Lilly 1

Cade J. Lilly
Professor Tysick
English 111
21 July 2014
Gun Control
The debate for gun control has played out on many different stages, from the
halls of Congress and the President, to little towns across the country. There are many
issues with adding more gun laws. One of these issues is that by adding more gun
control legislation the government will be infringing upon the rights of the American
people to protect themselves from their Government and other threats, which makes the
United States vulnerable for dictatorships and attacks from other countries. Another
argument that Americans must consider before passing more gun control legislation is
the easy obtainability of illegal firearms by those who are willing to break the laws to get
a weapon. Adding more gun control laws will only make it harder for law abiding citizens
to protect themselves and their families. The fact is that criminals are less likely to try to
harm people or commit crimes if the victims are armed. Gun control activists say that
less guns will equal less murders, but there have been many studies that show the
opposite is actually true. The solution to the gun control debate is to fix the background
checking system and to make them mandatory, and to require gun safety courses.
These reasons are why Americans cannot allow the United States government to pass
more gun control legislation.
The Second Amendment of the constitution states that the right of the people to
keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed (Bill of Rights transcript text 1). The Second

Lilly 2
Amendment is more than words, it is the American way of life. The Second Amendment
has protected the United States from threats of invasion by other countries and from its
own government. There are many examples of governments that turn into a
dictatorship, and in almost all cases gun control was the first step towards this. When
Hitler started to take over Germany, he implemented gun control. The same tactic was
used by Fidel Castro with Cuba, Benito Mussolini with Italy, and Joseph Stalin with The
Soviet Union (America in Chains 1). When Hitlers Nazi Reich took over Germany in the
1930s, Hitler used Germanys gun control and gun registration laws to seize the
weapons of his enemies. The Nazi government claimed it was for public safety, but it
allowed Hitler to take away the peoples ability to fight back. In 1938 Hitler signed a new
gun control act into law. The law stated that the new gun control acts were to take the
weapons away from enemies of the state. Because of all the gun registration and gun
control Hitler was able to take all guns from the Jewish people in Germany. This was in
order to prevent any resistance for his take over. In November of 1938, the Night of
Broken Glass, Hitler's Reich searched door to door for weapons, seized them, and killed
any who resisted. Giving up their firearms. Since Hitler had taken all guns away, there
was no way for the Jewish community to protect themselves (Halbrook 1). The job of
the Second Amendment is to protect the people of the United States from having to
worry about their government having too much power, and taking away the rights that
the American people have to protect themselves and their property. The power of the
constitution is why the American people never have had to worry about these problems.
If the United States government goes forth and infringes on the peoples rights, the

Lilly 3
power of these words will be lost. This is the reason why the people cannot let the
United States government pass more gun control into law.
Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many
as 2.5 million times every year (Guns Save Lives 1). There are many reasons people
own guns. The main reason is for self-protection. In 2009 there were a shocking
2,199,125 burglaries in the U.S. (Burglary 1). The reason that this is relevant is because
most burglaries occur when the resident is home, placing the homeowner face to face
with the burglar. Criminals have the advantage in this situation. Almost 40,000 guns are
purchased illegally each year in the U.S. (Tens 1). With criminals being able to illegally
purchase firearms that are fully automatic or having a higher bullet capacity, it is hard
for legal gun owners to stand a chance. Adding laws that only make it harder for them to
protect themselves is not going to help. Gun owners are not the murderers they are
depicted to be, less than 8% of the time, a citizen will kill or wound his/her attacker
(Guns Save Lives 1). Legal gun owners only want one thing, for the American
government not to pass more gun control into law and make it harder for them to own
their guns and protect themselves and their families.
Guns themselves hurt no one. It is their abuse by malicious, suicidal or ignorant
people that leads to harm (Ackermann 1). This quote is a perfect example of how
peoples thoughts on guns should be. When used properly guns are tools that can and
should be available to any person that has taken the proper training. The point of this
argument is that when teenagers turn sixteen they are not handed a car without the
proper training. The same theory of training and preparedness should be set in place for
guns, a perfect example is hunters safety classes. By making people take a gun safety

