One of the arguments you always hear from those who are against gun ownership, is that we need more laws to protect people from guns. You often hear them use buzz words like “high-powered” “cop killers” or “large capacity clips” to scare the public into thinking that we need more gun laws.
Do we really need more laws, or do we need to enforce the ones that are on the books?
There are already a numerous “Gun Laws” on the books
You must be 18 years of age to buy rifles and shotguns and 21 years old to purchase a handgun. This law also covers the purchase of ammunition making it illegal for anyone under 18 to buy long gun ammo and anyone under 21 to buy handgun ammo.
It is illegal to sell a gun that has its serial number removed, changed, or missing.
If someone buys multiple firearms in a single purchase, an official record is made to notify the ATF
It is illegal to sell or manufacture ammo that is explicitly made to shoot through body armor.
It is illegal for the following people to own firearms: felons, those convicted of domestic violence, mental defectives, citizens who renounce their citizenship, anyone who has been dishonorably discharged from the military, those addicted to any controlled substance, and illegal aliens.
And these are just a small number of the gun laws that have already been passed by congress. The list doesn’t take into account the many local and state laws that also prohibit where, when, and how you can carry a weapon.
What about gun safety?
This is another area that is often used by the media to scare people into thinking that “guns are bad.” But what do the actual numbers show?
- According to the National Safety Council, accidental gun fatalities are at their lowest level since 1903.
- Since 1930, the number of guns has quadrupled while the number of accidental gun related deaths has dropped by 80%.
- In the U.S. guns cause 0.5% of accidental deaths, compared to motor vehicles which cause 37% …. Should we ban cars?
Do Gun Bans make people safer?
If gun bans worked then cities like Chicago and New York would be utopias where crime has been wiped out and everyone skips through the streets giving each other high fives.
But what really happens when a city bans guns?
1966 New Jersey – New Jersey passes a law which local politicians call “the most stringent gun law” in the nation.
Results: Murder rate up 46%; Robbery rate doubles.
1976 Washington, D.C. – One of the most restrictive gun laws in the country goes into effect.
Results: Murder rate up 134%
1982 Chicago – City of Chicago passes a ban on handguns.
Results: Murders committed with handguns up 40%
1986 Maryland – Maryland passes a law banning small, inexpensive handguns knows as Saturday night specials.
Result: Murder rate increases by 20%
2005 Morton Grove Illinois – Morton Grove becomes the first city in Illinois to approve a gun ban for anyone other than police.
Result: The Cities crime rate jumps by 15.7%.
Do less restrictive Gun Laws make people safer? Let’s look at those numbers.
1987 Florida – Florida passes right-to-carry law
Result: Murder rate down 21%
1996 Texas – Texas passes right-to-carry law
Result: Murder rate 30% lower than before the law was passed.
2001 Michigan – Michigan passes right-to-carry law
Result: Murder rate down 4%.
And what did the Founders have to say?
“A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.”
— George Washington
“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed — unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
–James Madison
“The great objective is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun.”
–Patrick Henry
“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.”
George Mason
“And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms… The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
–Thomas Jefferson
“The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.”
–Thomas Jefferson
“The Constitution shall never be construed….to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms”
Samuel Adams
“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike especially when young, how to use them.”
Richard Henry Lee
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists.
Patrick Henry
“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence.”
George Washington
Great Article and thank you for pointing out the facts. They seem to be harder to find these days with all the people who dish out their garbage political agendas.
I live in Chicago and I can tell you that the handgun ban was a disaster. This city is filled with so much crime it’s not even funny. I don’t know why these idiot politicians don’t get the fact that criminals ignore gun bans
I don’t care what your numbers say I hope they outlaw them and anyone who has one should be put in jail.
Connie? Are you living under a rock? LOL What is it that people have no logic? You honestly think the world would be a pretty place if all guns were banned? And to say for law abiding gun owners to be thrown in jail? HELLO! Wake up LOL if they did ban guns, Do you think criminals
will turn their guns in? NOPE! Ask people that survived fighting Nazis in Europe if they would have turned their guns over. Either people are really dumbed down or just plain stupid, LOL
Darin ..forget Connie… the fanatics has no critical thinking abilities , they are followers of the someone else toughs ….
