Is Gun Control the Answer?

     - December 5, 2022 

Wall of Guns, OrlandoGunClub

     In the wake of mass shooting, firearms have been getting a lot of negative attention. Many citizens and left-wing government officials are calling for gun control, and in some cases a complete ban of guns. Sure, we need to make the process of abstaining a gun harder. But is strict gun control really the answer? Does it lower crime and mass shootings? What about the Second Amendment? 

    Everyone in America will agree that the country faces a major problem with gun related violence. But how we deal with this problem is where people begin to form sides. Many American citizens and left-wing officials say strict gun laws and bans are the only answer. But does this really work to end gun crime? A lot of data is trending towards no. 

    Some cities and states such as New York and Chicago started placing strict gun control in effect. Both cities have seen a decrease in violent crimes, but gun related violence continues to grow. according to Springer Link, "Despite strong gun laws, high-risk individuals in NYC neighborhoods are unfortunately still able to access and misuse firearms." Chicago is another example of a city with strict gun laws, but still face violent gun crimes. according to Feldman Criminal Defense, "Chicago city gun homicides rose by more than 60% between 2015 and 2016, resulting in a homicide rate of 25.1 per 100,000 residents in 2016. By comparison, the homicide rate is 14.7 in Philadelphia and only 2.3 in New York."

     These laws are to prevent gun violence in America, but they are not doing that. Instead, strict gun control is punishing the law-abiding citizen. If you place a complete ban on guns, it won't work. If people want one bad enough nothing is going to stop them. If crimes such as robbery and killing are still committed, then why would a gun control law work?  

 

     More in depth background checks is also a topic that is brought up a lot. Both sides tend to agree on this one more than any other gun control law. The law-abiding gun owner has nothing to hide so they don't mind stronger checks. But again, how effective are these stronger checks? 

    Stronger or more in-depth background checks work to prevent people with mental illnesses from getting their hands on a gun. They are really effective at doing this as long as the individual has a preexisting illness or shows signs of one. Any normal person that has the intentions to cause harm can pass a background check. For example, according to Pro&Con, "H.R. 8 would not have prevented any of the mass shootings in the last 20 years, not one of them."

    This Act is supposed to prevent criminals from obtaining a gun, but like stated before, most get their guns illegally. So, if criminals are getting their guns illegally then what is the point of this Act? Again, this is just another example of the law-abiding citizen being restricted on their right to bear arms. 

    Another aspect of H.R. 8 prevents the lending of guns. If a person lends a gun in their name, it could be considered a criminal act. This also goes for cases such as a father lending his rifle to his son for hunting. According to Pro&Con, "Under this bill, a battered women with a protection order against her abuser who borrows a firearm for self-defense would be a criminal."

    Some people may bring up banning all guns to end crime as an argument. They say this will help in all aspects of life; it will prevent violent gun crimes. Some may even go as far to say ban firearms for police as well. 

    Here is why this argument won't hold up. If you place a ban on guns in the United States, how are you going to collect all the guns already owned? According to American Gun Facts, "81.4 million Americans own guns." The government does not have enough manpower to go door-to-door collecting guns. To this point you can say people will just have to turn them in. Yeah, you may get some people that turn their guns in, but more often you will see Americans refuse to. 

    Also, if you ban firearms for police officers as well, you should be terrified of how that ends up. Like stated earlier most criminals get their firearms illegally. So, if you get rid of all the guns from Law-abiding citizens and cops who is left with guns? People may also say ban guns for normal citizens but allow police to have them. That is ironic that the people screaming ban guns are counting on people with guns to save them when they are in trouble.   

    Gun violence is an issue we are facing in society. Something needs to be done to fix this major issue. But increasing the laws surrounding guns and issuing bans is not the answer. These laws do not affect criminals at all. If they want a gun bad enough, they are going to get one. Instead, these laws restrict the everyday law-abiding citizen to fully express the second amendment. With many of these laws it limits the ways a mom or dad can protect their family during a home invasion. Realistically there is no way to prevent criminals from getting a gun. Unfortunately, as long as criminals have guns you will always have gun violence. There are measures that can be taken to limit gun violence but punishing law-abiding gun owners is not one of them.