Riley, 1 Tom Riley Dr.

Batts ENGL 2013 31 March 2012 The Bad Get Badder; The Good Get Shot. The clock reads 3:00am; youre finally drifting off to sleep next to your wife of almost one year. But you think you just heard a muffled sound from downstairs. Huh, uggh, what was that?... you think in a groggy haze. Suddenly a loud bang and then a smash ring through the house and you hear footsteps coming from downstairs. Now you know what is happening. You never thought that this could happen to you, not in this neighborhood. You shakily grab the phone on the nightstand and dial 911. You explain to the dispatcher in a frantic whisper that someone is in your house, but the nearest police unit is 10 miles away. In this moment you must be prepared. You alone hold your familys life in your hands. This is an example of a situation that occurs nearly five times every minute in the United States; it is real and it does happen. But when your family is in danger will you be prepared? The right to own a firearm is a Constitutional right given to us by our Founding Fathers in 1791. However, there are those who wish to take that right away from us and every law abiding citizen in the United States. Gun control laws in the United States are detrimental to the well-being of our society because they take away a constitutional right key to the foundation of our democracy; because they disarm the honest, therefore increasing the crime rate in the US, because they have no effect on criminals who already disregard the law, and finally, because they are based on idealistic thinking used by gun control advocates to deceive the American public.

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To fully understand gun control, and its agenda, it is crucial to examine the history of gun laws and regulations in the United States. Gun control laws have a long history; the first attempt to ban firearms was made in 1837 when Georgia passed a law banning handguns. This law was quickly ruled unconstitutional and thrown out, but unfortunately gun control did not stop there. Gun control laws were not created again until 1911 when the state of New York passed the Sullivan Act. This law required all concealable hand guns to be registered with the state. This law is considered by many to be the first influential gun control law passed in the United States. This state law became a test measure for future gun control laws (Froman) The next major step in gun regulation didnt appear until the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt. Opponents of the Second Amendment started to mobilize at the federal level in the 1930s. (Froman) First, the National Firearms Act of 1934 banned fully automatic firearms such as sub-machine guns. Next Congress passed the Federal Firearms Act of 1938 which put in place many of the firearm regulations we see in the US today, including the requirement for persons selling firearms to obtain a Federal Firearms License, and the prohibition of gun sales to convicted violent felons. Again firearm legislation remained stagnant until the heat of the Vietnam War. Much public opposition to the US presence in Vietnam led to many protests and public violence. Also, 1968 brought about the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. This civil unrest led to much uneasiness about firearms. In the 1960s, gun control came back with vengeance. Modern liberalism became the dominant political philosophy in this country. (Froman) In 1968 Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968 which regulated the import of guns, broadened the record keeping and licensing requirements of gun dealers and put in place

Riley, 9 specific regulations on the sales of hand guns or concealable weapons. Finally, the Gun Control Act banned persons convicted of any non-white collar felony, persons found to be mentally unstable and users of illicit drugs to own firearms. Gun Control was furthered in 1972 with the creation of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. The ATF then began to issue firearm licenses and licensee compliance and qualification inspections. Then in 1976, Washington D.C. legislators banned handguns and required all rifles and shotguns to be registered within the district. This law was struck down in 2008 in District of Columbia v. Heller and ruled unconstitutional. Then the Crime Control Act of 1990 banned the import, manufacturing, and sale of semi-automatic assault rifles. Also Gunfree school zones were created. Finally, gun control was pushed even further in 1994 with the creation of the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act which installed a five-day waiting period for handguns and mandated background checks with local law enforcement for anyone purchasing a handgun. Also, later that year the Violent Crime Control Act and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 banned import, manufacturing of, possession of, and sale of 19 specific models of assault weapons. The ban on the import, manufacture, sale, and possession of semi-automatic assault rifles expired on September 13, 2004. Gun control has evolved drastically since the drafting of the 2nd Amendment in 1791; however, its agenda has stayed the same, and its detrimental effect on American society will sadly remain the same. First, gun control laws are detrimental to American society because they attempt to take away a sacred constitutional right that the Founding Fathers enacted for the safety and well-being of American society. A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the

