Top 5 Ways Gun Control Laws Make Us Less Safe
1. Good Reason
This year, in the month of May, a federal judge ruled that a key provision of the Washington D.C new gun law is most likely unconstitutional, ordering D.C. police to stop requiring individuals to show “good reason” to obtain a permit to carry a firearm on the Capitol’s streets. Many D.C residents rely on the Metro to commute in and out of the District. Restricting handgun possessions to homes and vehicles would render many defenseless. Opponents of D.C gun reform argue that there’s no correlation between the violent crime reports and the District’s 1976 handgun ban. Others, such as Senator Marco Rubio disagree stating “violence skyrocketed.” Attorney Jeffrey Scott Shapiro shared similar feelings, saying, “The gun ban had an unintended effect: It emboldened criminals because they knew that law-abiding District residents were unarmed and powerless to defend themselves.”
2. Property Protection
Many in Washington want to ban large capacity gun magazines. During the L.A riots in 1992, Korean businesses armed themselves with the very same ammunition and not surprisingly, their stores remained standing. As the nation has seen a dramatic spike in riots and looting, it is clear that banning such ammunition makes us less safe. Most gun involved homicides and armed robberies do not involve large capacity magazines. Banning them will do little to no effect on the crime statistics. Still, banning handguns will not solve the safety issue. In fact, “violent crime increased after the [D.C handgun] law was enacted, with homicides rising to 369 in 1988, from 188 in 1976 when the ban started. By 1993, annual homicides had reached 454.”
3. College Campus
Gun rights advocates have been pushing to legalize firearm possession on college campuses. A valid reason to arm female students, reduce sexual assaults and prevent mass school shootings. A counter argument against this conclusion is that a lot of college assaults involve alcohol, which would prohibit possession in that scenario. Another argument is that most sexual assault victims know the perpetrator, which might render their guard down. However females would still be better equipped to defend themselves and men more cautious. According to MSNBC contributor Amanda Collins, “currently, seven states allow campus carry. Not a single one of those states has seen an increase in crimes committed with firearms. In fact, there has been a decrease in crimes committed on campus property.”
4. Drug Cartels
Gun control laws will do more harm to the rights of the legal U.S citizen, than it will to those obtaining weapons from the cartel to carry out its drug operations. The Cartel’s heavy presence at the U.S-Mexican border has accumulated the illegal flow of weapons in the United States. As the Border Patrol Union has stated that “our immigration laws has given drug cartels the opportunity to expand their territory across America.” Fortunately, states like Texas, Arizona and New Mexico have a well-armed public. However “California’s laws designed to deter illegal gun trafficking are more rigorous than those of Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas, yet it still has the fourth highest crimes-gun export rate,” according to a brief report by “Mayors Against Illegal Guns”.
5. Gun Free Zones
Most schools throughout the U.S adhere to the “gun free zones” mantra. While we are thankful for Law Enforcement response, they cannot respond quicker than an armed and trained civilian already at the scene. Assistant Principal Joel Myrick (1997) at Pearl High School and Jeanne Assam at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs (2007) are two examples. Both stopped their attackers before Law Enforcement could arrive and without injuring one innocent person. The other benefit of having armed and trained civilians on school grounds is that it might deter a shooting. “60% of convicted felons admitted they avoided committing crimes when they knew their potential victim was armed. 40% of convicted felons admitted they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed.” The criminals like to capitalize on the vulnerable. We don’t usually hear of shootings at police departments and military facilities. These places are not left vulnerable, which deters would be criminals and terrorists.