Gun control's effectiveness in reducing violent crime

¶ … gun control, including counter arguments. Owning a gun is much more than just a statement about this country's Constitution and Second Amendment rights. Owning a gun is a measure of protection and freedom that illustrates the principles this country's founders created, and it is a right that Americans should not take for granted. Gun control is not a suitable method for controlling crime, and it has not been proven to help control violent crime.

First, it is imperative to define what "gun control" means, because it can mean different things to different people. Two experts note, "Gun control is an umbrella term covering everything from laws prohibiting the ownership of defined classes of firearms to mandating the inclusion of gun locks with every firearm sold" (Moorhouse & Wanner, 2006). Clearly, with such a broad definition, and differing meanings, gun control cannot be easily measured or understood, which is one of the reasons it is controversial. Most advocates of gun control believe that the prevalence of readily available guns adds to violent crime statistics, but studies indicate that gun control does not seem to have a measurable effect on reducing violent crime, which negates their argument for stricter gun laws. Gun control is also a highly emotional issue, and many people believe the Second Amendment guarantees an American's right to own a gun. An author quotes Newt Gingrich, who says, "The Second Amendment is a political right written into our Constitution for the purpose of protecting individual citizens from their own government'" (Beachler, 2003). Thus, gun control is always controversial, because there are two such distinct sides to the issue. It is not just a liberal/conservative or Democratic/Republican issue, it is deeper than that, and there are also many different levels of support and interest.

Effectiveness of Gun Control

Every state has some kind of laws controlling or regulating guns, which is one reason the Federal Government does not want to get involved in gun control, even though there are often attempts to regulate certain aspects of gun control at the national level (such as trigger locks, youth safety, and waiting time regulations). They feel the states should regulate their own affairs, rather than creating overall federal legislation for many gun control issues. Each state regulates and enforces their regulations differently, and that can skew gun control's effectiveness. Authors Moorhouse and Wanner continue, "The effectiveness of a particular gun control statute depends not only on its being on the books but the degree to which the law is enforced. Two jurisdictions may have the same gun control statute but experience very different effects, because in one of the jurisdictions little effort is devoted to enforcing the regulation" (Moorhouse & Wanner, 2006). Thus, studies that indicate gun control helps reduce crime may be based on different statutes and different enforcement techniques, which may alter the results. In most studies, gun control is not shown to be effective in combating crime. The authors note, "In addition, he observes that 'controlling for basic social factors, the data show that gun laws have no significant effect on access to firearms' and 'differing rates of access to handguns had no significant effect on violent acts'" (Moorhouse & Wanner, 2006). Many other studies back up these findings, and help prove that gun control laws do not deter crime. In fact, studies show that many guns used in criminal activities have been stolen or gained illegally, which will be discussed below.

Right-to-Carry Laws

Like gun control laws, the right-to-carry a gun is regulated by the states. Some states require registration when purchasing a gun, other states do not, and some states do not follow up on these registration regulations. Many states offer permits for the right-to-carry a concealed gun, as well. Studies indicate that these laws may do much more in preventing crime than gun control measures. Authors Moorhouse and Wanner note, "Right-to-carry laws increase the risk to criminals of being injured or killed during a crime and thus generate a deterrent effect. Indeed, casual evidence suggests that merely brandishing a gun deters criminals" (Moorhouse & Wanner, 2006). Millions of Americans carry guns legally, and they do not use them to commit crimes, they use them to deter crimes and to protect themselves in their own homes. Instead of enacting gun control laws, more communities might consider right-to-carry laws to help make their communities safer and deter criminal activity. If a criminal knows they are likely to face a homeowner with a gun when they attempt a crime, they might think twice about robbery or other criminal activities.

Stolen Guns

Many proponents of gun control cite statistics about waiting periods and gun registration as part of their control measures, but studies indicate that these measures do not work. Not because they keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but because of the large percentage of stolen weapons that flood the market every year. A Johns Hopkins University study concluded that 500,000 guns are stolen from private citizens every year, and that does not include the thousands of guns stolen from dealers and transporters each year (Editors, 2003). In addition, 18% of incarcerated criminals reported using a stolen gun in their crimes, or in buying the gun from a "fence" (Editors, 2003). Thus, stolen guns are a huge problem in the United States, and there is evidence they are being used in criminal activities in other countries, such as Mexico, as well. There is no way to regulate stolen guns, and so, gun control is useless in this area, and there is no way even the strongest advocate of gun control can dispute that.