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right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. (Second Amendment) This right was provided by the drafters of the Bill of Rights to protect citizens from violent foreign threats such as wild animals, hostile Indians, or criminals, and from the threat of a tyrannical government. Gun control, through steady, advancing regulation, attempts to take away the right to keep and bear arms piece by piece, until total prohibition of firearms is achieved. Gun control is simply the first step in controlling a society. In societies where people are disarmed, government officials know that citizens must willingly obey orders.(Hornberger) When one examines other great empires such as the Peoples Republic of China, or the former Soviet Union, gun control was a simple step in the process of a tyrannical government tightening an iron fist around the people. "In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents were rounded up and exterminated. China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents were rounded up and exterminated.(Harvey) The list continues. This tyrannical control is exactly what the founding fathers were trying to avoid.

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Riley, 9 Allowing citizens to keep and bear arms is key to our democracy because it sets the United States apart from the dictatorships and monarchies of a majority of the rest of the world. When the people under a government have the power to overthrow that government, that government must become accountable to the people and must properly represent them. It (gun control) stands as an insurance policy. In a society in which the citizenry are armed, government officials must always consider the risks of armed resistance to massive tyranny.(Hornberger) A democracy is defined as, government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. (dictionary.com) When a government system has the power to control its people, it will not properly represent them and will not act as a democracy. Guns are the last-ditch protector of democracy. Sure, we have votes, but only the everpresent possibility of armed revolt can ensure that the government obeys the vote. As the saying goes, Five boxes protect our freedom: soap, ballot, jury, witness, and cartridge. Use in that order.(Aronson) Second, gun control laws are detrimental to American society because they disarm honest and law abiding citizens. This, in turn, increases the crime rate in the United States drastically. As citizens lose the ability to defend themselves, criminals gain the upper hand. Gun control only disarms the honest, since criminals dont obey laws in the first place. Even if it did disarm criminals too, though, they are generally stronger and tougher than most people, so gun control leaves the honest as easy pickins for criminals. (Aronson) Washington D.C. is an excellent example of this problem.

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(source: justfacts.com) Between the years of 1976, the onset of the handgun ban, and 2008, with the decision of District of Columbia v. Heller striking down the ban, murder rates skyrocketed to nearly 70% greater than the national average. This is no coincidence. As the honest citizens lost their selfdefense and criminals retained their weapons, no longer were criminals threatened, and thus, the law abiding became helpless victims. Again I will say it: gun control works (for the criminal). Tell me how you feel when you take your family out to eat or just an afternoon at the mall and are forced to sit at a stop light where thugs happen to be hanging around on that particular corner Knowing your state law prohibits you from practicing self-defense, do these seedy individuals have greater confidence in approaching you? Think about it. (Lund) When polled, 74% of felons agreed that "one reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime." Also, 57% of felons agreed that "criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police." Finally, 60% of felons polled agreed that "a criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun." (Gun Owners of America) These statistics prove that whether citizens are armed does often directly correlate to whether a crime will take place. When criminals know that a victim is not armed they are much

Riley, 9 more likely to commit a violent crime. This means that as citizens lose their right to bear arms, violent crime rates increase. If gun control reduced crime, New York City and Washington D.C. would be the safest places on the planet. Instead they are among the least safe! (Aronson) Third, gun control laws are detrimental to American society because they have no effect

(source: conservativenewjersey.com) on the criminals who will carry weapons, legal or not. Criminals rarely even attempt to purchase firearms from licensed dealers. According to the 1997 Survey of State Prison Inmates, among those possessing a gun, the source of the gun was from -a flea market or gun show for fewer than 2% -a retail store or pawnshop for about 12% -family, friends, a street buy, or an illegal source for 80% (usdoj.gov) Increasing gun dealer requirements and licensing would be pointless, criminals will obtain their firearms, legal or not, licensed or not, registered or not. Gun control doesnt make it harder for criminals to get guns, since they rarely get them through legal channels in the first place. Purchase restrictions only hinder the honest, who of course are not the problem (and in fact are part of the solution). (Aronson) We do not need any more gun regulations lengthening the process for legal, law abiding citizens to purchase firearms, the criminals will obtain theirs anyway.

