Gun Control : December 2015

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Terrorism in Relation to Gun Control

With all kinds of problems in the world we live in today regarding terrorism, many people are quick to point the finger at gun control as one of the main reasons for these attacks.

The federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that violate law.

Although many acts of terrorism are committed with a firearm, some may not and those that are may not be able to be stopped simply with gun control laws.

Pro Gun Control Arguments

Civilians are unlikely to use a weapon in self defense in a violent situation, those without training often make violent situations worse due to resisting an aggressor unsuccessfully.
People who legally own weapons are at risk of having them stolen by criminals, if the criminal knows you own a firearm they may rob your house if they want to get their hands on one leading to more possible crimes.
Increased gun control usually leads to less acts of suicide, between 1999 and 2013 there have been 270,237 suicides with a firearm in the Untied States, which makes up approximately 52% of all suicides
The United States has, by far the highest rate of gun ownership, and we also have the highest rate of crimes committed with a gun and gun related homicides. Many believe this isn't a coincidence

In 1976, the Washington D.C. City Council passed a law generally prohibiting residents from owning handguns and required all firearms in private homes to be rendered temporarily inoperable.
From then until 2008, when the Supreme Court ruled this law unconstitutional, there was a 73% increase in murders in Washington D.C.
Since 2008 there has been a drastic decrease in crime rates and murder in Washington D.C.
There have been many studies into gun control and right-to-carry laws however none have found conclusively whether one or the other prevents crime with a firearm
Right-to-carry laws are made on this basic principal that if you are a criminal and want to commit a crime, there is a good chance your victim, or just a bystander is also carrying a weapon which would make any criminal think twice.
Gun Control argues that the less legally owned firearms, the harder it is for a criminal to get their hands on a gun, which is rarely the case, if someone is going to commit a crime with a firearm they will usually find a way to get their hands on a firearm somehow. Rarely are crimes with a gun committed with a legally owned firearm.