The Second Amendment to the Constitution states that, “A well-regulatedmilitia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of thepeople to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” and the definition ofgun control is; government regulation of possession and use of firearms byprivate citizens. Gun control only takes guns away from law-abiding citizens andit does nothing to stop criminals from buying illegal guns, who are unlikely toobey the law and register their guns. I feel that the term gun control isimproperly used. The government is using it as a way to take our right to beararms. Why would anyone want to own a gun? Piece of mind is the main reason Ihave a gun. I feel a lot safer at home knowing that I am close to my best lineof defense. Guns provide a source of psychological reassurance even amongcitizens who are not especially concerned about the fear of crime of beingvictimized. In a survey given about guns, “self-defense was the primaryreason given by one out of every five gun owners for firearms.” “Theright of self-defense and the right to use firearms for defense of self andfamily are the cornerstone of individual rights enumerated in the USConstitution.” Why does the government make it harder to protect ourselves?Police cannot always protect everyone. There are only about 500,000 policeofficers throughout the country, which figures to around only 125,000 policeofficers are on duty at any given time to protect the whole country. Onlyseventeen percent of Americans give the police a great deal of confidence inprotecting them, while forty-six percent said they do not give them very muchconfidence. “Other than a bodyguard or a law enforcement officer at one’sside twenty-four hours a day, the most effective deterrent to criminal attack isthe criminal’s fear that the prospective victim is armed and prepared to defendhim or her self.” Courts have ruled that there is no constitutional rightto be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen,which means that police have no duty to protect the individual citizen. Afterhearing this, I trust the police even less. What is the likelihood of beingsuccessfully attacked when you are armed? Criminals’ fear armed citizens.
Victims who used guns for protection were less likely either to be attacked orinjured than victims who responded in any other way, including those who didn’tresist at all were; and victims no resisted robbers with a gun were less likelyto lose their property. When victims use guns to resist crimes, the crimesusually are disrupted and the victims are not injured. A good example of firearmdeterrence comes from a rape experiment done in Orlando. Orlando offered atraining course to women on handgun self defense, which was taken by 6,000women. A year after the program began; the rape rate in Orlando dropped almostninety percent. The police force went on strike in Albuquerque, New Mexico;during this time, the crime rate decreased because frightened citizens armedthemselves and protected their homes and businesses. Criminals “had nostomach at all for facing indignant citizens protecting their own property withthe same force the criminals used to steal it. Handgun ownership avertsthousands of victim injuries and deaths that would not have been avoidable giventhe tactical advantages that criminals have over unarmed citizens. Who would yourather have protecting you? In Chicago in a typical year, more criminals areshot by storeowners and other armed citizens than by the entire police force. InApril 1984 three terrorists attacked a cafe in Jerusalem with automatic weapons,intending to kill everyone in sight; they were able to claim only one victimbefore they were shot by a handgun-armed Israelis. In 1980, between 1,500-3,000felons were legally killed by armed civilians in self-defense or forrelated-legally justified reasons; and additional 8,700-16,600 criminals werelegally wounded under the same circumstances. If these figures are accurate,then civilians kill and injure far more felons annually than do police officers,i.e., criminals have more to fear from armed victims than from the police.
Everyone knows that police officers are trained to ask questions first and shootlater, but I personally feel that if I were in a questionable situation I wouldprobably shoot first. That is most likely how many other citizens’ feel and thatis probably why that figure is so high. Why doesn’t the Constitution protect usfrom gun control laws? The Second Amendment states, “A well regulatedMilitia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the peopleto keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Infringed means to violateor trespass. The Constitution has never been described as a marvel of clarity,and the Second Amendment is probably the most unclear amendment in the bill ofrights. It is not easy to understand why the Second Amendment, or the notion ofliberty, should be viewed as creating a right to own and carry a weapon thatcontributes so directly to the shock of murders in our society. “It is hardfor me to see how one can argue that circumstances have so changed as to makemass disarmament constitutionally unproblematic. What have gun control laws donefor citizens? No study of the effectiveness of gun laws has shown any positiveeffect, yet some studies have shown a negative effect. The obvious effect of gunbans is to deny law-abiding citizens access to firearms for their defense. Theblack market is open to anyone with money without discrimination of age, race,gender, or background. Criminals do not bother to with obeying the law, for acriminal by definition is someone who disobeys laws. Gun control laws do noteven pertain to criminals, unless they try to work through the legal system. Theonly people who are affected by gun control laws are law-abiding citizens whoare trying to protect themselves. What does it take to carry a concealedhandgun? To legally carry a concealed handgun, in most states, a license must beobtained. To get a concealed and carry license one must take a concealed handguncourse. Once the course has been taken, you have to apply for the license fromAustin, where they conduct an extensive background check to see if you have anycriminal record. Many people have invested lots of money in handguns and handgunclasses, then have been rejected when applying for their license. In 1996, 1321license applicants were denied the right to carry a concealed handgun in Texas.
Why does it have to be so hard for the good guy to get a gun? Why does thegovernment insist on making the criminal go through the legal system so that itslows it down for the good guys? There are many questions to ask, but there isnot enough answer to give out. Our Founding Fathers gave the citizens of theUnited States the right to bear arms, and our new government is slowly trying totake it away. The fight to ban gun control is going to be a difficult one.
“The longer gun control advocates distract the nation from this task byembracing that single siren song, the longer it will take and the more difficultthe job will be.” So practice your right to protect your country and voteagainst gun control any time you can.
