Nicholas Carle Mrs. Gardner English 10 HON, 1.

29 September 2013 The Tyranny of Gun Control As recent mass shooting have occurred, civilians have been looking for answers to resolve these issues through additional gun control legislation. However, the controversy over banning the right to bear arms is often solely based on the suggested answer found in the article headlines: Gun control is the answer. While the simple concept of passing these laws makes sense, suggesting that innocent lives could be saved, the actual effects would differentiate significantly from what is proposed. Considering that Gun Control laws would really only affect those who can legally possess firearms, their purpose would not prevent fatal crimes because the majority of criminals dont obtain firearms legally through federal background checks. An estimated 30% of our population owns guns and the United States has the highest relative gun ownership. Restricting the purchase of a certain type of firearm or magazine would be ineffective, as criminals would still avoid background checks and obtain firearms otherwise. How, I ask you, with millions of firearms and magazine already made; do you think it is possible to eliminate those in existence? The proposed laws would ban all magazines over the capacity of 10 rounds and assault rifles capable of semi-automatic firing. Assault weapons, however, were only used in a small fraction of the total homicides each year. Additionally these shootings often occurred in gun free public areas, making unarmed victims easy targets. In many of these attacks, mentally unstable people were to blame however; many did not receive the medical attention early on in order to have provided a successful sure stable lifestyle. In nearly every case, the firearms used were not owned by the shooter; therefore these new laws wouldnt prevent shootings with assault rifles from occurring. Consider the purpose of banning these weapons. Ultimately the number of deaths cannot be blamed on the firearms themselves, but the people

who commit the crime using them. Therefore ask not what you can do to get rid of firearms, but ask what you can do to correct those who misuse them. Gun control recently proposed in the United States wasnt the first country to attempt the reduction of gun violence. The United Kingdom had recently banned nearly every type of hand gun, banned nearly every type of rifle and banned almost every type of firearm, which resulted in crime actually increasing. After the ban, large quantities of illegal firearms still crept the streets into the hands of gangs and criminals. The United Kingdom, one of the many countries where gun control showed no benefits after it was applied, proved that gun control beyond its current legislation remains unnecessary and cannot be justified. While the number of casualties caused by homicide per year has decreased significantly, drunk driving each year in the United States caused just as many casualties as if the Vietnam war in full swing , yet the penalty for a first offense in drunk driving could be as little as a few months of a suspended license. The laws just dont make sense. If drunk driving is proven to have just as many casualties as homicides then why is it not taken nearly as serious? If we want to save lives we shouldnt take away our right to bear arms from those who are responsible, but correct those who misuse our rights. Funding through taxes should be collected to support the mentally impaired, new laws should be proposed allowing citizens in populated public areas possess a gun, gun buyback programs should occur more frequently to reduce the number of firearms on the street, and lastly the penalty for drunk driving should be increased and made more aware of. While these solutions may not significantly reduce the numbers of casualties immediately from gun violence and other causes, they provide a starting point for us as citizens of the United States to think about how we can make the world a better and safer place. While some may disagree thinking that gun control can only do good for our country, I can assure you that it wont prevent these tragic events from happening. Together lets turn street violence into peace, turn the mentally ill into respected, turn drunk drivers into educators about drunk driving and together turn our country inside out.