Is Gun Control Good Or Bad

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In our country nearly one half of households own a gun and nearly thirty thousand people die each year from gun shot related wounds (Smock 151). It is because of statistics like these that gun control has become one of the most heated issues that our country is currently facing. While it is obvious that guns are dangerous weapons that must be used responsibly, many people are debating whether or not stricter laws should be put in to place in an attempt to lower the harms caused by guns. Many states and cities across the nation have already established laws that have made it harder for people to get their hands on guns. Many extremists have even asked for guns to be completely taken out of the hands of everyday citizens. Others argue that…show more content…
These people point to guns as the direct cause of such criminal acts as homicide and domestic violence. The truth is, however, that a gun is just a tool; without the operator the gun or the tool can’t do anything. The gun can’t put bullets in itself and the gun can’t pull its own trigger. It is the people that use the guns that are the real problem. While it is true that guns are involved in thousands of deaths per year in the United States, there are things that lead to far more deaths than guns. According to Levitt, in 2009, 45,000 people died in autmobile related accidents and only 30,000 died in gun related incidents (151). Using the logic of those against gun rights, it’s the car’s fault not the driver’s fault that 45,000 people die every year. This is just an irrational attempt to shift reponsibility off of the people that actually cause these incidents. Another example that shows that guns aren’t so dangerous is that in any given year there is one drowning of a child for every 11,000 residential pools as compared to 1 death for every 1 million guns, or 175 children killed for the over 200 million guns owned in the U.S. (Levitt 150). Statistics like this show that pools could potentially be even more dangerous than guns. Those that believe guns are so dangerous may want to consider focusing on things that are taking more lives, such as autmobiles. They should…show more content…
They point to a correlation between gun ownership and crimes, and they believe that if laws were stricter or guns were taken away then crime would decrease. This argument, however, couldn’t be further from the truth. Banning guns or making more gun laws would just infuriate the general public. A 2009 Gallup Opinion Poll showed that an all time low of 44% of people believe that there need to be newer, stricter laws applying to gun control (Gallup.com). This number in 1990 was 78%, so as time goes on people are leaning more and more away from stricter gun laws. This shows that most people today believe that gun laws are sufficient and that gun ownership should not be banned or even be limited, any further. As a result, if the government tried to limit gun ownership the majority of Americans would show opposition. This could ultimately lead to even more violence and anger from people who aren’t willing to give up their firearms. It would also increase the capacity of the gun black market, that already exists in the United

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