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... as the efforts at gun control do not address the real problem of crime. The simple definition of a criminal is someone who does not obey the law. The simple definition of a law-abiding citizen, someone who does obey the law. Therefore, if the goverment would pass laws restricting ownership of firearms, which category of people does it affect? The simple answer, gun control laws affect law-abiding citizens only.
By their very nature, the criminals will continue to violate these new laws, they will continue to carry their firearms, and they will find their efforts at crime much easier when they know that their victims will be unarmed. The situation resembles that of the disarmed blacks a century ago. Innocent people turn into victims when new laws make it impossible for them to fight back. An unarmed man stands little chance against an armed one. Gun Control 7 An interesting recent development has been the backlash against the gun-control advocates. In many states, including Florida and Texas, citizens have stated that they want to preserve their right to carry firearms for self-defense.
Since the late 1980 s, Florida has been issuing concealed weapons permits to law-abiding citizens, and these citizens have been carrying their firearms to defend themselves from rampant crime. The results show that the incidence of violent crime has actually dropped in contrast to the national average. Previously, Florida had been leading the nation in this category, and the citizens of that state have welcomed the change. Gun control advocates tried to claim that there would be bloodshed in the streets when these citizens were given the right to carry. They tried to claim that the cities of Florida would become like Dodge City with shoot-outs on every street corner. These gun control advocates were wrong.
Over 200, 000 concealed carry permits have been issued so far, with only 36 of these permits revoked for improper use of a firearm (Bloodworth). This statistic is easy to understand. It is the law-abiding citizens who go through the process of getting concealed carry permits so that they may legally carry a firearm. The people who go through this legal process do not want to break the law, and they do not intend to break the law.
The people who do intend to break the law will carry their guns whether or not the law allows them to do so. Criminals will always find ways to get guns. In this country laws have criminalized the use, possession, sale, and transportation of many kinds of narcotics, but it's still easy for someone to take a ride and purchase the drugs of their choice at street corner vendors. Firearms and ammunition would be just as easy for these black-market entrepreneurs to deliver to their customers. Today, criminals often carry illegal Gun Control 8 weapons, including sawed-off shotguns, machine guns, and homemade zip-guns, clearly showing their disregard for the current laws which make these items illegal. And when they get caught, the courts regularly dismiss these lesser weapons charges when prosecuting for the more serious charges that take place with the weapons. "The gun control advocates have argued their case by demonizing the gun itself, rather than addressing the people who commit violent crimes.
This exposes the main fallacy in their argument. They slyly attempt to claim that possession of a gun turns average citizens into bloodthirsty lunatics" (Pooley, 1991). This theory falls apart under close scrutiny. If legal possession of a firearm caused this sort of attitude, then why do crime rates soar in areas such as Washington, D. C. and New York City which have strict gun control laws?
And why do crime rates drop in states such as Florida where private ownership of firearms is encouraged? Simply stated, legal ownership of a gun does not cause crime. (45 ACP, ' 99) The most recent efforts of the gun control lobby was to claim that certain types of guns and ammunition are inherently evil. They assign emotional catch phrases such as 'assault weapons' and 'cop killer bullets' to broad categories of firearms and ammunition in the hopes that people will believe that some guns have an evil nature. Most people who are unfamiliar with firearms do not fully understand what these phrases mean, and they accept the terms being used without question. People do not often understand that the term 'assault weapon' has been defined to include all semi- automatic rifles, and 'cop killer' has been defined to include any bullet that can penetrate Type- 2 body armor (Kopel, ' 95, Ch. 4). It comes as a surprise to most Gun Control 9 people that a large number of simple hunting rifles can do both.
Does ownership of one of these weapons cause people to become mass murderers? It does not, and people must not fall into the trap of blaming the sword for the hand that wields it. The act of making it illegal to own firearms does little to prevent criminals from getting guns. These laws only restrict people who respect the law itself, the people who would only use firearms for legal purposes anyway. People, when given the right to defend themselves, find that criminals start looking for other victims out of fear that they will become the victims themselves. Government must work to reduce crime in America, but should look at the problem realistically, and develop plans that would be effective. "Obviously the gun control laws are neither realistic nor effective in reducing crime.
Therefore, the populace must direct their efforts toward controlling crime, not controlling legal ownership of firearms. " (chucky smooth, ' 00) Gun Control 10 References Bloodworth, Trey. (1998) Hidden in plain sight, 2 nd revised edition. Texas: Paladin Press Chuckysmooth. (2000) Does gun control work? . Time Incorporated Bulletin Boards. Retrieved March 09, 2000 from the World Wide Web: web Clayton, Scot. (No date). Personal Homepage. Scot Clayton's Homepage.
Retrieved March 03, 2000 from the World Wide Web: web Kopel, David. (1995) Guns: Who should have them? . (Ch. 4) New York: Prometheus Books. Larson, Erik. (1995). Lethal passage: The story of a gun. Washington: Vintage Books.
Longley, Robert. (1999). US Government Information Resources. Gun Control Timeline. Retrieved March 09, 2000 from the World Wide Web: web Pooley, Eric. (1991, August). Kids with Guns.
Time Magazine. 45 ACP. (1999). Does gun control work? . Time Incorporated Bulletin Boards. Retrieved March 09, 2000 from the World Wide Web: web
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Research essay sample on Concealed Carry Permits Gun Control Advocates
