Gun Control
By Jimmy Warner
Introduction
Guns save thousands of lives each year. Imagine you are at a Tigers game and a guy walks out of an alley with a knife and threatens to take all of your money, what are you going to do to defend yourself. With new gun control laws you might not be able to do anything. The Second Amendment states that we have the right to bear arms (Gun Control: Update). The background check system designed by Congress in 1993 to prohibit dangerous people from purchasing guns is not working effectively (Watkins). Most handguns that are used in criminal activity are more than likely stolen and passed from criminal to criminal (Wright). While there have been prosecuted cases of people buying handguns and reselling them to criminals, the ATF requires a report from an FFL of any person who purchases two or more handguns within a six day period (Wright). If one source of guns to criminals dries up many others will step and will sell more to them (Wright). Gun control laws do not need to be tightened. Instead of strengthening gun control laws we need to strengthen background checks instead. We also need to close down on illegal gun selling.
Illegal Guns (Body Paragragh)
We need to close down on illegal gun sales. Incomplete records and loopholes in the law have stopped background checks from doing their job. Such occurrences of this are: The Columbine killers, the Virginia Tech killers, and the shooting in Tucson. With current federal laws, the only people who are required to get a license, keep paperwork and conduct background checks are people who are selling guns as a business. People who say they only sell guns occasionally or say they are gun collectors do not have to undergo these background checks. To strengthen the background check system we should get all the names of the people who should be banned from buying a gun and put their names into the background check system. Then to follow up we need to close all loopholes in the background check system and require background checks for all gun sales (Watkins). We don’t need to make more strict gun control laws, we need to close loopholes in gun purchases.
Self-Defense (Rebuttal)
People with opposing views might say, “People who try to protect their homes with guns will have them taken away and get shot with their own gun.” This almost never happens. There are many cases of civilians using firearms to protect themselves every day and almost no burglars take the gun away and shoot the homeowners or their families. A burglar intending to steal jewelry would not try to find a gun and commit murder. Tons of americans use their rights to have concealed weapons. There have been no rises of crime or shootouts. Also there are more murders with household items than with guns. More people use guns in self-defense than in violent crimes (Wright). If gun control laws are tightened some people might not be able to protect themselves.
Conclusion
We need to close down on illegal gun sales and also more guns are used everyday in self-defense than in violent killings. We need to close loopholes in gun purchases. Also guns are used everyday for protection. Gun control laws do not need to be condensed we just need to close loopholes and if they are condensed thousands of people will not be able to protect themselves from robbers, burglars, and intruders.
Works Cited
"Gun Control: Update." Issues and Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Watkins, Christine. "An Updated Background Check System Will Help Prevent Gun Violence." Opposing Viewpoints in Context. A Plan to Prevent Future Tragedies, 2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Wright, Stephen E. "Gun Control Laws Will Not Save Lives." Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Guns and Crime, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.