The Pros and Cons of Gun Control Laws

The Pros and Cons of Gun Control Laws
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Institution
The Pros and Cons of Gun Control Laws
The debate over gun control is a very serious and contentious one in the United States. This issue is further complicated by the constitutional provisions of the Second Amendment, which gives people the right to bear arms. Proponents of gun control regulations often cite high rates of violent crimes as the reason for implementing tighter rules and stricter screening before one gets a gun ownership license, while critics refer to the Second Amendment and the all-time cliché that "guns don’t kill people, people kill people" to dismiss calls for gun control laws. However, a critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages having tighter gun control laws in place or living with the existing ones shows that both sides appear have valid reasons that require fair consideration. This essay discusses the pros and cons of implementing gun control laws in America.
Pros/Advantages
Gun control will reduce the prevalence of violent crimes
Guns are the weapons often used to commit most violent crimes. Serial killers, armed robbers, and rapists usually use guns to threaten or subdue their victims. Statistics from 2010 indicate guns are the choice weapon of many criminals as well as the means used to cause the highest number of deaths and injuries. According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (2012), guns were used to commit 11, 078 homicides in the U.S. in the year 2010. This figure is equivalent to 35 percent of all gun-related deaths and 68 percent of all homicides committed that year. Further, the report shows that 50 percent of all suicides are committed using guns. These statistics indicate that it is necessary to restrict gun ownership to reduce violent crimes and protect the lives of innocent citizens.
Gun control will prevent persons with mental illness and children from accessing guns
There are several incidences in which people with mental/psychological problems and kids have used guns to cause random deaths and injuries. The Colombia High School shootings in 1999 in two teens killed thirteen people and wounded 20 others is one example where kids have used guns to cause preventable d...