Gun Control

Gun Control

How many people do not fear being attacked by someone with a gun? The truth is that most people do share a fear of guns. This is the result of the lack of control over the possession of a gun. Anyone can get their hands on a gun no matter what they intend to use it for. Almost 30,000 people die each year in a gun related incident (Soyer 1). People are not careful enough in deciding where they place their weapon or how they use it. Because of its poor gun control system, America is in the top five in the world in death rate by guns. Someone who has a gun has complete control over a person without one, which leads to an increase in burglaries, rapes, and also in the number of gangs. Ronald Reagan once said, "As long as there are guns, the individual that wants a gun for a crime is going to have one and going to get it" (Gun 2). When put in the wrong hands, a gun can be a killing machine as demonstrated in many events in the world today. Although many people feel that they have a right to own a gun, they have lost that right because of many gun-related crimes that results in thousands of deaths and injuries each year.

In the United States, thousands of gun-related deaths occur each year. These deaths don't have to be planned and are often accidents. 824 people die each year because of a gun misfiring (Tincher 2). Jayson Williams, an ex-basketball player for the New Jersey Nets, fatally shot his limousine driver when it misfired. He was drunk and didn't have good judgment, but had he not owned a gun in the first place, this could have been prevented. On the other side, intentional murders are a separate way that guns are abused. A very recent example is the Virginia Tech massacre. The shooter in this incident was not mentally stable, yet was able to buy multiple guns

and a lot of ammunition. He went on a rampage and killed 32 innocent people. Although many will argue that these events were the fault of campus security, all of the lives could have been saved if this man wasn't able to obtain guns. The shooter eventually committed suicide by shooting himself, which is another way guns kill people. About 57% of suicides are done with a gun (Tincher 2). Some will say that suicides are unavoidable, and if someone wants to kill himself, he'll find a way. However, maybe if those people didn't have such a convenient and efficient way to kill themselves, then they would reconsider. Considering all this, it seems clear that controlling gun possession will save many lives that could otherwise be killed by a bullet.

One general argument against gun control is that a person has the right to own a gun for a sense of security. On the contrary, there are alternative ways of feeling secure besides having a gun. A security system in this era is very affordable and often cheaper than owning a gun. The average security system can be installed for two hundred dollars or less, while a gun and license usually costs over five hundred dollars (Glock 2). Having a security system should make anyone feel safe because they'll know that anytime there is a break-in, an alarm will sound and alert the police. The criminal trying to break in will more than likely run away in fear. On average, there are more police officers in American cities than ever before. In suburban cities, there are an average of 4.7 police officers per 1,000 people (Mueller 1). These numbers do not seem too big, but for a city with 50,000 people there would be nearly 250 police officers. Lastly, if people knew that there weren't criminals walking the streets with guns, they would feel more confident and safe. People have admitted that they wouldn't feel the need for a gun if they knew that the criminals of the world didn't carry guns. As a result of controlling the possession of guns, someone being attacked would be more likely to defend themselves because they wouldn't have the fear of being instantly killed by a gun. Therefore, guns are not needed to instill a sense of security.

Various gun-related crimes, such as robberies, muggings, and rapes would be limited if guns were controlled. In most examples of crimes where guns were used the guns are only used as props to put fear in the victims' heads. In one county of Washington, only 8% of juvenile robberies involving guns ended with a gun actually being fired (How 3). Guns are a double threat because they give the robber a sense of power and give the victim a sense of fear and sub-ordinance. The only situation could be turned around if criminals