Gun Control

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." What does the second amendment to the Constitution to the United States really mean? Does every citizen have the right to own a gun? Should there be limitations on who can possess a gun? Gun right advocates believe they have the right to possess a gun without restrictions. Gun Control advocates on the other hand support more limitations on the accessibility of guns and also want to ban certain types of guns. They argue that the more guns there are the more crime there will be. Is either one of these arguments justified? Which party is right in their interpretation of the second amendment?

Those in favor of the right to have possession of a gun say they have a gun for protection, and that guns do not cause more deaths. These advocates of gun rights use the fact that Switzerland with very little restraints on guns has very little crime. "Switzerland, through its militia system, distributes both pistols and fully automatic assault riffles to all adult males and requires them to store their weapons at home. Further, civilian long-gun purchases are essentially unregulated, and handguns are available to any adult without a criminal record or mental defect. Nevertheless, Switzerland suffers far less crime per capita then the United States an almost no gun crime" (Kopel 2002). Gun rights activists say that "Guns do not turn ordinary citizens into murderers" (Kopel 2002) Studies have established that less then one gun owner in 3,000 commits murder, and that one killer is far-flung from being a classic gun holder. Studies have also found that "two-thirds to four-fifths" of homicide offenders have previous arrest records (Kopel 2002).

Every month the NRA magazine publishes a section called "The Armed Citizen." The section is full of newspaper clippings about citizens who have successfully defended themselves against a crime. For Example, one of the stores featured in the magazine was about a man, who is in a wheelchair, who had been beaten and robbed in five break-ins over the past two months. One night when the man heard prying at his window he fired a shotgun, and wounded the burglar and scaring him off (Kopel 2002). This is just one success story from owning a gun. There are however many disadvantages to self-defense with a firearm. The gun control advocates focus on this these aspects of the gun.

Self-defense is the most common reason for owning a gun. Research has shown that a gun kept within a house is 43 times more likely to kill a member of the family, a friend, and rather then an intruder. Dr. Arthur Kellermann and Dr. Donald Reay published this following information in The New England Journal of Medicine: "A study of 743 gunshot deaths found that 84 percent of these homicides occurred during altercations in the home. Only two of these 743 gunshot deaths occurring in the home involved an intruder killed during an attempted entry, and only nine of these deaths were determined by police/courts to be justified" (Jason 2002). Approximately eleven percent of gun owners and about thirteen percent of handgun owners use their firearms for protection (Gun Control 2002).

Guns were a major cause of accidents. In 1995, firearms were responsible for 1.5 % or 1,400 fatal accidents. They were responsible for 2.7% or 181 of accidents that involved children under 14. There were 259 fatal firearm accidents for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 (Gun control 2002). Dr. Roth, a research director in Bethesda Maryland, says " In short, people are not always thinking rationally, and when there is a gun around, it is easier for an irrational person to do greater damage" (Jason 2002).

Guns are used as the primary weapon in many crimes. In 1989, approximately 60 percent of all murder victims were killed with guns (Jason 2002). In the United States during 1997, 15,289 murders were committed. Out of these murders, the perpetrators used a firearm in 10,369 of the instances. Also in 1997, people committed 7,927,000 violent crimes. Out of these crimes a gun was used in about 691,000 times (Gun control 2002).

Because of these accidents of self-defense or neglect and the number of crimes committed with guns, gun control advocates feel that many precautions need to be taken before anyone can own a weapon. The Brady Bill established on February 28, 1994 establishes a 5 day waiting period on handgun purchases when bought through a licensed dealer. It also requires that local authorities do a background check on handgun purchasers. Since the implementation of the Brady Bill, the number of violent crimes committed by firearms has fallen 25% as of 1997 (Gun Control 2002).

Gun control advocates also feel that people who own guns should attend gun education classes