Gun Ownership Control

Essay by hitubaba November 2007

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Today, there is increasing controversy regarding the degree of freedom or restriction to be enforced upon the private ownership and usage of firearms, and to what extend ownership influences crime and the balance of power between the individual and the state. There are currently many demands for uniform and stricter control on gun ownership as there have occurred situations whereby responsible citizens have been shocked by the use of guns in a ruthless manner. For instance, the tragedy of Port Arthur in Australia.

Gun control legislations may stop crime completely; however it will reduce the occurrence of violent crimes. This will in turn reduce the number of deaths of innocent people as it would be difficult for criminals to own guns. There do exist law abiding citizens who might not break the law even though they own guns, however they have no need to own guns to protect themselves against crime because the government is tasked with that obligation.

Gun control in a nation is a beneficial step for citizens' welfare. Guns are more dangerous to the owner than to intended targets because most guns related deaths are as a result of domestic violence, accidents and suicides. Guns, being devices implicitly designed to kill, raise the level of violence in any disagreement between people. It can become the highest level of arbitration in conflict resolution. Although, against unarmed criminals, the presence of a gun serves more often to promote the likelihood of violence (Mouzos, 2000)Citizens do have a right of self-protection; however, guns are of little use as self defence for typical owner because in incidents where a hostile encounter with an armed criminal occurs, the criminal is usually more experienced and skilled with his or her weapon. Moreover, criminals may act in groups whereby it would be extremely difficult...