We have the second amendment so that the government can’t just raid our houses. It is there for a reason and should stay there. I am not saying gun restrictions are entirely bad, but there is a fine balance.
@connie
If you believe that than move to another country because i would rather die for my right to bear arms (a right that was put in place since the beginning of this great nation) than give up that right. good luck on your ventures to another country because its people like you that are ignorant and make this great country a more and more drab day after day
the right to keep arms was what finally triggered the war with Britain when on 19 April 1775 a force of some 1500 well armed, well trained British marines and infantry left Boston to seize the arms of the patriot militia of Massachesets colony. Within 24 hours 40 some Americans and over 800 British were dead the redcoats had marched out but what was left of the ran back and the War of Independence had begun.
Connie if those like you have your way something similar will happen and you and those like you will only have yourselfs to blame. After all the part of the American population who have the skill of arms to stand and fight are the ones who you would go after. so as Steve said why don’t you move to some other country and leave us alone.
49 dead Americans out of 3,800; 73 dead British out of 1,500. Great job trying to throw out bullshit facts in order to make your “position” seem correct. It’s not that I have a problem with guns, it’s that I have a problem with the intelligent people who own them.
Than why do dumb ass people mug people for money but intellegient people use them for self deffence.
I wish they would have a nationwide open season on LIBERALS !
all of them would rather live in totalitarian communism than have the constitutional right to defend themselves FROM crime AND the government . Please go away !!!!!!!! Too bad the south didnt win the civil war , so the american people would have 2 nations to choose from , things might not be so screwed up . I guarantee the confederacy would have had border security .
Actually liberals and conservatives have been swapped since the second amendment. It was a liberal way of thinking that originally thought we should have the right to bear arms. It is a conservative way of thinking to not want guns because of the threat. I am neither of these idiotic parties, but liberals are the ones that originally pushed the right to bear arms.. Please get the facts straight. People thinking about civil liberty and things like that are liberals!! conservatives are people not wanting changes or liberties because of their old school view. Look it up in a dictionary! I am so sick of people swapping the names of these things just because they have sworn allegiance to a party. Maybe you should think about being in the other party!! Lol
So, you are going to state that the meanings of the words “liberal” and “canservative” have switched on the issue, then complain when people use the (according to you) new, correct use of the words instead of the old, now incorrect use of the words?
Stop hitting yourself! (rhetorically)
I believe terms change over a period of time. The liberals you refer to would be referred to as libertarian in today’s world. The term liberal today would refer to left wing totalitarian socialists.
T.R., I’m as liberal as they come, and I support the right to bear arms 100%. Get over your hate-filled fantasies and wake up to the real world. While you’re having wet dreams about murdering your fellow citizens, BOTH major parties are going all out to screw you out of your constitutional rights.
” Where you have the people fear the government , you have tyranny , where you have the government fear the people , you have liberty ” Thomas Jefferson .
Ok , well seeing how that any contradictory thought is ( Like on TV political shows ) on here you are labeled a hate monger or given another ” Label ” because your point of view is different . Historical fact : Liberalism corrupts , conservatism , preserves . I mentioned the confederacy just as an example ( very american by the way ) if a people were given options will go where there is a better deal , better laws , economy , etc. etc. , thus keeping both governments a bit more honest to prevent a drain or shift if they get like this government is now . By the way , the civil war was about state rights . I also mentioned it because History and human sociology shows that when a Nation ( of any kind )gets to a certain size, population , and major cultural shifts , it eventually becomes unmanageable and breaks up ( Roman empire , Russian Empire, USSR ,British Empire , Colonialism ). I suppose that by your point of view , all Germans are also Nazi’s ?So at what time did I ever imply I wanted to kill my fellow man ( has anybody ever heard of figures of speech ? its an older one , but I’m an older guy ) Fact is , generally most liberals DO support gun control laws , while most conservatives DO NOT . You two are an exception and glad to see that . I AM in the real world and am in the ” front lines ” of the immigration/drug violence part of the country where foreign nationals are killing american citizens in their own country with impunity . The government ? …. they put up a sign in the areas warning OUR people that they should stay away and off their own soil so the drug/people smugglers wont kill them . I see the part of the real world you guys dont . ….I wish I didnt either . You dont know me , If you did , you would know that Im a person that would give you his shirt off his back in an emergency . Dont lecture me about compassion . I AM , the druggies and mexican gang members I see everyday , are NOT !
