Daily Archives: May 15, 2012

Common Gun Control Arguments and Counter Arguments

The subject of gun control has always created a political and social debate regarding the restriction and availability of guns and firearms. In American politics for instance, gun control has been a controversial issue that has not been easy to manage or control. Research and surveys has proved that majority of Americans agree with the constitutional right to own a gun and some on the other hand also agree with the endorsement and enforcement of stricter gun control laws, thus bring up several gun control arguments.

 

In the midst of the gun control arguments  and counter arguments, it is important to know what gun control is. Gun control is a law that is used in deciding whether a citizen can own a gun or not. It is a law established to ensure that guns are not owned by criminal minded people but by people who are victims or are helpless against crime. The dilemma of gun control laws is that it can work in both ways; it can make victims helpless and it can turn an innocent harmless individual into a criminal, hence the gun control arguments and counter arguments. Let’s look into some of them.

Those people, who are in support of gun control, say that a gun is meant to kill and the less available it is in the society, the safer the society will be, while those against it say that whether guns are restricted or not, it does not change anything because guns do not kill, people do.

Those in support say that gun control will ensure that guns will not fall into the hands of children and teenagers, while those against it argue that with gun control those children and teenagers will not be able to defend themselves in the face of crime because they are not protected.

The registration of both the guns and the owners is another argument in support of gun control, while those against gun control arguments claim that registration is not necessary because in most of the cases involving guns, the guns are not bought or registered rather they are smuggled in by the acclaimed registered owners.

Despite the fact that it has received nationwide coverage and attention, the debate of gun control has not made headway at the federal level. The truth is the world out there is not safe and being unprotected in a criminal situation is not a good idea.