A Potential Solution
What would you do if you or your family was in immediate danger? You could call the cops, but would they get there in time? Firearms allow civilians the opportunity to defend themselves against various threats such as wild animals, or even worse, murderous criminals.
Currently, it is fairly easy for the average American to purchase a firearm. Some people, specially after the recent shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin, believe that crime would be greatly reduced if the United States imposed stricter gun control. However, this is not the case. There is a lot of evidence that shows that areas of the United States with strict gun control, such as the District of Columbia and Chicago, Illinois, have, in fact, more violent crime than areas with less gun control. Many times, just letting an attacker know that you have a weapon can be enough to prevent a crime from happening. In a national survey, conducted by John R. Lott, about 95 percent of the time that people use guns defensively, they merely have to brandish a weapon to break off an attack” (pg. vi). However, most cases covered by the media are those that end in a fatality (Lott, pg. vi).
Clearly, strict gun control does not work. Chicago, Illinois has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, but that does not stop criminals from obtaining firearms. On Sunday, November 25, 2012 alone, eight people were wounded by gun shots and one was killed (Chicago Tribune). That is a total of nine reported gun shot wounds in just one day. It is pretty clear that strict gun control does not work in cities within the United States, but what about other countries? Mexico has some of the highest murder rates in the globe, yet they have even stricter gun control laws than Chicago. Australia's crime rate has significantly increased ever since they banned firearms. On the other hand, Switzerland, which actually requires all its households to have firearms, has some of the lowest crime rate in the world. It almost seems like the stricter gun control laws are, the higher the rate of violent crime.
Now, I am not proposing that we force every household in the United States to own a firearm, or that we allow every felon fresh out of jail to purchase firearms, but we definitely do need some sort of change. Instead of having gun control advocates and gun rights advocates arguing about who is right, we should all come together to figure out what truly does work. I do not believe guns are the problem. Guns are inanimate objects. The person behind the trigger is the one who decides how that weapon is used. So rather than focusing our attention on the regulation of firearms, we should be focusing on what is causing people to commit these sort of violent crimes. Even though it would be impossible to completely get rid of all crime, I do believe that by focusing on the people causing the crimes, rather than the tool being used, crime could be greatly reduced.
Currently, it is fairly easy for the average American to purchase a firearm. Some people, specially after the recent shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin, believe that crime would be greatly reduced if the United States imposed stricter gun control. However, this is not the case. There is a lot of evidence that shows that areas of the United States with strict gun control, such as the District of Columbia and Chicago, Illinois, have, in fact, more violent crime than areas with less gun control. Many times, just letting an attacker know that you have a weapon can be enough to prevent a crime from happening. In a national survey, conducted by John R. Lott, about 95 percent of the time that people use guns defensively, they merely have to brandish a weapon to break off an attack” (pg. vi). However, most cases covered by the media are those that end in a fatality (Lott, pg. vi).
Clearly, strict gun control does not work. Chicago, Illinois has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, but that does not stop criminals from obtaining firearms. On Sunday, November 25, 2012 alone, eight people were wounded by gun shots and one was killed (Chicago Tribune). That is a total of nine reported gun shot wounds in just one day. It is pretty clear that strict gun control does not work in cities within the United States, but what about other countries? Mexico has some of the highest murder rates in the globe, yet they have even stricter gun control laws than Chicago. Australia's crime rate has significantly increased ever since they banned firearms. On the other hand, Switzerland, which actually requires all its households to have firearms, has some of the lowest crime rate in the world. It almost seems like the stricter gun control laws are, the higher the rate of violent crime.
Now, I am not proposing that we force every household in the United States to own a firearm, or that we allow every felon fresh out of jail to purchase firearms, but we definitely do need some sort of change. Instead of having gun control advocates and gun rights advocates arguing about who is right, we should all come together to figure out what truly does work. I do not believe guns are the problem. Guns are inanimate objects. The person behind the trigger is the one who decides how that weapon is used. So rather than focusing our attention on the regulation of firearms, we should be focusing on what is causing people to commit these sort of violent crimes. Even though it would be impossible to completely get rid of all crime, I do believe that by focusing on the people causing the crimes, rather than the tool being used, crime could be greatly reduced.