Taking Away Our Freedom Essay, Research Paper

TAKING AWAY OUR FREEDOM

The legalization of concealed weapons for the purpose of self protection has and

will decrease the number of gun related crimes. Guns were not invented for the purpose

of robbing a bank, or mugging someone in a dark alley. Guns were not invented by

criminals or by people looking for a way to murder or intimidate. The invention of the

gun was directed at making hunting easier and eventually was used in war to defend our

country. The first guns, or ?mortars? were cannons. These weapons were used to defend

cities in the early 1400s. The French were the first to use cannons in mobile warfare. And

in recent wars guns have provided the artillary to defend inocent countries against

terrorist. What is so wrong with self defense?

If someone has the intent to murder, mug, or rape an innocent person, gun laws

will not stop that person. The only thing that a gun law does is to take away the right of

good citizens like us to protect ourselves from these criminals. We can not go back in

time and not invent the gun. We will never get rid of them all, so as long as guns exist,

criminals will obtain them easier and faster than the average citizen has ever been able to.

A woman who thought she was alone in her Jacona, New Mexico, home and had

just emerged from the shower when she heard the sounds of someone ransacking the

residence. The quick-thinking resident retreated to the bedroom but was soon confronted

by a stocky male intruder who had violently kicked down the locked door. That?s when

the intended victim pointed a handgun at the man, sending him fleeing! The woman in this

story and others like her are the types of people who cherish the right to bare arms.

One year after Australian gun owners were forced to surrender 640,381 personal

firearms to be destroyed, including semi-automatic .22 rifles and shotguns, a program

costing the government over 500 million dollars. The results are less than expected. A

dramatic increase in criminal activity involving firearms has been experienced by the

citizens of Australia. Just after twelve months of the new gun laws, Australia-wide

homicides are up 3.2%, assaults are up 8.6%, and armed robberies are up 44%! In the

state of Victoria, homicides with firearms are up 300%! Figures over the past 25 years

were showing a steady decrease in gun related crimes, and in just twelve months the new

gun laws changed everything for the worse.

The same thing is happening in Britain. Armed crime rose 10% in 1998, and the

numbers for 1999 are expected to be even more dramatic. Since guns are illegal, every

criminal wants one, and it is very profitable to smuggle them in. According to a police

spokesman, weapons from Eastern Europe, some still new in their boxes, are turning up

during investigations. Criminals now have unprecedented access to high quality guns at

affordable prices.

The January 14, year, issue of the Manchester Guardian says that their city is now

being called ?Gunchester?. Police sources have been quoted saying that guns have

become ?almost a fashion accessory? among young criminals on the street. Street gangs

are armed with fully automatic weapons, and unarmed police are afraid of confrontation.

The 1999 Sunday Express says, ?In recent months there have been a frightening number of

shootings in Britain?s major cities, despite new laws banning gun ownership.?

Unfortunately, the downward progress of gun control goes only one way. British citizens

will never regain the basic human right to armed self-defense.

The legalization of concealed weapons is one of the best ideas I have ever heard.

Muggers, rapists, and murderers often go after the weak or those incapable of protecting

themselves. Most of these criminals will not choose you as a victim knowing you have a

handgun. They are just as scared of guns as we, the honest citizens of the world are, but if

they are the only ones with guns, what is going to stop them from committing these crimes

everyday and more often? Everyone should have the right to self defense.