Gun control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Gun control - Essay Example They insist that strict regulations on gun ownership are not the solution to high crime rates. They point out that, since the 1997 ban on handguns in England, crime rates have more than doubled (Malcolm, 2003 as cited in Mackey & Levan, 2011). What has triggered this flurry of activity geared towards permitting people to carry guns in public places? Bruce & Wilcox (1998), note that in the U.S, when citizens learn of death occasioned by a gun attack, many believe that they stand a chance to survive such an incidence if they have a firearm. Pro-gun forces counter any criticism to gun-friendly legislation by pointing out that the government needs not worry about law abiding citizens who voluntarily go to have their backgrounds checked so as to acquire a gun license, but rather, the criminals who have no business in abiding by the law. Gun rights activists argue that law-abiding citizens carrying concealed guns may be able to save lives due to the history of mass shootings in the U.S. According to the Wall Street Journal (2012), in December 2007, there were 7000 people inside the new life church in Colorado Springs when an armed man stormed: He killed two people and wounded many others. What prevented him from killing and wounding more was a congregant who had permission to carry her licensed concealed gun in church property. On the other hand, advocates of gun control argue that even law-abiding citizens with authorization to carry weapons can lose their temper, with fatal results. Such a scenario is portrayed in a teen ager succumbed to gunshot wounds after a dispute over loud music (The New York Times, 2014). In an attempt to neutralize the strength of the pro-gun forces, advocates of gun control have been developing initiatives to make the battle in the legislature more vicious. In April 2014, billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced plans to inject $50