Criminal Justice Students

It is interesting to note that most criminal justice students do not support gun control, even though it might seem that they would support something that might seem to make their jobs safer and easier. Another study indicates, "Analysis indicated that criminal justice majors, with an average score of 44.74 on the gun control survey, were more opposed to gun control than non-criminal justice majors whose average score was 40.57" (Payne & Riedel, 2002). The study also showed that blacks, females, and urban dwellers also supported gun control issues more, while whites and men did not support gun control by large margins. The authors continue, "In this research, we found that those who were more likely to oppose gun control were blacks, females, urban residents, non-criminal justice majors, and non-gun owners. These findings are supported by a growing body of gun control research" (Payne & Riedel, 2002). Another study indicates, "People with higher levels of educational attainment also are more likely to support general gun control measures. Support does not vary by marital status, age, or income" (Smith, 2002). Not surprisingly, people who are more used to guns or experienced with them tend to disapprove of gun control, too (Payne & Riedel, 2002).

Pro-Gun Control Arguments

While the majority of studies indicate that gun control really does not result in a decrease in criminal activity, there is still widespread support of gun control in many areas of the country. Another expert writes, "Three decades of polling have painted a clear picture of public opinion about gun control. These polls show that public support for the regulation of firearms is strong, deep, and widespread" (Smith, 2002). Many proponents believe gun control would reduce violent crime, and that specific gun control measures, such as handgun control, would be even more suitable for controlling many violent crimes. In fact, 70% of Americans would support legislation that would ban any handgun ownership by convicted criminals, even if it made it harder for an ordinary citizen to buy a handgun (Smith, 2002). This is one reason the argument about gun control will not disappear, because so many Americans believe there should be at least some controls on certain types of weapons. This does not mean that most Americans support all types of gun control. In fact, only 13% of the people support a total ban on guns of any sort (Smith, 2002).

Child Safety

A very serious element of the pro-gun control argument is child and youth safety, which is why many supporters want guns sold with gunlocks or other safety measures. Author Smith continues, "Nearly 86% of survey respondents supported requiring that all new handguns be designed so that they 'cannot be fired by a young child's small hands.' And more than 76% believed that owners should be held liable if a gun is not stored properly and is misused by a child" (Smith, 2002). Many states regulate firearm safety and children, and parents should use common sense and keep handguns and all guns unloaded and locked away when there are children in the household.

Since it has been shown that many guns used in crimes are obtained illegally, many pro-gun control supporters back the idea of mandatory gun theft reporting in all the states. Traditionally, gun dealers are required to report stolen guns, but private parties are not, and this is where most stolen guns come from. Johns Hopkins University has studied the problem and urges states to adopt laws such as Maryland has adopted, which require gun owners to report any stolen guns immediately (Editors, 2003). The law has helped regulate handgun sales, and has helped in police recovering stolen weapons, as well (Webster, 2007)).

Another argument about gun control that many supporters make is that federal legislation should be stronger, and that certain types of guns, like cheap handguns or assault weapons should be banned entirely. They believe that national organizations, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), have considerable influence over the Congress, and this is why more national regulations have not been passed. A group of researchers studied this issue and determined they may be correct. They write, "This study has found a strong and consistent relationship between the amount of money received and a Congressional member's position on firearm legislation. In other words, votes for gun rights were significantly more likely to be from Congressional members who received contributions from gun interests" (Price, Dake & Thompson, 2002). They include tables that indicate which Congresspeople received direct contributions from gun control opponents, and how they voted, to back up their data, and the largest number voted against gun control measures who had received contributions from concerned groups and individuals.

In conclusion, while there are some viable arguments for some types of gun control, (on assault weapons, for example), studies and data indicate that gun control would really have very little effect on crime in America today. While a majority of Americans seem to favor some type of gun control, especially for child safety, stringent gun control would serve little in making American society safer. Statistics show that a majority of criminals who use guns would use them anyway, because they acquire them through illegal means that gun control could not address, and that a very small minority of overall crimes are committed with a gun. Gun control to reduce crime is a myth, and more Americans should understand that.