Banning guns won't help. A quick little reality check, criminals break the law... That's why they are called criminals. So when making a weapons ban, law abiding citizens turn in their guns and criminals don't. Gun control is just a law and criminals break the law. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Saying guns kill people is like saying pencils misspell words. And why bother banning features on these so called "assault weapons"? In my state, they banned guns with pistol grips. How the hell does changing the way you hold the gun save lives? IM A NY POLICE OFFICER AND I CANT EVEN GET A MAGAZINE FOR MY OWN STATE ISSUED GUN

there is plenty of stats that prove gun control laws that skyrocket crime rates

when was this essay posted?  

There are many statistics that gun control in countries or even cities does not work.  The strictest gun law was enforced within the U.S. states in 1976.  This law banned citizens from owning many types of guns and no unregistered guns.  In Florida, Washington DC, Chicago, Texas and in many other countries the murder rates skyrocketed. when the ban is in action, the homicides are very abundant.  When the right to carry guns is enforced, they drop back down. The same happened in Washington DC.  the murder rates within the years 1985-1992 almost quadrupled! after the ban is removed, it drops just as it was going uphill yet again.      In Chicago the rate was already dropping with the right to carry inacted.  When they put the gun ban on, the homocides steadily went higher and higher.   Similar to the situation with Florida, when the right to carry becomes effective in Texas, the homicides drop back to where they were, if not lower. Guns don’t even cause a high amount of deaths! firearms make a miniscule percentage of fatal accidents. Being compressed against something is higher! We don’t hear about how bad it is to be squashed! Yet that’s more threatening than guns!  Even with non-fatal accidents, it’s very low on the list as well. Nature is more dangerous than guns!  Going to the hospital for poison ivy or a thorn in your foot is more common than people seen for a gun accident.  It’s not just in our county that this idea of gun control is not working.  It didn’t work in Russia and many other countries either.  Nation Murder Rate Rate of Gun Ownership Russia 20.54 (2002) 4,000 Luxembourg 9.01 (2002) c. 0 Poland 1.79 (2003) 1,500 Greece 1.12 (2003) 11,000 Switzerland 0.99 (2003) 16,000 Germany 0.93 (2003) 30,000 Norway 0.81 (2001) 36,000             * (rates given are per 100,000 people) On average, the more guns there are, the lower the murder rate.11 In Luxembourg, where there are no guns, the rate is still one of the highest, which, again is supporting that there are other means of murdering someone other than with a gun.  Or that if gun control is passed, that criminals would never turn their guns in, which is what makes them criminals.  At that point law abiders would have no personal means of protection and bad guys are still walking around with guns.  Then the law abiders live in terror that they may possibly meet someone with higher defenses then themselves.  This process has appeared in Russia, with the highest death rate, and the 3rd lowest guns in the chart above.   In Poland, with the 3rd highest death rate, has the 2nd lowest gun rate, whereas in Norway, they bear the highest gun count AND the lowest death rate.  This proof confirms the theory that more guns, means fewer deaths.

cars are the #1 fatal deaths of people. guns are 16th. being hurt by nature is 2 times as common and we dont even hear about that!!

Oh by the way, please give source of "Knive Violence" statistics.

Gone up 35%? Sources please.....

@bhall2014 really because since great britians gun ban, gun violence has went up 35%, and also they have a ton of knife violence because thats their next weapon.  gun control will not work because it makes law abiding citizens more vulnerable. Thats a fact, Jack!

yes you are correct , all of the deaths did happen by a gun but what was holding the gun? a person. Because i know im just some down south redneck but im purty sure guns dont shoot themselfs , think of it like this kid , you have a family and a guy breaks into your home with a gun , all you have to protect yourself is a broom handle or somethimg of that nature , OH BUT IF GUNS ARE OUTLAWED NOBODY WOULD HAVE THEM , you think , NO , criminals would onlly have more acess on the black markets to guns , and if them there want my guns they better bring thier guns!!!!!!!!!!

Gun killings are a terrible thing. But out of all those school killings how many of those guns were actually legally owned by the shooter. Also if it's illegal to own a gun why wouldn't a criminal still own one. Obviously the break the law anyway. So because I own guns I should be looked down upon because THE GUNS kill people. My guns have never open the safe they are stored in and walked down the street to murder anyone. Another terrible murder that was completely horrific was the Boston bombing. They killed multiple people with a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are not under scrutiny to be outlawed. The second amendment says we are to keep a well regulated militia. A militia can be a peaceful one, it isn't a civilian war creator. Militia could be a group of people who protest or sit and vent about how they feel. So tell me how is that dangerous. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. A bullet can only kill someone if there is a person behind the gun to pull the trigger. If everyone had a gun who would think about going and shooting up a certain area? When was the last time you heard about a criminal robbing a gun store? They know it is protected so they won't do it. To legally obtain a gun you must go through a background check and if there is a sniff of anything dangerous about you you will not get a permit. It took 6 months after I submitted my paperwork to get my temporary pistol permit. That included background checks (make sure i havent committed a crime in the past), medical checks (make sure no mental health issues), fingerprint checks (make sure I am who I say I am) and who knows what else. So after all that I was finally cleared to LEGALLY obtain a firearm. I use my guns as a hobby and for protection. The only shots I have fired are at the range for recreation. I think all of the LEGAL gun owners would say the same thing. Here's an example of defense. (a robber comes in your house to take all of your things, but decides that he wants to hurt your children, wife, husband, partner or whoever else you love. They try to attack them or yourself. A gun may scare them off even if you do not pull the trigger. Besides even if you are able to get to the phone and call the authorities, how long is their response time? The criminal could've killed everyone there by that time. The criminal may not even have a weapon they may just over power you. Then they can do what they want.) so in that scenario you don't even have to fire your weapon. Even if you do you saved everyone in your home. If you would rather have that robber rape or murder your family that is your choice but I for one would not allow that to happen. Thanks for reading and hopefully you learned something. If you have a problem with what I just said then call me out and I will come back with an answer

