Taylor 1
Krystal Taylor
Professor Johnson
ENGL-1302
September 23, 2014
Armed or Unarmed?
The Second Amendment states, "The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" (CRS Annotated Constitution). Handguns are easy to conceal, and are the weapon of choice for those who carry for self-defense. However, because they are easy to steal, and hide they are also the weapons of choice for criminals, as well. The majority of crimes involving firearms are committed with the use of a pistol; which seems to be a growing problem here in America. Many citizens would agree that something should be done, but no one seems to have an effective answer. The gun-control advocates believe that putting a complete ban on firearms is the most efficient way to protect citizens. However, putting a ban on firearms fails to protect the citizens because the laws are ineffectual. Banning firearms raises the violent crime rates, and also prevents people from the most successful measure of self-defense, and also violates the second amendment.
It has been proven in our history that banning firearms all together is very ineffective, and does not decrease crime rate by any means. On September 24, 1976, Washington, D.C. placed a ban on all handguns. During the period of the handgun ban "the city's murder rate rose 134 percent through 1996 while the national murder rate has dropped 2 percent" (Smith). The D.C. gun ban was then overturned in June of 2008. Another example showing the ineffectiveness of handgun bans was in Chicago, Illinois. In 1982, Chicago passed a handgun ban on all handguns except for those that had been previously registered with the police department prior to the ban. "In the decade after it outlawed handguns, murders jumped by 41%" (Chapman). Chicago then overturned...