Causes and Effects of Gun Control
Gun control has become a big issue in light of all the recent mass shootings, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook and the theatre shooting in Colorado just to name a few. It is possible that the high rate of gun related deaths and crime would decline, but would it actually halt completely.
While some people in the U.S. are against more stringent gun laws others are very much in favor of them. In other countries, we will look at Australia as an example. In 1996 Australia enacted a gun control law called the National Firearm Agreement (NFA) after a shooting took the lives of 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania. Since then there have been zero mass shootings and gun deaths are now one tenth of what they are in the U.S. (Wogan). In Australia guns that were used in violent crime leading up to and after the 1996 law was enacted were for the most part unregistered (Clark). Some effects of the NFA are; murders increased 6.5%, attempted murders went
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The majority of Americans that are against stringent gun laws in the U.S. say guns are more widely used in self-defense and that they discourage criminals from committing violent crimes (Celinska, 234). There are two main purposes for owning guns, defense and recreation. Hunters for example would be against gun laws because they use guns for recreational shooting and hunting. Also people that might have grown up in a gun free environment or an antigun culture maybe through higher education would see gun control as more achievable. “Guns don’t kill, people do” according to the NRA and criminals don’t obey laws (Gregg, 68). The effects of more gun laws would not stop guns being used in violent crimes, but would only be a hindrance for people that want to protect themselves. Criminals will still be able to get guns, but for law abiding citizens it will be