Will Gun Control Reduce Crime Essay, Research Paper

Crime rate in the United States is higher than 60 percent of all countries. It is not only gun-related crime it is crime in general. They have tried many different ways to lower crime rate but have not been successful. The government has stiffened drug, rape, gun, and other laws but have not yet been able to successfully lower crime rate. To lower crime rate, stiffened gun control laws are not the way to go. Gun control is not a major factor in lowering crime rate.

Guns are not only owned by the criminals but also by citizens and police officials intended for protection. Don G. Kates Jr. states that gun control advocates argue we have police officials for protection. But police cannot always be everywhere. There are only 125,000 police officers on duty at one given time to protect a population of 250 million! Statistics state law-abiding citizens use handguns more than those citizens who intend to perpetrate crime do. There are 645,000 defense uses of handguns against persons per year compared to 581,000 criminal misuses of guns. Many handguns are intended for self-defense, to be exact 40 percent of handgun owners cite defense against crime.

Criminals break the laws with or without the use of gun. They break the law anyway so what is the difference if the gun laws are strict or not. Criminals also make weapons, use knives, and other objects besides guns to help in their crime. They do not get their guns through customary retail. Statistics state selling among friends and family, and trading of guns is the highest percentage of gun distribution.

Guns do not do the crime people do the crime. Advocates of gun control blame irresponsible people not guns. Foreign countries which have lower crime rates, have stronger laws in all areas not only gun control. Guns have nothing to do with crime rates. It is the people of the country and how they abide the law. If the government didn t have to pay an average of $1 billion per year they would have money to spend on stiffening the laws of America.

Self-defense use of guns kill three times as many people as than police and robberies. Do to higher gun control laws the crime rate will still be high because criminals break the law in every shape and form. So what will be the difference in breaking another law. Also, if someone wants a gun that person will have a gun regardless the law. Reducing the crime rate will not be preceded with stiffer gun control.