I
posted this a long time ago, but in the hopes of becoming published at some
point, I deleted it. I am bringing it back, because it is one of my favorites,
and I think best written, and we'll see what happens in the publishing
department at another time.
When gun control laws are enforced, why do gun crime rates go up? It has been brought up by multiple people throughout the world that proper gun control laws would do away with gun-related violence; however, they do not. According to an article written by John Lott in American Enterprise, "In the four years after the United Kingdom banned handguns in 1996, gun crime rose by an astounding 40 percent" (1). This quote has been found to be true in many countries throughout the world. The United States Congress, in 1968 after the murders of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., passed "The Gun Control Act"; which brought more restrictions on the sale and use of firearms. In an article written by M. Stanton Evans, he states "the Gun Control Act has done little to impede the growth of crime in our society" (1). These two points make it pretty clear that the way to less gun violence is less gun control.
Take the tax cuts in the early 1980s as an example. President Ronald Reagan, with the country facing the worst recession since the Great Depression, cut taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Now to look at this, it almost sounds ludicrous, but let us look at what that did. It helped the wealthy keep more of their money. In turn, those wealthy people hired more middle class and lower class workers at their businesses. They also bought more expensive things which helped the economy and brought more people to work in different jobs. Since there were more people working, in turn it affected the poverty level, leaving less and less people in poverty. So, in short, giving the American people more freedom solved the recession very quickly. Now contrast that to the Great Depression. President Roosevelt, when faced with the Depression, quickly came up with multiple social programs, which in turn brought government spending up which raised everyone's taxes across the board. This kept businesses from hiring new employees and laying off existing employees. All of these actions raised unemployment, which meant people were not getting paid. If people do not have money, then they do not spend money; therefore, the economy suffers.
If you pass a law taking guns away from the citizens then, yes, the citizens who follow the laws will obey. These are not the citizens we are worried about. The citizens we are worried about are the ones who have no issues with breaking a law or two. Now, all that these laws have done is make law-abiding citizens easier targets for the criminals to harass, whereas if you give the American people their true right to own a firearm, you give them the ability to defend themselves against those who wish to harm them. Just like the tax argument I made earlier; if you want less crime, you give more freedom. By combining the fear of possibly meeting a gun owner on the other side of the door and the fear of very harsh punishments if a violent crime is committed, you will significantly reduce the violent crime rate. In his article written in the American Journal of Criminal Justice, Alex Piquero states, "According to the state of Florida, the results under 10-20-Life are impressive. In only five years, from 1998-2003, 10-20-Life has helped drive down violent gun crime rates 28 percent statewide" (1).
Works Cited
Evans, M. Stanton "Crime and Gun Control." National Review 31.45 (1979): 1434.
International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009
Lott Jr., John "GUN BANS DON'T CUT CRIME." American Enterprise 13.7 (2002): 10.
Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
Piquero, Alex " Do Gun Laws Affect Crime the Way Steroids Affect Homeruns in
Baseball?" American Journal of Criminal Justice. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
When gun control laws are enforced, why do gun crime rates go up? It has been brought up by multiple people throughout the world that proper gun control laws would do away with gun-related violence; however, they do not. According to an article written by John Lott in American Enterprise, "In the four years after the United Kingdom banned handguns in 1996, gun crime rose by an astounding 40 percent" (1). This quote has been found to be true in many countries throughout the world. The United States Congress, in 1968 after the murders of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., passed "The Gun Control Act"; which brought more restrictions on the sale and use of firearms. In an article written by M. Stanton Evans, he states "the Gun Control Act has done little to impede the growth of crime in our society" (1). These two points make it pretty clear that the way to less gun violence is less gun control.
Take the tax cuts in the early 1980s as an example. President Ronald Reagan, with the country facing the worst recession since the Great Depression, cut taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Now to look at this, it almost sounds ludicrous, but let us look at what that did. It helped the wealthy keep more of their money. In turn, those wealthy people hired more middle class and lower class workers at their businesses. They also bought more expensive things which helped the economy and brought more people to work in different jobs. Since there were more people working, in turn it affected the poverty level, leaving less and less people in poverty. So, in short, giving the American people more freedom solved the recession very quickly. Now contrast that to the Great Depression. President Roosevelt, when faced with the Depression, quickly came up with multiple social programs, which in turn brought government spending up which raised everyone's taxes across the board. This kept businesses from hiring new employees and laying off existing employees. All of these actions raised unemployment, which meant people were not getting paid. If people do not have money, then they do not spend money; therefore, the economy suffers.
If you pass a law taking guns away from the citizens then, yes, the citizens who follow the laws will obey. These are not the citizens we are worried about. The citizens we are worried about are the ones who have no issues with breaking a law or two. Now, all that these laws have done is make law-abiding citizens easier targets for the criminals to harass, whereas if you give the American people their true right to own a firearm, you give them the ability to defend themselves against those who wish to harm them. Just like the tax argument I made earlier; if you want less crime, you give more freedom. By combining the fear of possibly meeting a gun owner on the other side of the door and the fear of very harsh punishments if a violent crime is committed, you will significantly reduce the violent crime rate. In his article written in the American Journal of Criminal Justice, Alex Piquero states, "According to the state of Florida, the results under 10-20-Life are impressive. In only five years, from 1998-2003, 10-20-Life has helped drive down violent gun crime rates 28 percent statewide" (1).
Works Cited
Evans, M. Stanton "Crime and Gun Control." National Review 31.45 (1979): 1434.
International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009
Lott Jr., John "GUN BANS DON'T CUT CRIME." American Enterprise 13.7 (2002): 10.
Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
Piquero, Alex " Do Gun Laws Affect Crime the Way Steroids Affect Homeruns in
Baseball?" American Journal of Criminal Justice. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
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