Proving Gun Control Wrong: A Research Report by my 10th Grader

Keep in mind that this is his second research report ever and he did this on his own. 

Proving Gun Control Wrong

By

J Curran

English 10

Seton Home Study School

09/12/13

The gun was first made around the tenth century by the Chinese.[1]  The gun slowly evolved since then, into the gun that is around today.  A portion of Americans want to control which U.S. citizens are allowed to own a gun.  Even though the second amendment protects the God-given right of every U.S. Citizen to bear arms, many Americans still want to take this right away.  Society benefits from firearms in the hands of responsible citizens, and attempts to keep firearms away from these citizens do more harm than good.

  Gun control is exactly what it sounds like, controlling guns.  Gun control is good until a point where it does more harm than good. (Felons and convicted criminals are US Citizens and lose their right to bear arms, which is technically gun control)  There have been a couple of ways America has banned guns.  In 1994, there was a ban nicknamed the assault weapons ban and the ban revolved around specific semi-automatic weapons and weapons that look “scary”.  This ban had a big loop hole, if the gun was made before 1994, it was legal to have, sell, or buy.  The ban didn’t help in anyone’s favor because there were about 1.5 million “assault” weapons in 1994.[2]

Gun control laws may help if criminals care about the law, but they do not and that is why they are called criminals.  A Justice Department survey of felons showed a surprising 93% of criminals that obtained a handgun received it “off the record”.[3]  “Off the record” is basically receiving a gun from a non-licensed gun dealer such as a friend.  “Off the record” can also mean by stealing a gun.  Gun control only keeps U.S. citizens from obtaining firearms.  Robbers and intruders will always have ways of getting weapons, whether it is from the black market, across borders, or illegal street sales.  New gun laws will not do much in stopping them.

  The Justice Department of America conducted a study about felons and came up with three results.  Three-fifths of felons that were polled were in agreement that a criminal is not willingly going to mess around with an armed victim.[4]  Just under three-fourths of criminals avoid robbing a house when people are home because they might be shot.[5]  Another result is about 57% of the felons polled were more worried about armed U.S. citizens than a police officer.[6]  The Justice Department survey proves that armed citizens are doing good rather than harm.

  Armed citizens will do more good than harm.  Banning guns does not help much because guns do not kill people.  People kill people, the guns cannot just aim and fire at an object themselves.  People can also use other weapons to kill people, such as knives or arrows.  As Shane said to little Bob in the famous western book, “A gun is just a tool.  No better and no worse than any other tool, a shovel- or an axe or a saddle or a stove or anything. Think of it always that way. A gun is as good- and as bad- as the man who carries it.”[7]

       The right to bear arms is protected by the second amendment of the U.S. constitution.  The U.S. second amendment states that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.  Any gun control law would go against this amendment.  The founding fathers made the constitution for a reason and that is to constitutionally protect our God given rights.  The Second Amendment guarantees the people a way to defend themselves, should the need arise. In past times, arming the population was a safeguard against possible government tyranny and dictatorship.  Today, many citizens still see their right to bear arms as an important means of self-defense as they also fear that gun control would be the first step towards the people’s rights being removed little by little.

       There are many statistics that show gun control not doing what it is intended to do.  For instance, as of 2004, only 1.6 percent of deaths were caused by firearms of any sort.[8]  There were in fact more deaths by motor-vehicles than firearms.[9]  Children’s deaths by firearms rate went down from 2000 to 2007 from 86 deaths to 65 deaths.[10]  Also, in 2001, there were only 72 accidental firearm deaths for children under age 15, as opposed to over 2,100 children who drowned.[11]  These statistics prove one of my points.  However there will be some to show the opposite, that gun control works, but throughout research via the internet, one may come across that there are few statistics to show gun control actually working.

       A criminal is someone who breaks the law in such ways as: stealing or murder.  Gun Control, if passed, would be a law.  Now if someone is planning on murdering, they would not care about a gun law.  It would be similar to a criminal wanting to kill in someone’s house, but he would not because it would be breaking and entering.  Gun Control will not stop criminals, only U.S. citizens, from carrying guns.

