Gun Control Essay Research Paper Justin WilsonMrs

C2). It should be noted that not all forms of gun control are intolerable. Seventy-threepercent of the 70 million gun owners in America declared that mandatory gunregistration exist. Eighty-seven percent of the voters stated that background checks berequired (Lacayo 17). One form of gun control which was very minutely argued, was the A Toys forGuns, incentive. The incentive allowed for $100 in toys, to be given to anyone whoturned in a weapon. It was viewed as a safe way to get guns off the street. It was,however, considered an unsuccessful action. The guns recovered were not consideredto be those that were being used in violent crime, which were the weapons the incentivewas aimed at. Only 317 weapons were recovered (Silvers C11). The past few actionswere relatively unopposed by the NRA, as they were not active attempts to restrict theindividual rights of firearm possession. The acts below, however, are examples ofundesired gun control methods. In recent years, councilmen passed acts to limitweaponry. New restrictions not only allowed for the sale of personal weaponry to be soldfurther in an attempt to keep firearm levels at a constant, but also to have particularweapons to be collected from homes, and removed from the city and destroyed(Spielman C1). Transportation of weaponry also came under fire. Firearms could notbe brought to gun stores or clubs, unless the weapons were disassembled and madeinoperable. Any vehicle containing a weapon was immediately seized and searched.The vehicle then was available to the owner again only after severe penalties were paid(Speilman C1). Some bills which had been attempted to have been passed called for theforbiddance of sale of firearms to known gang members. These bills also called for theright to search for weapons on the persons of anyone who was loitering. Through someeffort of anti-gun control campaigns and petitions, the bills were vetoed (Spielman C1). Although the ban of guns and gun related items will indeed help to lower violent crime, itcan also lead to an increase. If a criminal with an illegally attained firearm, attempts aviolent crime, they are reassuraned of thier own safety because the person they tends toinjure will not be able to defend themselves (Spielman C3).Then the crime would morelikely be more violent. By taking guns away from the people, the law takes away someof the defense that a person has for his or her family, property, and life. Self-defense isa great cause for the purchase of a weapon. In the run-around of gun control lawsbetween the NRA and Mr. Brady, the issue seems to not be as important as who wins. I believe that common sense should be used more in these issues, instead ofstatistics (Foss NP). Guns were invented hundreds of years ago. The purpose of theweapons were to allow a small man to be as powerful as a big man. They were built toprotect the weak from the strong. Guns restriction merely allows the stronger to conquerthe weak, as was done in the day of the sword and spear (Peterson 10).

Ward, Mike. A Proposals Give More Leeway for Self-Defense.Austin Texas: Austin American- Standard 7 Mar.1995 :F3. Hancock, David. A Handgun Is Harder To Buy Than AK-47. Miami Herald 24 Jul. 1992: C2-C3. Peterson, Harold L. A History of Firearms. New York: Charles Scribner s sons, 1961. Lacayo, Richard. And who is the NRA? Time 29 Jan. 1990: 16-24. Speilman, Fran. A Council Approves Tougher Gun Laws. Chicago Sun Times 8 Jul. 1992: C1. Silvers, Susan. A Landmark Norwalk Kids Store Offers Toys-for-Guns Incentive. Connecticut Post 30 Dec. 1993: G11. Foss, Joseph. The NRA. New York: Charles Scribner s Sons, 1993.