The Question of Whether Controlling Firearms Will Help Deal With Gun Violence

Sometimes it seems that almost all news reports about firearms, gun control, or crime should start out with that phrase. Those four short words tell us that while the story to follow will be presented as fact, it is fiction, or better said, a myth or a fable. Unfortunately, these fables have come to displace facts in the public dialogue about firearms and crime in America.

Some of these fables as many fables do, start out with a grain of truth but are later misrepresented and twisted to serve a particular purpose. Whatever their source, it is important that they be exposed as the fables they are so that they might no longer influence the national debate.

Some people claim that a firearm in the home is unsafe and that firearm-related accidents are more likely to occur with a gun in the house than if the household did not have a firearm available. It was proposed that a household with a firearm is much more likely to experience a homicide than if it did not have a gun in the household for protection.

Many firearm advocates use the argument that gun control laws prevent crime to help back their views of the debate. There are over 40,000 federal, state, and local gun laws. It also established the current firearm dealers’ licensing system,

Advocates also preach that hunting and violent television shows are related to the problem of children’s violent behavior. After several isolated firearm crimes committed by children on school grounds during the late 1990 s, activists suggested that such crimes were common and attributable not only to guns but hunting and the so-called Southam gun culture. Anti-gun activists say that children are killed by accidental gun mishaps every day.

As for the fable that guns make the home unsafe, it is fact that firearms are used far more to stop crimes than to commit them. The 43:1 claim is derived from a study of firearm-related deaths in homes in King County (Seattle), Washington. T Studies have shown that firearms are used for protection against criminals as many as 2.5 million times.

The fable that gun control laws prevent crime is disputed by the fact that the federal Gun Control Act of 1968 imposed unprecedented restrictions relating to firearms nationwide. The record is clear: gun control impacts upon upstanding citizens, not criminals. Holding criminals accountable for their actions reduces crime. Between 1980-1994, the 10 states with the greatest increases in prison population and incarceration rates experienced an average decrease of 13% in violent crime, while the 10 states with the smallest increases in prison population experienced an average 55% increase in violent crimes.

The third myth about firearm control is hunting and the gun culture teaches our kids to be violent. Gun activists tried to use this false claim for shooting in Arkansas until it was reported that the primary suspect in the crime had been raised in a northern state. Several recent studies conducted for the federal government tell a different story than one hears from those who spin the news to promote gun control. Merely being in the south, but, is an insignificant factor. Hunting has a long-standing code of ethics built upon respect for the rights of others. Their 39,000 Certified Instructors and Coaches train hundreds of thousands of people each year in a variety of programs.

Guns do not kill people; people kill people. There should be tougher sentencing for those who do not respect the gun laws and rewards for those who do follow the laws. In the times leading up to and during World War II, Hitler passed strict laws on gun control and the direct result of this was government enforcement of total gun control on the people, and 6 million Jewish people died partially due to this stance on gun control, being unable to defend themselves against Hitler’s aggression.

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