       There are many more statistics to show gun control not working.  In 2007, 3 years after the 1.6 percent of firearms death, there were 123,706 fatal accidents and only 613, 0.5 percent, were caused by firearms.[12]  There are also some facts about gun control in separate states.  In Florida, from 1970 to 1987, the crime rate has ranged from ten to fifteen murders per one hundred thousand people.[13]  This may not seem like much, but if the population[14] is taken into account, it shows a substantial amount of deaths.  In the 1970’s, about 850 people died per year[15], but by the 1980’s, there were 1364 people who died per year from firearms[16].  In October 1987, the Florida right-to-carry law became effective[17]; the murder rate immediately started dropping. Thirteen years later, and the rate was down to five murders per hundred thousand.[18]

       In the year of 1976, The District of Columbia passed a law prohibiting Washington residents from legally possessing handguns.[19]  Private residents had to have their gun unloaded and either dissembled or a trigger lock on the gun if they had one.  In the years following until this ban was deemed unconstitutional in 2008, the murder rate averaged seventy three percent higher than before the ban in 1976.[20]  During this same time, the United States’ murder rate averaged eleven percent lower[21] than before 1976.  Because of this ban, the murder rate spiked at the highest, eighty murders per hundred thousand.[22]

       The crime rate will be more likely to go down if firearms are in the hands of responsible citizens.  Since gun control limits citizens’ ability to carry, it would not work.  Examples of Florida and D.C. prove guns help crime.  Many Americans are still fighting on both sides of this argument, but history has proven gun control will not work.

Outline

I. Introduction

II. What Gun Control is

     1. Assault weapons banned

          A. Simi-Automatic weapons

          B. The ban didn’t help anyone

     2. Justice department

          A. Justice Department survey

          B. Justice Department study

III. Armed citizens will do more harm than good

     1. People kill People

          A. Other things can be used to kill

          B. Shane

     2. The Second Amendment

          A. The Founding Fathers

          B. The People’s Rights

IV. Statistics

     1. Overall Firearm Statistics

          A. Firearm deaths

          B. Children’s firearm deaths

     2. A Criminal

     3. State Firearm Statistics

          A. Florida

          B. District of Colombia

V. Conclusion

Bibliography

“4. Problems with Waiting Periods and Background Checks” in “Gun

     Control Fact-Sheet 2004”, (74), September 18, 2008,

     http://www.gunowners.org/fs0404.htm (August, 2013)

Brad Plumer, “everything you need to know about the assault

weapons ban, in one post”, in “Wonkblog”, December 17, 2012,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-banning-assault-weapons-in-one-post/ (August, 2013)

James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. “Gun Control Facts”, Just

Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised February 11, 2013.

http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp (August, 2013)

Jeff Harder, “Who Invented the First Gun”, in “How Stuff Works”

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/who-invented-the-first-gun.htm( August, 2013)

“Residential population”, in “U.S. Census bureau” 2000,

http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/resapport/states/florida.pdf (August, 2013)

Smith, Guy, Gun Facts. CreateSpace Independent Publishing

Platform, 2013.

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[1] Jeff Harder, “Who Invented the First Gun”, in “How Stuff Works” http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/who-invented-the-first-gun.htm (accessed August, 2013)

[2] Brad Plumer, “everything you need to know about the assault weapons ban, in one post”, in “Wonkblog”, December 17, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-banning-assault-weapons-in-one-post/ (August, 2013)

[3] Administrator, “4. problems with waiting periods and background checks” in “Gun control fact-sheet 2004” (74), September 18, 2008, http://www.gunowners.org/fs0404.htm (August, 2013)

[4] Ibid “2. Self Defense”, (42)

[5] Ibid, (43)

[6] Ibid, (44)

[7] Jack Schaefer, Shane, (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1949), 49

[8] Calculated with data from:    Administrator, “7. Firearm Statistics” “Gun control fact-sheet 2004”, September 18, 2008, http://www.gunowners.org/fs0404.htm (August, 2013)

[9] Ibid

[10] Calculated with date from:  Administrator, “7. Firearm Statistics” “Gun control fact-sheet 2004”, September 18, 2008, http://www.gunowners.org/fs0404.htm (August, 2013) and James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. “Gun Control Facts”, Just Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised 2/11/13. http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp (August, 2013) [122]

[11] Smith, Guy, Gun Facts (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013). 15

[12] James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. “Gun Control Facts”, Just Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised 2/11/13. http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp (August, 2013) [120]

[13] Ibid, [107]

[14] “Residential population”, in “U.S. Census bureau” 2000, http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/resapport/states/florida.pdf (August, 2013)

[15] Calculated with data from: “Residential population”, in “U.S. Census bureau” 2000, http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/resapport/states/florida.pdf (August, 2013) and James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. “Gun Control Facts”, Just Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised 2/11/13. http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp (August, 2013) [107]

[16] Calculated with data from: Ibid

[17] James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. “Gun Control Facts”, Just Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised 2/11/13. http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp (August, 2013) [103]

[18] Ibid, [107]

[19] James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. “Gun Control Facts”, Just Facts, September 13, 2010. Revised 2/11/13. http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp (August, 2013) [33]

[20] Ibid, [35]

[21] Ibid, [36]

[22] Ibid