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Finally, gun control laws are detrimental to American society because they are based on idealistic thinking spread by their supporters to deceive the American people. One such example is a statement made by James Brady, an avid gun control advocate and former White House Press Secretary under Ronald Reagan. For target shooting, that's okay. Get a license and go to the range. For defense of the home, that's why we have police departments. However, this statement would be true in a perfect world, the police cannot be everywhere at all times. The police cannot protect you. The only two people guaranteed to be at the scene of a personal violent crime are the perpetrator and the victim. At best, the police might arrive in time, if you can manage to contact them. (Aronson) Also, often times the victim has a much better chance of thwarting an attack then the police do. Armed citizens kill more crooks than do the police. Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606). (Gun Owners of America) Another common misconception spread by gun control advocates is the idea that the more guns, especially handguns that are owned, the higher the national firearm related crime rate will be. "We will never fully solve our nation's horrific problem of gun violence unless we ban the manufacture and sale of handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons." - USA Today, Dec. 29, 1993 In actuality the opposite is true. Since 1993 the number of non-fatal firearm related violent crime rate has dropped by almost 1,000,000 cases and by almost 100,000 cases since the ban on assault weapons was lifted in 2004.

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(source: usdoj.gov) Also, guns are used much more often to protect the innocent than to harm them. Guns are used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year -- or about 6,850 times a day. This means that each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives. (Gun Owners of America) In conclusion, gun control and its agenda are very detrimental to American society because it attempts to destroy the sacred right to bear arms provided by our Bill of Rights and key to our democracy; because it disarms the law abiding citizen, and, in turn raises the crime rate, because it has no effect on criminals who already break the law; and finally, because it is based on idealistic thinking employed by its supporters to deceive the American public. Gun control is a means of controlling a society. (Turner) When our right to keep and bear arms is taken, so will our ability to hold our government accountable. When we lose the ability to hold our government accountable, we no longer will live under a democracy, and the government will be able to do as they wish. Also, as the statistics show, when citizens lose their right to keep and bear arms crime rates increase. This is because the law abiding citizens will surrender their weapons when those

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firearms become illegal, however the criminals will not, therefore the law abiding citizens lose their ability to defend themselves. Also, gun control laws are useless against criminals. Criminals disobey laws anyway, why would they obey one law when they disobey the rest? Criminals will obtain their firearms, legal or not, regardless of how strictly firearms dealers are regulated. Finally, gun control laws and their agendas are promoted by advocates who pollute the media with deceiving anti-gun ideas. In fact, crime rates are rapidly decreasing since the expiration of the assault weapons ban. Gun control is not a means of lowering crime; it is detrimental to American Society. An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. Robert A. Heinlein

Riley, 9 Works Cited

Agresti, James D., and Reid K. Smith. "Gun Control." Just Facts. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp>.

Aronson, Dave. "Guns -- The Political Angle." Dave Aronson: Guns: Why Gun Control Is WRONG! 16 Apr. 1998. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.davearonson.net/gun/gunpol.html>.

"Fact Sheet: Guns Save Lives." Gun Owners Of America. GOA, 28 Sept. 2008. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://gunowners.org/sk0802.htm>.

Froman, Sandy. "The History of Gun Control, Part 1." World Net Daily. WND Commentary, 6 July 2007. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.wnd.com/2007/06/41950/>.

"Gun Control Timeline." U.S. Government Info. About.com, 26 Sept. 1999. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa092699.htm>.

Harvey, Paul. "SOME HISTORY OF "GUN CONTROL"" Graham.com. 12 Aug. 2000. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://graham.main.nc.us/~bhammel/GOV/guns.html>.

Heinlein, Robert A. "Robert A. Heinlein Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/robertahe100989.html>.

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Hornberger, Jacob G. "Gun Control Would Make Us Less Safe (December 1998)." Welcome to The Future of Freedom Foundation. Dec. 1998. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.fff.org/comment/ed1298g.asp>.

"Interested in Statistics?" Firearms and Crime Statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1 Apr. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/guns.cfm>.

Lund, Alan L. "Gun Control Really Does Work!" Kentucky Coalition to Carry Concealed, Inc. KC3. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.kc3.com/editorial/gun_control_works.htm>.

"United States Crime Rates 1960 - 2010." The Disaster Center. Disaster Center. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm>.

"Useful Quotes: (for Banning Handguns)." Free Republic. 15 May 2003. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/912305/posts>.