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David Freeze Ms. Patroni Expository Writing 29 October 2013 Gun Control in America Over the past few years, there have been a number of shootings in schools and public places. Various groups and associations are trying to fight to get gun violence under control. They want to ban some types of semi-automatic guns. There are already numerous gun laws in affect. The only people that those laws affect are law abiding citizens that wouldnt do anything unthinkable with a gun anyway. An attempt at taking guns and ammo from the hands of criminals will raise gun violence among gangs. Gun bans will not help with gun violence, the number of illegally owned guns is already so high, it would be nearly impossible to bring the number back under control. Guns are also used by millions of people for sport shooting and hunting. It would not be fair to take their guns away because of the wrong-doing of someone else. An attempt at banning guns will only strike a rise in the black market for guns and create even more gang violence. We cannot ban guns from every other country in the world, therefore there will always be a market for them and a way to get them back into America. It will be just like drugs, theyre illegal, but it doesnt stop people from using them every day. If someone wants to get their hands on a gun, they will, and there is not much we can do about it. There is no way to know how many illegally owned guns there are in the United States, but we do know that the number is very high.

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The gun carrying laws in America are already too far-fetched; instead of applying more laws to restrict where people can carry guns let the responsible ones that follow the rules, have been to classes on how to properly handle guns, have gone through background checks, and own the guns legally carry them into places where there are crowds of people. The news never tells us about the lives that are saved when someone with their concealed carry permit surprises the oppressor with a gun pointed back at them. That is only because there were no fatalities in the event. Two previous mass shootings included a movie theater and a school, concealed carry holders are not allowed to take their guns into either of those places. If there had been a legal gun carrier in that movie theater, things may have gone a lot differently. Brian Wilson says in his article on the unrealistic goals of gun control, a 1993 study by Drs. Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, indicates that guns are used for self-defense as many as 2.3 million times each year. (Wilson, Brian.) Studies show that Vermont, which is one of the top 5 safest states in the country, also does not have concealed carry laws. Any citizen can carry a gun, doesnt have to go through a waiting period, and doesnt have to pay fees. And for 10 years in a row they have remained one of the safest states. (Fact Sheet) Guns are used by many people as a hobby or sport all the time. Millions of people, like myself, use guns for hunting all of the time. I also shoot targets occasionally just for the fun of it. Since the stir over stricter gun laws started, the price of ammo has gone up, making it even more expensive to shoot for sport. Not to mention the price of guns has also risen. I think that the government also benefits financially from the taxation of guns and ammo. According to one study, the federal government brings in 123 million dollars annually from firearms sales. (Firearm industry)

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The side that is pushing for stronger gun control laws does have a good point. Beverly Ballaro and Laura Finleys article promoting gun control states, The United States has one of the highest rates of gun-related violence in the developed world. Thats a startling statistic and something does need to be done about it. I am not trying to say that there isnt a problem with illegal use of guns in the United States. There are problems that need to be fixed, peoples lives are poor; there are problems in their families, among many other things. The thing that bothers me is that gun control advocates always talk like if there was a ban put on certain guns, that it would surely solve problems and make a safer country to live in. The resolution to this tension is not gun control, but controlling gun culture. (Bowman, Jeffrey; Newton, Heather). Using a gun is an easier way to carry out violent crime than any other weapon, but that wont stop them from finding a way to do it without one. I think that the real problem lies much further than just the illegal use of guns. For someone to go into a public establishment or school and start firing at random, there has to be something wrong going on in their minds. If there is a way, we need to make it harder for mentally unstable people and criminals to get their hands on guns, but not take them away from people who are using them for sport shooting or protection against attackers. There is a problem with violence in America. Senseless crimes and murders go on every day, and most of them are carried out by the use of an illegally owned gun in the hands of someone not thinking clearly. But we cannot take the guns away from the ones that own them legally and are using them to protect us. There are already numerous gun laws including where you can take them and what you have to do to buy them, including background checks and getting a notary from a sheriffs office. As we see all the time, these laws do not have an effect

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on the use of guns in the environments where theyre used. So I, along with many others, do not think that the placement of newer, stricter gun laws will help with gun violence.

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Works Cited Ballaro, Beverly, and Laura Finley. "Counterpoint: Gun Control Saves Lives." Http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rccc.edu. N.p., 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Bowman, Jeffery, and Heather Newton. "Point: Controlling Gun Violence Is More Important than Controlling Guns." Http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rccc.edu. N.p., 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

"Fact Sheet: Guns Save Lives." - Gun Owners of America. N.p., 29 Sept. 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

"Firearm Industry Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. Unknown, 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

Wilson, Brian. "Point: The Unrealistic Goals of Gun Control." Http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rccc.edu. N.p., 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

"Firearm Industry Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. Unknown, 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

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