Handguns at Issue

Violence is one of the most rapid growing Public Health concerns society faces today and much of that violence unfortunately does not escape the involvement or use of guns. The problem is however, many people tend to place blame on the guns themselves as opposed to those who are pulling the trigger. What some people may fail to realize, as David Kopel, the Research Director for the Independence Institute states, is that “Guns in the right hands make all people safer, including those who do not own guns.” (par.2)

All the controversy over handguns throughout America is certainly nothing new, but these debates will always be just that, debates. Although I respect the views of those on both sides of the fence, I firmly believe in and appreciate my Constitutional right to bear arms. Safety and protection are among several of the reasons why I choose to keep guns in my own home. I want to be able to protect my family at all costs if the need ever arose. Burglaries happen all the time, and although the average burglar will avoid a house if people are at home, there are those instances where the family is not that fortunate. In fact, Kopel touches on this very subject in his article “Guns in the right hands make all people safer, including those who do not own guns.” In providing actual percentages, Kopel states: that “In a survey of felony convicts in state prisons, 73 percent of the convicts who had committed a burglary or violent crime agreed “one reason burglars avoid houses when people are home is that they fear being shot.” Another study found that over 90 percent of burglars said that they would not even attempt a burglary in a house that they thought might be occupied” (par. 8). However, “When burglars do encounter victims who cannot protect themselves, the results can be terrifying. In 30 percent of the cases in which a burglar does confront a victim, the victim is assaulted or threatened, and in ten percent of these cases, the assaults turn into rapes” (Kopel, par 18).

The high violent crime rate in the United States where guns are involved is a horrible epidemic and it definitely needs addressing; however, the anti-gun advocates place blame on the guns themselves, and not the criminals who use them and this is simply a wrong way of thinking. Let me put it to you this way, you could set a gun down on a table and watch it all day long and rest assured, the gun is not going to jump off the table and kill someone.

This brings me to mention another article in the SFexaminer, “Gun Control Restricts Those Least Likely to Commit Crimes,” written by Don B Kates, a fellow researcher at the Independent Institute in Oakland and a criminologist and former professor of criminal and constitutional law. Kates talks about there being three types of people groups in the U.S where laws currently ban them from having guns, felons, juveniles and those who are mentally unstable. Among these three groups, felons are responsible for 90% of murders committed leaving the juveniles and the mentally unstable responsible for the other 10 % (par. 2).

Even though statistics show 15 percent of all Americans have criminal records, and that more than 90 percent of murder suspects have a history of crime. Their criminal careers average six or more years’ length, including four major adult felonies, in addition to their often extensive juvenile records. A New York Times study of the 1,662 murders in that city between 2003 and 2005 found that “more than 90 percent of the killers had criminal records” (Kates, par. 4). Additionally, “eighty percent of the Atlanta murder arrestees had previously been arrested at least once for a drug offense; 70 percent had three or more prior drug arrests — in addition to their arrests for other crimes. Naïve, well-meaning people often respond to such facts with, “Still, wouldn’t this be a better world without guns?” (Kates, pars. 4, 6). In my opinion, no it would not be a better world without guns.

Americans who continue to own guns and stand up for their constitutional right to bear arms to protect their homes and families provide a safer environment for all. This includes making it safer for those who do not own guns, and even for those who are against gun ownership all together.




References

Kates, Don. “Gun Control Restricts Those Least Likely to Commit Violent Crimes.” 5 April 2009. San Francisco Examiner. Web. 9 May 2009.

Kopel, David. "Guns in the Right Hands Make Society Safer." Guns and Crime. Tamara L. Roleff, At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 2000. Reprinted from David Kopel, "Burglary and the Armed Homestead," Chronicles, January 1998, with permission.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Web. 9 May 2009.
Gale Document Number: EJ3010015204