In 2006, fifty thousand U.S. Citizens were killed by gun inflicted injuries. This is over 120 deaths per day or one every ten minutes. Handguns are responsible for 80 percent of all deaths. Congress must make a law banning handguns and increasing the security for rifles and shotguns for U.S. citizens.
Congress should ban handguns and increase other gun security for four reasons. First, guns make it incredibly easy to murder or injure someone. Second, it is not against the second amendment to ban guns from citizens. Third, in regards to self defense, guns are unnecessary and often cause more harm then good. Finally, background checks have proven to be successful, so why stop there.
Guns are dangerous. As I said earlier, 50 thousand people died in the U.S. last year. Another 65 thousand were injured. Of the 50 thousand gun related deaths, 600 of them were caused by accidents and 17 thousand were from suicide. Many think that guns don't kill, people do. The truth is guns just make it easier to kill. Do you think Seung-Hui Cho, the individual responsible for the tragedy at Virginia Tech, could have murdered 30 people with a knife? No he couldn't have because you are five times more likely to survive in situations where the attacker is armed with a knife rather than a gun.
The Second Amendment, which states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Some may say that “A well regulated Militia” today is every adult citizen. In recent rulings, the Supreme Court clarified what the modern day Militia is by stating, “The National Guard is the modern Militia reserved to the states by articles one, section 8 clauses 15 and 16 of the Constitution.” What the Supreme Court basically means is when the Second Amendment refers to “a well regulated militia,” they mean the National Guard, not all of the citizens. In conclusion, banning handguns or any guns for that matter is not violating the Second Amendment.
Self defense is the main reason U.S. citizens buy guns, but is it necessary? Well, first of all, studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine reveal that homes with firearms are 2.7 times more likely to have a victim of homicide in their house, and 4.8 times more likely to have a household member commit suicide. If you still think guns are used to defend regardless of what I just said, then consider this. In 98% of civilian gun defenses, no shot is fired. If you are not going to fire a shot, then you clearly don't need a gun. This proves that guns are unnecessary.
Today, past rules we have made are only helping eliminate gun violence. Some of the effective rules we have made include a five day background check. After the first three years of this check, 242 thousand background checks interfered with attempts to buy handguns. Any of those 242 thousand people could have been potential murderers. The gun laws we currently have in place have declined national crime rates by 25% and 14% of violent crimes since 1994. We need to get an even better handle on controlling guns before technology makes basic guns more powerful. Here is my plan to limit or possibly ban gun violence.
First, A national system for registering guns and ammunition. Part of the reason Washington D.C has stiff gun laws and high gun death rates is that anybody can go from Washington D.C. to a state with less restrictive laws, get a friend who lives in the state to buy the guns for them, and take those guns back to Washington D.C. (I know this is illegal, but it happens.) First, a national system would prevent this by scaring those "friends" into not buying the guns legally and selling them illegally, for if the guns are used in an illegal crime, that person can be held accountable. Second, a national system would be more helpful in tracking crimes after they have happened, to bring the criminals to justice.
Second, Instant background checks on people attempting to buy guns or ammunition. The existing five day background checks have its flaws in tracking felons. Felons should not have access to weapons, and many misdemeanors and juvenile crimes should also count against a person's record.
Third, Stiffer sentences for gun crimes. If there is higher price for gun crimes, it will most likely happen less.
Fourth, Gun education. Many guns are involved in accidents that could easily have been prevented by a little care or forethought. Perhaps gun purchasers should be required to take lessons in gun safety, at the purchaser's expense. As a result they will be less likely to have accidents.
Five, General education. Study after study has concluded that there is a direct correlation between lack of education and violent crime. Every dollar spent on education now will prevent countless dollars worth of crime damage in the future. Think of all the private and public funds used to pay for gun violence -- hospital bills, funerals, insurance bills, the actual cost of buying firearms. Now invest that money in education, and watch the crime rate drop.
Six, Hand grip ID tagging. This technology is probably still in the future, but it would be a good goal to work for. The theory is, each gun is "registered" to one's person palm prints (the legal purchaser of the gun), and only that person can fire that gun. If another person tries, the gun simply will not fire. Thus, stolen guns become useless, and cannot be used to harm anybody in the course of a crime.
Seven, Same gun laws in every state. If all of the states had the exact same laws there would barely be any criminal migration, which is when a person goes to a states, buys a gun legally and brings it back to a state where getting that gun is illegal. With this no state would be easier to get a gun in then another.
And Eight, Ban hand guns. After all of these steps are used, many won't have the need or be able to get handguns. This will make it much easier to ban them.
In conclusion, banning all handguns and strengthening security for all other guns will be a huge success in our nation in four ways. First, guns make it much easier to murder someone. Second, it is not against amendments. Third, guns are insufficient for self defense. Finally, if we know background checks have been successful, we can assume similar, but stronger laws will be the same.
If you all consider the information given and follow the basic plan I proposed, our society will be one step closer to a crime free nation. Desmond Tutu, a South African activist, agrees with me by saying “Stability and peace in our land will not come from the barrel of a gun, because peace without justice is an impossibility.”
