“Looming Gun Control” Gun control is a very controversial issue throughout the United States. As we move toward the D.C. Area the debate becomes more heated and prevalent. The proposals that our legislators make to restrict the availability of firearms have raised many questions over the years. Some of those questions are: What restrictions are constitutional, will gun control also control crime, will it reduce the rates of homicide robbery and assault, will it stop attacks on public institutions, will it discourage domestic terrorists, will disputes be less lethal, and will it impair our means of self-defense? I want you to think about how the creation of guns has allowed us to rise to power as a nation through the Revolutionary War and then out of two World Wars.

The Second Amendment says “a well-regulated Militia is necessary for the security of the free Sate; the right of people to bear Arms shall not be infringed.” There is a fine line between constitutional and non-constitutional gun control laws. Opponents of gun control laws generally say that gun control laws do not accomplish what is intended. It is difficult to keep weapons from being acquired by “high-risk” individuals, even under Federal laws and enforcement, as it was to stop the sale and distribution of alcohol during the Prohibition. Doing this would only create problems for law enforcement and law abiding citizens (Gun Control Overview).

Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president and top lobbyist says, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”(LaPierre, NRA Gun Control Crusade…) This brings up the point of why we arm our police men and women with regular handguns and also high powered rifles. Civilians also should have this privilege incase the police are not able to get to the scene in time to stop and intruder. An example of this is the “Woman Stops Home Invasion” story. Where a women, while on the phone with the police, warned an intruder that she had a gun and she would shoot if He came in. when the man came through her door she shot him. She was able to protect herself even though she was scared to do so. This story could have turned into another story of a helpless woman that gets shot or worse. There are accidents from time to time in the home with a gun and kids fall victim to their own curiosity. That is a good reason to invest in a gun safe or cabinet where the guns placed inside can be looked away from the children. If you’re worried about your kids getting a hold of a gun and not knowing how to safely operate it, there are many youth safety courses out there that will teach your child the safe ways to handle guns.

How often are guns used in homicides? According to the Uniform Crime Reports, firearms-related murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased from 6.6/100,000 of the population for 1993 to 3.6 for 2000. This number fluctuated between 2001 and 2007, and now is as low as 3.2 today. Firearm fatalities decreased continuously from 39,595 in 1993 to 28,664 in 2000 for an overall decrease of nearly 28 percent (Uniform Crime Reports, Gun Control Overview). There is a lot of crime in the world and it’s impossible to stop it all, but if everyone owned at least one gun, we could possibly aid in decreasing the figures even more. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data from 1987 to 1992 indicates that roughly 62,200 victims of violent crimes used guns to defend themselves. Another 20,000 people each year use guns to protect their property (NCVS, Gun Control Overview). A National Self-Defense Survey conducted by Professor Gary Kleck of Florida State University got responses from 4,978 households. He estimated that handguns had been used 2.1 million times per year for self-defense, and all types of guns had been used 2.5 million times a year for the same reason (Gun Control Overview). As you can see many people have to use guns to protect themselves and their