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Edited by Stalwart: 4/25/2013 2:48:34 PM
17

The Right to Bear Arms: Part 1

Hi all. I want to have a cool and calm talk about America and gun control. I know this is a very emotional topic, but I am going to try to keep emotion out of the debate. The second amendment ensures the right of individuals to own guns. Recently the US has been rocked with highly publicized abuse of the second amendment. The criminally and mentally unstable cannot and should not at any time own a gun. Yet somehow these people acquire guns, occasionally from a legal source. Gun control advocates cry for more regulation and fewer guns, frequently citing evil crimes committed with guns. However, they ignore the good acts of law abiding gun owners, who have stopped significantly more violent crimes than homicides committed. The gun is a tool; what matters is the person who uses it. Although a few people with guns have caused great pain and grief, law-abiding civilians should be allowed to make personal decisions about guns, because legal gun owners can help keep our country safe. Guns are a very emotional subject; before forming an opinion about them, it is necessary to know the related facts and statistics. Uninformed opinions provide no logical resolution; no true action should be taken based on such an opinion. Many anti-gun articles cite majority polls as reasons to enact stronger gun laws. However, this is not a true statistic—it is an opinion poll and cannot be used to prove an argument correct or to form an opinion. Many people simply say they favor stronger gun laws—possibly without defining or understanding the laws. In Guns and Crime, a compendium of clashing views on guns, one article cites that “65% of respondents favor banning assault rifles” as a reason to ban “assault rifles” (Watkins 35). However, the term “assault rifles” was not defined, nor were real statistics and facts used. This is a fallacy, specifically an appeal to the people. Statistics consist of cold hard numbers and facts, not polls of opinions about a vaguely described subject. It doesn’t matter what everyone thinks—what matters is the truth. Statistically, even though guns are easily the most lethal tool a person can use to commit homicide, there are actually fewer murders committed with guns than the average person would be led to believe. Farley, Robertson, and Kiely of FactCheck.org tell us that gun homicides have gone down, with only “11,078 in 2010, 3.59 per 100,000, the lowest rate since 1981.” (Gun Rhetoric vs. Gun Facts) Gun owners have prevented more violent crimes with guns than murderers have used guns to kill. Civilians prevent violence in our country by using guns to protect other citizens, or themselves. In fact, civilians use guns two million times a year to prevent violence (Watkins 28). This includes possible mass murders that never occurred—parallel events to the Aurora and Sandy Hook shootings that didn’t happen. Many people don’t realize how many guns there really are in America. There are an estimated 270-300 million guns owned in America, close to one gun per citizen (Bradford). However, ownership statistics don’t quite match up with the number of weapons: “47 percent of Americans… report owning a gun” (Bradford). These statistics are probably skewed because it has become unpopular to own a gun, so fewer owners report that they do. Though it may seem like too many, there were “88.8 [guns] per 100 people in 2007” (Farley, Robertson, Keily). It is doubtful that one would find 88 people with guns in a crowd of 100. Many gun enthusiasts own multiple weapons: hence the reason for the inflated figure. Next up tomorrow: Good gun control laws!

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  • So, here's the thing about the Second Amendment and gun control laws - either the Second Amendment is clear in its wording that no gun ownership shall be infringed and American citizens should have access to any and all firearms and weapons, making any gun control legislation unconstitutional... ...or it isn't and gun control laws are just fine. Which one is it?

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