Gun control refers to the law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to reduce the possession and use of guns in the United States or any other parts of the world. Gun control laws vary from one country to the other. The United States of America have less strict legislation on gun ownership; as a result, a significant proportion of its population own guns. On the one side, the UK has strict law and not just anybody can possess a firearm. A recent report by Reuters indicated that California lawmakers were pushing for tighter gun control. This action was as a result of mass shooting in Connecticut and Colorado in 2012 (Bernstein, 2013). An article by Tom Trinko points out that Liberals are advocating for more strict rules on gun control to increase the dependency of the American citizens on the Government and not to reduce crime (Trinko, 2013). The issue is a source of great debate all over the world. Supporters of the law claim that letting so many people own guns increases crime rate while opponents argue that gun control does not reduce gun-related crimes.
Several legislations have been set in place to regulate the possession and use of firearms. National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968 are the most prominent federal laws that have been enacted in the United State of America. There has been a move to introduce more rules to limit the use of guns. One of the prominent advocates for this legislation is the New York mayor, who has funded several campaigns aimed at reducing the number of firearms owned by America (Bernstein, 2013). The proponents of gun control argue that crime rate can only be reduced by enacting laws that reduce the possession of firearms by Americans.
Advocates of gun control laws believe that firearms regulations are needed to take guns away from criminals. According to the proponents, violent crime rate increases when more individuals own guns – this leads to gun violence which causes countless injuries and deaths. They are more concerned about the risks that weapons poses to children as evident by the increased shooting in schools recently.
The law points out that the implementation of such regulation is a violation of someone’s right to self-protection. Countries that have strict legislation on gun possession have increased crime rate as compared to those nations that do not apply strict rules on gun use. The gun control laws that are currently in place have not reduced crime out. Instead, the crime rate has increased since they were enacted. I believe that such laws would only make citizens more vulnerable to criminals and should not be considered. Instead, more liberal rules that encourage possession of firearms need to be put in place.
In short, citizens of America need guns for protection and self-defense. Restricting the use of a firearm will never reduce crimes. The usage of a gun can only be restricted in some particular places such as schools to avoid a disaster like the shooting of students but not to limit its use all over the country. The government needs to stop crimes by targeting criminals and not denying its citizen the right to own firearms. With or without the guns, the rate of criminal acts remains almost the same, implying that gun ownership has nothing to do with the rise of crimes in the country.
References
Bernstein, S. (2013, June 10). California’s Democratic lawmakers push for tighter gun control| Reuters. Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/30/us-usa-california-guncontrol-idUSBRE94T03W20130530
Trinko, T. (2013, April 13). Articles: Why Liberals support Gun Control. American Thinker. http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/04/why_liberals_support_gun_control.html
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