There have been major incidents, violent acts, and crimes involving guns over the past decade, but the question is, will gun control put an end to it? Gun control undoubtedly lies as one of the most heated controversies in today's society. As we pass through life, we hear many opinions about this one topic, whether it’s from classrooms, fellow classmates, civilians, the newspaper, or even the media. After a while, we come to the realization that almost everyone has a different view on the laws of gun control. We have all sorts of different opinions, all the way from “we shouldn't have gun control laws at all!” to “please reinforce the gun control laws.” As a citizen we should have the right to bear firearms as we please, in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones from any type of danger.

On June 26, 2008 the U.S. Supreme court, on a ruling of 54, upheld the right to own a firearm (Zaleski) They came to the conclusion that the second amendment grants ownership of a firearm toward the citizens of the United States for lawful purposes only, such as protection. People disagree with this, saying that allowing guns in a community for any purpose at all creates a more violent and dangerous society. They believe it could lead to more situations such as, the Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Navy Yard in Washington, and the Aurora movie theater shootings. Though contrary to their belief, it is proven that most mass shootings that occur are due to the shooter being mentally
unstable. The state of Chicago is proof that gun laws will not work, no matter how tough or strict they
are. Chicago has completely banned guns, yet in 2012 hit a record of over 500 murders.(Vidal) Overall,
Guo 2 there has been a dispute about gun control for quite the amount of years.

As citizens, we should have the right to have guns for numerous reasons. For starters, giving us
gun control laws would violate the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment 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." Also, as citizens we should be able to haves guns to protect ourselves. Making gun laws wouldn't stop criminals from getting a hold of guns, but it would stop innocent civilians from getting guns, thus limiting them from protection themselves. "A 1993 nationwide survey of 4,977 households found that over the previous five years, at least 0.5% of households had members who had used a gun for defense during a situation in which they thought someone "almost certainly would have been killed" if they "had not used a gun for protection.” “Based on survey data from a 2000 study
published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, U.S civilians use guns to defend themselves and others from crime at least 989,883 times per year.”(Agresti and Smith) A study back in 2008 shows that guns are not the main cause of violence, contrary to the majority of the population's beliefs. We should not have any gun control laws bestowed upon us due to the fact that guns are not a really big problem in the percentage of crimes that are being committed. “Based on survey data from the U.S. Department of Justice, roughly 5,340,000 violent crimes were committed in the United States during 2008. These include simple/aggravated assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, rapes, and murders. Of these, about 436,000 or 8% were committed by offenders visibly armed with a gun.” (Agresti and Smith)

Establishing more gun control laws would mean taking part of our freedom away. People forget that there are more uses to guns than just shooting and killing innocent people. Guns are also used for other purposes, such as hunting, or targeting shooting. Establishing gun laws and taking away our right to own a firearm would mean that numerous activities would be restricted, such as hunting which some people make a living off of. On top of that, gun control laws would not keep criminals from obtaining a gun, the only thing they would do is cause law abiding citizens to become vulnerable to gun attacks, and restrict them from activities. "A 1997 Justice Department survey of more than 18,000 state and federal convicts revealed the truth, that only 8.3% of criminals actually bought their guns from retail outlets." (Olmsted) If only 8.3% of criminals buy their guns from retail outlets, then how are we suppose to stop the other 91.7%? The truth is that we can't, no matter how many gun control laws we have or will have in the future none of them will be effective enough to eradicate guns.

Though, other people may think otherwise. Others may think such as, the less guns you have the less crimes, or that guns were created to kill. Both of these arguments are incorrect. Guns do not increase the rate of crimes whatsoever. It is said that, "Nations with strict gun control laws have substantially higher murder rates than those who do not in general."(GUNS) In fact, ever since guns have been banned in Australia, crime rates have gone up. According to these statistics in Australia, "accidental gun deaths are 300% higher than the pre-1997 ban rate, the assault rate has increased 800% since 1991 and increased 200% since the 1997 gun ban, and robbery and armed robbery have increase 20% from the pre-1997 ban rate."[one] If gun control laws don't reduce crime there, why would they in the United States? Also, people say that guns were created to kill, which is also false. In fact, every year guns are used up to 80 times more to protect and defend themselves rather than to kill someone.(GUNS)

Also, people say things like the heinous shooting act at the Sandy Hook Elementary school could have avoided had there been gun control laws, or that lunatics/mentally ill people would not be able to inflict major casualties with guns if there were gun control laws. Once again, these two claims are false. First of all, the shooting that occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School was committed by a gun that was obtained from his mother, like how most criminals get their guns. As for the claim that there would be no major casualties if there were gun control laws, it has been proven in 1997, according to a survey of the Justice Department of over 18,000 state and federal convicts that, "39.6% of criminals obtained a gun from a friend or family member."(Olmsted) Creating gun control laws will not keep criminals or mentally unstable people from obtaining a gun or stop them from committing heinous acts.

As citizens we should initiate our right to own firearms. Not only is it our given right, but it is also for our own good. We should have guns in order to protect and defend ourselves from criminals, since no matter what they can and will obtain a gun somehow, someway. Gun control laws would not only take away our freedom and ability to protect ourselves and become vulnerable to gun attacks, but they
would also increase the crime and violence rate, and nobody wants that. As a nation, we should strive to do what is best for our country one step at a time, and gun control would be taking a step backwards. So to answer the question that most people ask, no, gun control laws will not benefit or work in our country, the United States of America.