Few issues cause as much controversy in society or politics as gun control legislation. Private American citizens own more guns than any nation on earth. Obviously this many people owning guns makes for a division of opinion on the issue. On the pro side favoring gun control are those who say guns are responsible for violent crime, random acts of violence, and those who view the Second Amendment guaranteeing the right to bear arms as intended only for a well-armed militia. Those who oppose gun control perceive the Second Amendment as guaranteeing the right to bear arms for all citizens, argue that guns are needed for self-protection in a violent society, claim gun control laws threaten hunters and those who use guns for sport, and they claim that political tyranny is possible in a nation where only the government possesses fire arms.
Experts are also divided on both sides of the issue. A juvenile court judge who has seen his fair share of juveniles arrested for felonies from misuse of firearms states “What I see with all these guns is that adults’ selfishness in demanding their ‘constitutional right’ to own and sell guns has really taken away the future of many children…this is foolishness” (Jost, 1998, 1). Despite this opinion it is a ‘constitutional right’ to bear arms. In his book Boston on Guns & Courage, author Kenneth W. Royce argues as his main thesis that “the Second Amendment is the final guardian of the rest of the Constitution” (1998, ix). Clearly Americans are divided on this issue that continues to make or break politicians and affect the level of violence in our culture. But do stricter gun laws really prevent violent crime? Again Americans and the experts appear divided on the issue.
Many people who argue for strict gun control laws argue that more stringent legislation will prevent violent crime. Unfortunately, though the connection seems plausible enough, the facts simply do not s...