Lilly 4
class before they are allowed to become a gun owner, the number of accidental
shootings will be severely reduced if not eliminated. There was a study done that
showed that firearm injuries and deaths cost 6 million dollars per year (Ackermann 1).
What was not disclosed in this study was that most of the victims had criminal histories
or were suicide victims who had histories of mental illnesses. Now another study
documented that were some 3,500 defensive uses for firearms, and by using these
defensive methods of firearms, some 17.5 billion dollars was saved annually
(Ackermann 1). This fact shows that if a gun is used properly they are a tool for self-
defense, but without the proper training guns are a tool that can be misused like a band
saw or any other tool.
Many gun control activists argue that gun control will lessen the amount of
homicides within the United State, due to data analyzed at Harvard School of Public
Health that found that guns equal homicides (Listverse 1). Unfortunately, this theory is
wrong. In fact there is another study, also done by Harvard that disproves the notion
that more guns equal more homicides. The study shows that in Russia there are very
strict gun control laws, but their murder rate is four times higher than the U.S.s (Kates
3). The study goes on to show that in European countries, with high gun ownership
rates, the murder rate is actually lower than countries with strict gun control laws (Kates
4). Another study shows states which passed concealed carry laws reduced their
murder rate by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults by 7% and robbery by 3%
(Guns Save Lives 1). These states did not allow their residents to legally carry a
concealed weapon before this point. So, the statistics show that less gun control
actually lowers the rate of crime and helps make the public safer. That is why these

Lilly 5
activists are wrong. More gun control will raise the amount of crime because criminals
will have less obstacles slowing them down. Without more gun control the American
people will be safer.
The solution to the gun control debate is simply to have better background
checks than what are currently in place and enforce them strictly and minor regulations
and training to prevent the misuse of these weapons. The background checks in place
are not nearly sophisticated enough for the problem at hand and are often not being
enforced properly. An example of these loop-holes would be the current law in
Maryland. The Maryland law allows that if an individual is not a licensed dealer of
firearms the state does not require the seller to register or run a background check
when selling a gun (Gura 1). By making it mandatory for all gun sales to be registered
and have background checks for all purchasers, the government would have better
information and would prevent people who are not fit to own firearms from obtaining
them. Now the problem for the current database is that some people with mental
disorders that should not have firearms slip through the system. Its technically against
federal law to sell guns to people with a severe mental illness, but in practice the
background check system is so flawed it rarely filters out those with disqualifying
psychiatric problems (Brownstone 1). The solution to this problem is to broaden the
database by adding more mental illnesses as factors to deny gun ownership to the
people who have them. In all, by just updating the background searches and databases
and creating a new system that mandates some form of training before ownership can
occur, the problem would be solved.

Lilly 6
Gun control is a useless law. By adding background checks and minor and gun
safety courses it will solve the problems. More gun control is only going to cause the
American people to give up another freedom. If the government passes it into law it will
infringe on Americans second amendment rights. This will cause the American people
to feel that the government is not looking out for their best interests. Gun control is
going to make it harder for owners of legally obtained firearms to protect themselves
and their families. The plan for gun control is to lower crime rates, but it will not do so. In
fact it will do the opposite, it will make crime rates go up and allow criminals to reap
more havoc on the people of the United States. If the American people stop additional
gun control, they may still be able to maintain their rights and freedoms in being a
United States citizen.














Lilly 7
Work Cited
"10 Arguments for Gun Control - Listverse." Listverse. N.p., n.d. Web.16 July 2014.
Ackermann, M J. Debating Gun Registration. Canadian Medical Association. 13 May
2013. Web 14 July 2014.
"America In Chains." America In Chains. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2014.
"Bill of Rights Transcript Text." Bill of Rights Transcript Text. United States Government,
n.d. Web. 18 July. 2014.
Brownstone, Sydney. "Mental Health Checks for Gun Buyers: Weak, Chaotic, Full of
Loopholes." N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July. 2014
"Burglary." - Crime in the United States 2009. FBI, n.d. Web. 17 July 2014.
"Fact Sheet Guns Save Lives. Gun Owners of America. Gun Owners of America, n.d.
Web. 12 July 2014
Gura, David. "Background Check: What It Really Takes to Buy a Gun." Marketplace.org.
Marketplace, n.d. Web. 20 July. 2014.
Halbrook, Stephen P. "Stephen P. Halbrook - How the Nazis Used Gun Control."
National Review Online. N.p., n.d. Web. July 2014.
KATES, DON B., and GARY MAUSER. "WOULD BANNING FIREARMS REDUCE
MURDER AND SUICIDE?" A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL AND SOME
DOMESTIC EVIDENCE. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 July 2014.
"Tens of Thousands Try to Illegally Buy Guns from Dealers Annually, Study Finds."
NBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014.