Mac Baker

Essay
05/5/12
Pro Gun Control
Guns pose a high danger in this world, theres no question about it. Guns take lives every
year, intentionally or accidentally, a stricter gun control law would certainly prevent more gun
violence. In a nation where almost 50 percent of households own at least one gun, nearly 55,000
people die from a gunshot each year. Guns are extremely powerful weapons. They can cause
destruction, harm or even death. They can be used to defend and protect or to threaten and kill.
Any way you look at it, guns are powerful tools, not only physically but socially. A stricter gun
control law would help to prevent more suicides, lower crime rate, and create a safer future for
our youth.
For the past 13 years guns have been the most common method of suicide. Will suicide
completely disappear with the removal of guns? No, but the rate could potentially decrease. I
believe when people have the access to guns and feeling suicidal they are more likely to act on
impulse. Studies indicate that firearm availability measures are significantly and positively
associated with rates of firearm suicide. Over 36,000 people die by suicide each year. It is the
third leading cause of death of people between the ages of 15-24 and the sixth leading cause of
death of people between the ages of 5-14. With firearms accounting for over 50 percent of these
suicides, it is likely that gun availability plays a role in teen suicides. Not many people are going
to sell a gun to a teenager, so teens have to get them their selves. With just under 50 percent of
all households owning at least one gun, it isnt too hard for them to get their hands on one.
Crime rate and gun control go hand in hand. However, this is more of a localization issue.
For example, Vermont has the second lowest crime rate in the nation so a gun control ban there
isnt going to have as much of an impact as would a gun ban in Texas. This being said, gun
control is needed nationwide whether it would be saving one life a year in Vermont or a
thousand lives in Texas. In the early 1990s, Texass serious crime rate was 38 percent above the
national average. Since then, serious crime in Texas has dropped 50 percent faster than for the
nation as a whole. All this happened after passage of a concealed-carry law in 1994. Clearly
these laws work in areas with higher gun ownership percentages. With 190 million registered
guns, there are millions more unregistered. Implementing a new, stricter gun control law would
make these guns not as easily accessible. In 2008, roughly 16,272 murders were committed in
the United States. Of those, 10,886 were done with firearms. With stricter gun laws, theres no
doubt that crime rate would drop, especially homicide rates.
Studies show that while people carry guns they feel more powerful in the sense that they
could easily defend themselves by taking someone elses life or injuring them. This is why
theyre so dangerous. If something were to upset someone whats going to stop them from acting
on impulse and taking the shot? Hopefully their thoughts, but when something is annoying or
harming you youre not thinking correctly and you do what you can to make it stop. In a society
where not everyone likes each other and half the households have weapons, theres going to be
high statistics of firearms deaths in our future unless we get both sides of the argument to agree
on the fact theyre dangerous and are effecting the youth in a negative way.
All in all, guns should belong to the police, law enforcement, and military. Theres no
need for guns in our society. With stricter gun laws there would be few firearms in our society
today. We would be a safer nation. While the opposition only has speculations, pro gun control
groups have statistics proving crime rates have dropped in areas with stricter gun laws. They can
prove with stricter gun laws the homicide rate would drop. The pro-gun control groups
have the stronger case because they can prove that lives will be saved. Take away the guns, and
there will be no gun violence, it makes sense.