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Brianna Belknap
Professor Robyn
American Politics
4 December 2015
Controlled Gun Control

Imagine having a neighbor or someone who you frequently encounter who might
not be mentally stable, or might not have the best record. Now as if that isnt stressful
enough, put a gun into that persons hands. Does this scare you? This situation would
scare most people, which is why we as a nation need to consider implementing some sort
of gun control that will help to lower scenarios like these. It is estimated that between
270 million and 310 million Americans own one or more guns as of the year 2015. That
means that there is approximately one gun for every man, woman, and child in this
nation. Therefore 270 million people have exercised their right to bear arms. While it is a
good thing that we are exercising our rights, these numbers are very large and hard to
regulate. Monitoring of these weapons in society is necessary for our safety. Gun owners
often get upset with the mention of gun control, because they assume it means that their
rights will be taken. However, it doesnt have to be this way. Majority of society can
agree that it wouldnt be safe to just allow anyone have access to a gun to do whatever
they want with. Also, it can be agreed that it isnt fair to take the right away from those
who use it respectfully and who do not abuse the power. So a happy medium needs to be
established, that implements rules and regulations to make this freedom safer. More gun

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control needs to be put into effect because it could lower gun deaths, it could help solve
crimes, it would eliminate some of the activity in the illegal gun market, and because it
would make society feel safer as a whole.

Instilling gun control into society could potentially lower the amount of deaths
caused by these weapons. In 2013, a direct correlation was discovered between gun
control and deaths. It was observed that states with the most gun regulations had the
lowest death rates compared to states who did not have as much regulation. So far in
2015, there have been approximately 12,434 gun deaths. Imagine if this number could be
lowered by doing a background check, or giving a psych evaluation to someone before
giving them permission to own a gun. While this cant rid the problem completely, any
help is better than nothing. It is also found that 60 percent of convicted felons are gun
owners. This statistic is very shocking and terrifying in a way. Approximately 30,000
people are killed each year by gun violence. Imagine if shooters of mass casualty
shootings could be stopped before they get the opportunity to shoot. Think of how many
lives could be saved. A good example of this is the Sandy Hook Shooting.

Gun control regulations could also help authorities in solving crimes. 71% of
shooters are known to have had previous arrests for other offenses before their shooting
offense. Along with this, 64% of shooters were already convicted for a crime before they
were involved in the shooting. This means that, to some extent, there is a link between
the people who have guns and people who commit crimes. Sometimes the fingerprints

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on weapons used in crimes cannot always be identified. If every gun was registered
however, officials would able to see who the gun belongs to and possibly who committed
the crime. Some crimes are committed with stolen guns. To prevent these crimes, if a
person noticed his or her gun was missing they could report it to officials, who would
then know what gun to keep an eye out for. They might even be able to find the gun
before the crime is committed.

Gun control regulations should also be implemented because they would help
officials discover transactions in the illegal gun market. If a large amount of guns were
being sent to one small area this would catch the attention of the officials. It could very
well lead them to a location of illegal gun sales. One reason a person might be buying a
gun illegally is so that it cannot be traced back to them. This could make getting away
with a crime much easier. So in turn, crimes could be prevented with gun control
regulations. Majority of gun related crimes are committed with guns that are stolen or
that have been traded for drugs. Then those weapons are passed from criminal to criminal
or sold and used for new crimes. Sometimes the same weapon is used for multiple
crimes before it is recovered by authorities. Therefor, eliminating one gun from the
illegal gun market could prevent multiple crimes from taking place.
Finally, stricter gun regulations will make society feel safer overall. It is said that
every single day, around 400,000 people are saved from life threatening crimes WITH
gun protection. So this means that not all guns are bad, just those that are in the wrong
hands. When interviewed, 40% of felons said that they would avoid a crime if the

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THOUGHT that the victim was armed. 60% of those same felons said that they would
avoid a crime if they were SURE that the victim had a weapon. While guns can be scary
and cause a lot of fatalities, they also can save ones life. This is why the government
needs to create better regulations rather than taking guns away altogether. Guns make
society feel safer when put in the right hands.

Although gun control will not solve all of the worlds problems and will not save
every life, it is a good place to start. Its just a matter of how much gun control is too
much gun control. A happy medium needs to be met that keeps us safe without taking
away our freedom. There are millions of guns out in the world it would be virtually
impossible to collect all of them. Thus, it would be more beneficial to just be more
cautious with who can have access to a gun and who can not. The common counter
argument to gun control is that by giving us stricter guidelines, the government is taking
away our right. People often think that if the government has a say in the matter that they
will take all of the weapons away from society. If the innocent gun owners arent willing
to work with society, how are we going to make our nation safer from those who are
NOT abiding the rules? Also, research shows that other countries do not have the
outstanding problems we have with this matter. In some European countries such as
Spain owning a weapon is extremely uncommon. Citizens do not do so, and therefor the
police do not have to carry guns either. A nation with little to no gun violence may seem
impossible to us but other countries have managed to achieve this. The image below
shows the amount of CCW permits received in relation to the amount of gun crimes

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committed. This diagram gives hope that as more people go through the proper process
to own a gun, the amount of crimes committed with guns is decreasing. Gun regulations
could possible help this statistic to decrease. More gun control needs to be put into effect
because it could lower gun deaths, it could help solve crimes, it would eliminate some of
the activity in the illegal gun market, and because it would make society feel safer as a
whole.

Citation Page

"Extrano's Alley, More than a Gun Blog." Extranos Alley More than a Gun Blog. Web. 10
Dec. 2015.
"Global Impact of Gun Violence: Firearms, Public Health and Safety." Global Impact of
Gun Violence:
Firearms, Public
Health and
Safety. Web. 10
Dec. 2015.
"Gun Facts Control Myths."
10 Dec. 2015.

Debunking Gun
Gun Facts. Web.

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"Gun Violence Archive 2015 Toll of Gun Violence." Gun Violence Archive. Web. 10 Dec.
2015.