Although it does say that we as citizens have the right to bear arms, look at the time period at which it was written. At the time, we had not long ago declared independence from the Tyranny of Great Britain. Of course we wanted to protect ourselves right? America has changed a little don’t you think? Unless you believe that the government could come crashing down on us at any moment, breaking down doors and slaughtering the innocent families that they serve to protect…..then why would we NEED the right to bear arms? I want you to do some digging for me and find ONE  case of a car crash killing 20 people. Just  one. Cars are NOT as dangerous as bullets. Killing someone with a gun is easy and this is what makes it so dangerous. And although YOU may be trusted with a gun, there are others that cannot. Here are some examples of school shootings. Let me know what you think. (March 24, 1998 Jonesboro, Ark. Four students and one teacher killed, ten others wounded outside as Westside Middle School emptied during a false fire alarm. Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, shot at their classmates and teachers from the woods.) (April 24, 1998 Edinboro, Pa. One teacher, John Gillette, killed, two students wounded at a dance at James W. Parker Middle School. Andrew Wurst, 14, was charged.) (May 19, 1998 Fayetteville, Tenn. One student killed in the parking lot at Lincoln County High School three days before he was to graduate. The victim was dating the ex-girlfriend of his killer, 18-year-old honor student Jacob Davis.) (May 21, 1998 Springfield, Ore. Two students killed, 22 others wounded in the cafeteria at Thurston High School by 15-year-old Kip Kinkel. Kinkel had been arrested and released a day earlier for bringing a gun to school. His parents were later found dead at home.) (June 15, 1998 Richmond, Va. One teacher and one guidance counselor wounded by a 14-year-old boy in the school hallway.) (April 20, 1999
Littleton, Colo. 14 students (including killers) and one teacher killed, 23 others wounded at Columbine High School in the nation's deadliest school shooting. Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, had plotted for a year to kill at least 500 and blow up their school. At the end of their hour-long rampage, they turned their guns on themselves.) (May 20, 1999 Conyers, Ga. Six students injured at Heritage High School by Thomas Solomon, 15, who was reportedly depressed after breaking up with his girlfriend.) You know what? This is getting a little long. Let’s skip a couple years. And while we’re at it, let’s look at some of the more famous ones, shall we? April 20, 1999 : Two students stormed Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and murdered 12 other students aged 14 to 18 as well as a teacher. A further 24 people were injured before the attackers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed themselves. April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech, Va. (Seung-Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech, shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, before committing suicide (another six people were injured escaping from classroom windows).) And just recently near my school in Brunswick. (February 27, 2012, at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, United States. Three male students died within the two days following the incident. Two other students were hospitalized: one of whom sustained several serious injuries requiring extensive rehabilitation, the other with a minor injury. The seriously injured victim has been declared permanently paralyzed. A sixth student sustained a superficial wound.) These are just a few school shootings in Americas history. Still think everyone should be able to own a gun? You’re right, I haven’t been thorough enough… I’m sure there are several different and more painful ways of dying than a gun. Not a doubt in my mind. But when a bullet pierces someone’s skull and kills them instantly, the last thing they think about would not be how painful that was. The last feeling they have is a feeling of fear and panic. “If you outlaw guns, criminals will buy them anyway just like crack addicts still buy their cocaine.” Well if that is the case (and it is) then we should just throw out every state law against all things bad right? I mean, what’s the point? They’re just going to do it anyways right? Wrong. In most cases, yes, people will keep stealing, killing, and getting high. But laws are there for a reason: To discourage the act. “Guns have been a contributing factor in our ancestors survivial.” Go to the nearest grocery store. You WILL find food. Even meat believe it or not. I promise.

Give me one case where someone crashed a car and killed 20 people... Cars are not nearly as deadly as a gun. If you look at death rates involving firearms across the world, you will find that America has one of the highest. Take a look at Great Britain. They PETITIONED the government to outlaw guns and they have almost no gun deaths a year. Same thing could be said for Japan. No matter how you look at it, outlawing or limiting acess to guns with lower death rates. Plain and simple.

i think this is a very true article

well i think gun cntrol is a good thing because the murder rates would get lower and america would be a safe place we wouldnt need guns if people knew how to control they selfs. also they should ban AR-15 because its easy to get to and it is used in most murders. thats my opinion about gun control.