Gun Control in the U.S.A.

Larry Chambers

Joseph Ervin

English 280

14 April, 2016

Gun Control and the Right to Bear Arms

Thesis – More gun control laws on top of the 2nd Amendment and existing laws only add to the problem of gun control.

1. Gun control does not work on a state wide scale

     A) Gaining access to a weapon is as simple as crossing state lines.

     B) Most states offer guns for “rent” for competitions and hunting.

2. Gun control can work on a national level.

    A) Countries with strict gun control laws have lower murder and suicide rates than the USA.

    B) States that work together to enforce gun laws would greatly reduce crime and access to illegal guns.

3. More gun control laws would protect legal gun owners

    A) More gun control laws do not prevent crime; gun ownership deters crime.

    B) Legally owned guns are much easier to keep track of.

Conclusion: There are a multitude of pros and cons to the addition of more gun control laws. Depending upon your views or experience with guns, they can be both either be good or bad. In the United States, there are roughly 88.8 guns per 100 people or 270,000,000 guns. Approximately 22% of Americans own 1 or more guns. The majority of adults, including gun owners, support better background checks, bans on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, as well as armor piercing bullets. The United States already has a series of “checks and balances” in place for gun control, but as it stands, those “checks and balances” fail on a state level where there are conflicting gun laws. If a crime is going to happen, lack of a gun will not prevent it. If that crime entails the loss of a life, there are countless ways for someone to take another person’s life without the use of a gun. The focus should be on the removal of illegal guns from the streets and the prevention of the wrong people gaining access to guns. Less focus on those who acquire their guns legally and by the book.