On the Implementation of Gun Ban

For many years, the issue of gun control has been subject to many debates. Why do
people own guns? Blendon, Young, and Hemenway (1996) believed that handguns are owned
primarily for protection. They further added that the growth of pistol ownership was caused by
the dramatical increase of violent crimes (p. 1721). It, however, seems inevitable that few will
use these weapons in an unjustifiable way. For example, on December 14, 2012, a U.S. citizen
named Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people in Sandy Hook elementary school. It is because of
incidents like this that advocates are pushing for laws like gun ban. Would banning guns then
create a more secure community? What these advocates fail to understand is that merely
confiscating these weapons is not the solution to the increasing crime rates. The criminal would
simply find another way to accomplish his motives either by using another weapon or obtaining
guns in an illegal manner. The law-abiding citizen would then be left with nothing to protect
himself. Therefore, with the escalating crime rates being felt today, guns owned by private
individuals should not be banned as it is a means of defense against criminals.
According to the statistics done by Lott (2013), for every place that guns have been
banned, murder rates have gone up (para. 1). For example, when gun ban was implemented in
England and Wales on January 1997, there was a 50 percent increase in homicide rates. This
situation is also similar to when gun ban was implemented in Washington D.C. (Lott, 2013, para.
2). Advocates claim that banning guns would limit the number of murders. Debunking these
claims, the statistics above say otherwise. This is evidence that gun ban does not lower crime
rates but in fact increases it. Confiscating these weapons will result to a weaker defense of the
individual. Furthermore, it should be remembered that crimes are caused by people themselves
and not the weapons used.

Estefan (1957) stated that, We protect aspirin bottles in this country better than we
protect guns from accidents by children. In this case, it can be inferred that guns become
instruments to unfortunate events. Not only are guns used accidentally, but are also used
intendedly in criminal acts. Advocates also claim that there is no need for guns because there is
already the police force to protect the nation. Also that it would reduce violent crime, and
would feel safer if all guns were illegal (Blendon, et al., 1996, pg. 1721)
According to Bostons Gun Bible, Ninety-five percent of all responses are too late to
stop the crime. So the average 911 caller, terrified for his life, has only 1-in-20 chance of having
the police arrive on time (p. 32). People rely too much on the police because they are unarmed
and that the law required them to be unarmed. Restraining private individuals from using guns
does not end the horror in our society. As said by Korwin (2013), Assault is not a type of
hardware we can manipulate any time we want. Rather, it is a human behavior. The eager the
government is to control guns, the more aggressive the criminals become because it is easier to
attack when victims are unarmed.
Guns can be dangerous if in the wrong hands. However, it does not automatically mean
that it is useless. If that is the case, policemen would not carry guns. These days, even policemen
cannot always be trusted because as they are sometimes the suspect. The individual has every
right to defend himself. As Reese (1937) points out, If the government can go armed, so should
the citizens, if they so choose.

References:
Blendon, R.J., Young J.T., & Hemenway D. (1996). The American Public and the Gun Control
Debate. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 275, 1719-1721
Murder and Homicide Rates Before and After Gun Ban. (2013). Retrieved from Web site:
http://crimepreventionresearchcenter.org/2013/12/murder-and-homicide-rates-before-and-aftergun-bans/
GUN CONTROL: 210 Carefully Selected Quotations Divided into 8 Sections. Retrieved from
Web site: http://www.quotations.com/gun_control.htm