Introduction
The topic of gun control has people who support the notion that citizens should be allowed to keep firearms, and then there is the majority of the US population who think otherwise. This debate has been going on since the late eighties. But recently, in America, people are having a heated debate over gun control policies now more than ever. Both sides have some strong points that are justifiable, but they also present weak arguments that put them in a very untenable position.
Discussion
On one side, there are firearm regulation advocates who give the argument that allowing every citizen to bear guns implies the government cannot protect its own citizens, and if they are unable to do that, then they cannot be trusted with anyone and instead of giving weapons to citizens, they should focus on strengthening the workplace security such as in schools. Gun rights proponents say that citizens should be prepared for the worst case because, in the end, the lives of American citizens are paramount, and they should be able to defend themselves when help is not there. People against this idea say that it creates a rather hostile environment. Strict control of guns would result in a safer and more controlled society. Gun rights activists argue that it can be used for hunting animals for food or leisure purposes for people who enjoy hunting, and it gives peace of mind to people that they are safer by bearing a gun than without it (Mackey & Levan, 2013).
The firearms regulations activists’ argument that there is no need for students or teachers to carry weapons and instead strengthen the security of schools and colleges is a tenable argument. The weak argument they present is that it will reduce violence, but that is not the case. A study was conducted that from 1980 to 2009, there has not been a significant reduction in crimes by banning weapons (Gius, 2014). The gun rights activists argue that the criminals will have no problem obtaining weapons illegally, and the victim will not be able to defend himself/herself (Planty & Truman, 2013). The weak and frivolous argument of government supremacy and tyranny is weak since the government is the caretaker of the citizens and not the contrary (Müller, 2015).
References
Mackey, D. A., & Levan, K. (2013). Crime prevention. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Gius, M. (2014). An examination of the effects of concealed weapons laws and assault weapons bans on state-level murder rates. Applied Economics Letters, 21(4), 265-267.
Müller, V. C. (2015). Gun control: A European perspective.
Planty, M., & Truman, J. L. (2013). Firearm Violence, 1993-2011. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
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