The Affect of Gun Control and Crime Rates

4-5 Page Research Paper

Gun Control and Crime Rates

1 April 2013

Every year tens of thousands of people are killed by firearms. Today, guns are more lethal than ever before with larger ammunition capacity, and greater firepower. The issue with violence and gun control does not lie within the amount of guns in the United States or the types of guns on the market today, but rather with the nature of the owner of the gun. Since the most recent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut the debate on gun control has risen. Daniel Webster argued that, more than 31,000 people each year in the United States die from gunshot wounds in addition to these deaths there were an estimated 337,960 non fatal violent crimes committed with guns. (Webster 2). These rates are very high for a developed country when compared to other nation akin. The nation in fear of another devastating event occurring again, wants answers to solve this pandemic of violent crimes. The issue is the culture of the people committing these violent acts, and not the gun itself. Some may argue that criminals can get their hands on guns easier today, but fewer than 2% of all handguns and well under 1% of all guns will ever be involved in a crime (Webster). Most criminals get their hands on guns by either by friends, or non legitimate retailers. Gun violence in the United States is unusually high for a nation with such wealth. Debates about gun control often drift towards the arguments whether guns make us safe or put us in greater danger. It is a large debate weather strict gun control laws, will reduce criminal activity, or in fact do the opposite. Examining statistics, who owns guns and why, previous court cases, previous shooting including the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, , and looking at other countries or regions who have strict gun control laws we can come to the conclusion that gun control will raise criminal activity

which leaves other options to limit gun related...