.
I have worked as a Paramedic for many years and have seen the result of gun violence. Most of the violence I see is teenagers and twenty-something adults who use violence to express their anger instead of talking or having a good ole’ fist fight. People who commit the crimes with guns most often do not have a license to carry the gun, nor did they obtain it legally. According to a study published in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policies more guns = less crime. The study found that in areas where anyone can purchase and/or carry a gun firearm crimes were much less then in restrictive gun control areas. In Kennesaw, Georgia a law was passed requiring every household to keep at least one firearm in the house. After this law was passed burglary rate dropped 89% in Kennesaw compared to only a 10.4% drop in Georgia as a whole. (www.americangunfacts.com). The Washington Post published a study about mass shootings in 2013. This study shows that 43 mass shooting has occurred in 25 states since 2009. Out of those shooters the report found that at least 11 of the shooters were not allowed to have a gun legally for various reasons.
I am a proud gun owner and I am licensed to either conceal carry or open carry my weapon.
I am fortunate enough to live in a state that allows this. I have been asked by an officer who saw my weapon to produce my license and I did very happily. I carry my gun for personal protection. I am very aware of the dangers in a larger city and I want to be able to protect myself. I do not carry my weapon to show it off or to flash it out of anger; I carry it so that I can be protected in the event I am ever approached by a criminal with a weapon of their own. Having this right makes me feel safe and more comfortable living and driving around the metropolitan area. The officer seeing my weapon and asking for my license is a wonderful form of control that I completely support. I would not feel near as safe living where I do if I were not permitted to protect
myself.
A legal gun owner and/or gun carrier is not an automatic criminal. A criminal is someone who commits an illegal act, the key word being illegal. Yes, there are people with legal rights to carry a gun that misuse their guns and there are people who purchase them legally for the wrong reasons; however, I believe that these people would purchase them illegally if they had no other alternative. People who do drugs are a great example to use. Drug users do not legally obtain their drug of choice, they are always purchased illegally. Being illegal does not stop drugs from being sold or purchased: making guns illegal to purchase and carry will not stop them from being criminals either.
I think everyone should have the right to protect themselves, their homes, and their families. I have taken self-defense classes and can use personal self-defense if needed but that will not protect me from someone who has no care for my life and pulls a gun on me. As a mother, I understand when parents fight for tighter gun control, I have seen the faces of parents after their child or a child in their neighborhood has been shot. Everyone wants to protect their loved ones. Making stronger gun control laws will put guns only in the hands of criminals and there will be no one that can stand up to them: we will not be able to protect our families. Allowing people to openly carry weapons will show criminals that we not let them win. Giving your local law enforcement the ability to see a weapon gives them the opportunity to check the person carrying it and may prevent a crime. Taking guns away from good people will not prevent a crime but it will give the criminals an open door with no one to stop them.
References
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/02/study-the-u-s-has-had-one-mass-shooting-per-month-since-2009/
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf
http://www.americangunfacts.com/