Gun control laws were constructed to reduce the overall crimes that are involved with guns. The purpose behind gun control laws was to determine who can purchase/sell firearms, carry/store guns and to reduce and prevent gun related deaths. Gun control laws were deemed necessary because some believe perceived enforcing gun control laws would . According to Richard Perez-Pena in his article, “Gun Control” he claims that gun control is broad term that covers any sort of restriction on what kinds of firearms can be sold and bought, who can possess or sell them, where and how they can be stored or carried, what duties a seller has to vet a buyer, and what obligations both the buyer and the seller have to report transactions to the government. I support this definition because it covers a good amount of what gun control is about, however it does not mention another part of gun control which is to limit or decrease crime and violence related to guns.
In Tony Cook’s article, “Indiana to blame for Chicago’s gun violence” he states that Indiana and other states with few gun restrictions are to blame for Chicago’s homicide problem. Cook makes this claim because later in his article he informs the audience that Chicago police have been complaining for a long time that there has been a steady stream of illegal firearms from neighboring states such as Indiana, where gun control laws are much weaker. From this evidence Cook has provided, if neighboring states would work together they could prevent this from occurring and lower Chicago’s homicide problem. It is possible because once neighboring states with fewer gun restrictions prevent people for importing guns into Chicago there would be fewer guns to commit crimes with ultimately lower the homicide problem.
According to S.H. Blannelberry’s article, “New Jersey Slaps Felony Gun Charge on Another Law-Abiding Citizen” he claims ” Sgt. Ray Hughes, a correction officers in Pennsylvania, was headed home after dinner with his wife in Atlantic City when they were hit by a drunk driver. Even though he was the victim, Hughes became a criminal – he’s now facing a felony charge for bringing his gun to New Jersey.” From the encounter that Sgt. Hughes experienced it is all the more reason for neighboring states to work together. In Pennsylvania the gun restrictions are considerably lower compared to New Jersey and this is not the only time where people have been convicted coming from states with fewer gun restrictions into strict gun control law states. In Joshua Rhett Miller’s article, “‘Honest mistake’ leads to Philly mother facing three years on gun charge” he states “Shaneen Allen,27, faces more than three years in prison if convicted after mistakenly entered New Jersey, where she was dropped for a traffic violation and found in possession of a handgun loaded with holly point bullets.” Later in the same article it was revealed Allen was in possession of a permit for her firearm, however the permit was not transferable to New Jersey. From the quote it reveals another incident where someone has been wrongfully convicted. In both occasions the accused has been pulled over for something that is unrelated to gun charges, unfortunately ending with gun charges. In order to prevent this wrongful convicts neighboring states must accept permits from surrounding states even if they have fewer gun control restrictions.
In Pro Con’s article, “Gun Control,” Pro Con claims that five women are murdered with guns every day in the United States. The study later stated a woman’s of being murdered increases 500% if a gun’s present during a domestic dispute. From this evidence it shows how even the present of a gun can alter the outcome of domestic disputes. If gun control is intended to be in control of who are the buyers and sellers of firearms, and who are eligible to possess firearms then it should be emphasis that guns should not be present during disputes between spouses and that guns should be tucked away out of reach to prevent the dispute from getting worse. In addition to domestic disputes the presents of a gun has impacted suicides as well. Pro Con has found that in between 1999 and 2013 there were 270,237 firearm suicides in the United States, accounting for all about 52% of all suicides during those years. From this evidence it reveals how the present of a gun impacts a lot of situations. a suitable alternate solution would be simply to keep these guns away from these occasions because without their presence a person wouldn’t able to use a gun to either murder someone or commit suicide.
Pro Con found that countries who have more restrictive gun laws then the U.S. have a lower gun homicide and suicide rates. From this information it reveals how other countries found a solution by enforcing more restrictive gun laws because with more restrictions there will be less guns and as a result less gun related crime and violence. Furthermore Pro Con revealed that approximately 50% of unintentional fatal shootings were self-inflicted. This evidence continues to support the reasoning for U.S. to follow suite with other countries because within other countries this is less likely to occur. Since other countries have fewer guns and more restrictive gun laws.
Pro Con has revealed that gun control laws can lead to preventing injustices from occurring because when looking into some cases it has been found that legally own guns have been frequently stolen and used by criminals. The solution of this reoccurring problem has been addressed because earlier in my work, I suggested that if guns were tucked away it would alter the outcome of situations. This would fix the solution because if done correctly there would be no guns in site for the criminals to steal. Pro Con has showed that high capacity magazines were used in at least 50% of the 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012. When high capacity magazines were used in mass shootings, the death rate rose 63% and the injury rate rose 156%. From the evidence provided it shows how the average civilian has few reasons to possess high magazine firearms, since most of them result in mass shootings.
Works Cited
Blannelberry, S.H. “New Jersey Slaps Felony Gun Charge on Another Law-Abiding Citizen – GunsAmerica Digest.” GunsAmerica Digest. Fox, 18 Feb. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. New Jersey Felony Gun Charge
“Gun Control – ProCon.org.” ProConorg Headlines. Pro Con, 28 June 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. Gun Control Pros and Cons.
PÉrez-peÑa, Richard. “Gun Control Explained.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Oct. 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. Gun Control Explained.
Star, Tony Cook The Indianapolis. “Is Indiana to Blame for Chicago’s Gun Violence?” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016. Indiana Gun Laws To Blame.
Rowan Counterintuitive 