Gun Control Essay, Research Paper

Gun-control, term that refers to the management of firearms in an effort to reduce criminal use of weapons. Gun-control generally is concerned with the passage of legislation- on a local, state, or national level-that places restrictions on legal ownership of certain firearms. These restrictions often involve mandatory waiting periods for prospective gun buyers or banning the sale of some weapons altogether. In the early 1990s there were more than 200 million privately owned guns in the United States alone. Even with the restrictions on guns ownership there are still more than 65 million handguns in circulation. Even with the supporters of gun-control law as myself and many law-enforcement groups, the efforts to enact national gun-control laws will meet fierce opposition from the gun lobby, because it does not meet the standard of the Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

In United States guns are widely available for purchase, even mail orders for guns are available without going through a waiting period, except for some states. It is the example of handguns related crime are higher than any other crime in the U.S, and the law is not stopping people from buying guns. Many politicians and citizens believe that the number of handguns in the U.S. is too high, and are making an effort to reduce the number of handguns in circulation is unimaginable. According to the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” Those opposed to controls interpret this to mean that the government has no right to limit or ban ownership of guns.

The opponents of the Gun Control Act, the National Rifle Association (NRA), believing that the rights of law-abiding citizens to buy, own, and use guns for recreational purposes or self-protection are threatened if the government bans the keeping of handguns in homes. But what the NRA does not realize that if we don t have a law to bans the ownership of guns, the crime rates will increase. Gun related accidents and suicides are also a common problem that we are facing in this country. Many people believe that buying guns for self-protection are the only answer for their security purposes. Without knowing that a person wishing to possess a gun for protection is more threatened by their own weapon than the crime they may not even encounter in their lifetime. More kids are accidentally shot by their friend or family is very common because their parents keep a gun at home for safety.

Law-enforcement group are among the most influential supporters of stricter gun-control laws. For example- they provided a nationwide screening program for buyers of handguns, including a waiting period, verification of a buyer s identity, and a mandatory criminal-record check. Some law even prohibits mail-order purchase of guns and residents of one state from buying firearms in another state. Some U.S. cities, such as Washington D.C., Chicago, and New York City, place restrictions on handgun ownership. However, few cities have banned handguns entirely. Because some opponents of the law have developed an effective lobbying group that opposes most gun-control legislation. Their position is that stronger anti-crime measures, rather than anti-gun. They assume that crime is the basic problem, not guns, and even with the gun-control law, the crime rate still continues to rise. It is true for this case, even with the gun restrictions law it will eventually stop people from buying guns but the circulation of 65 million guns will still generate crime rates and accidents.

For the most part of battle over the banning of handguns, there are some success. In 1993, the Congress of the United States passed the so-called Brady bill, which requires prospective gun buyers to wait five working days before taking possession of their weapon. Although it slows down the circulation of handguns, it still does not stop people from buying it as long as guns exist.