TR
I would also like to add that they are better and more well armed than law enforcement is , so If I sound like a nut …… tough titty said the kitty when the milk ( and the 2nd amendment ) went dry .
“And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms… The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
–Thomas Jefferson
What do YOU think he meant by that ? sit around and gripe about the government peacefully ?
Point taken . Great site by the way ;)
David B: “Connie. Dear… There is simply not enough room in our prisons to fit every member of the U.S. military (who we permit to carry guns), every member of every police force around the country (who we permit to carry guns), and the hundred million or so citizens of the United States (who have the constitutional RIGHT to own firearms). We simply would not all fit in the jails! Plus you’d have to replace the military and police force with new untrained members who would not use guns (which would be just plain silly), lest they would also end up in your “gun jail”. I guess they could carry sharpened sticks with them to enforce the law. So the comment about jailing anyone with a gun is downright untenable, unless we make the prisons large enough to fit all our police and military in, as well as half our citizens in general. I guess the only people left would be you and a few others who either don’t have (or are not allowed to have) firearms. Is there a particular reason that you have not been allowed to own a gun? Are you mentally defective, or a felony sex offender?”
All those who think guns should be completely removed from society should read “Dial 911 and Die”. The courts have ruled that the police have NO responsibility to protect anyone. If by some chance they happened to arrive quick enough to catch someone in the act of committing a crime it is a miracle. If the police do NOT show up in time, the victim (or the family of the victim) has no legal recourse.
It is up to each individual to find a way to protect themselves, their property and their families. Banning guns is not the answer. In Australia they removed most guns from the citizens and turned them into Subjects. Then they had to ban swords and knives because those criminal who were to stupid to find a gun were using swords and knives to commit crimes. You ban one thing and then you will have to keep banning until rocks, pipes and sticks will have to be banned because they will be used.
Anti-gun people do not think logically and live in some fantasy world where everyone is nice…the reality is that this type of thinking will get you killed or severely injured.
I for one would rather protect my family than stand by trying to dial 911 and watch them being attacked and murdered.
nice article,i agree to i lived in new york for 3 months before moving back because of crime.
I live in the PacN.W., glad I don’t live in Kommiefornia, where most of my guns are on the banned list. I drive a longhaul truck, and it SUCKS
some of the areas I have to go into unarmed is not cool, wish I could have my 12guage or 5.56 or 1911 at least. The only LEGAL thing I can carry is my dog and not sure how legal it is, but I pack a 26.5mm flare gun, I sure would not want to be on the business end of it……….
Not sure why I had to put this into 2 parts.
The best thing I have found to carry in a vehicle is wasp spray. Good to 15′- 20’almost ~
as good as a gun. My girls, including my wife have a can in their cars. No one ever asks why are you carrying wasp spray. If you ever feel threatened while shopping grab a can and put it your cart. :))
I live in Socialist Kalifornia, and yes it is not easy. just makin do where I can. after my parents pass on I am out of here.
it is my constitountional brigth to bear a arm,althougth i wish they would sale guns to responseible people and not insane people and murderers.but it’s what you use to protect yourself and family.
even if they outlaw guns people will still have them its like the great depression with beer,achohol.they can say how unpolitical unrigth owing guns are.and i think anyone who supports out lawing guns is crazy.guns are what we use to protect ourselves,get food,and our rigth to bear arms will never be outlawed because they can never get rid of all the guns.
Unforntunatly i do not live in a contry where gun laws are as permissive as yours, but being a lawyer, i have been taught by force that gunlaws, as restrictive as they are in Mexico, are useless, same as everywhere in the world,i really dont know if pro gun ban people are aware, but criminals do not give a crap about what the law states. I dont know if they realize this, but by the way, murder, rape and robbery are illegal but the are still commited, banning them fomr having a gun WILL NOT ASSURE they will not get one, the only thing this does is leaving law abiding citizens completely defensless or having to resort to an illegal way to procure a gun to defend Theirselves
Please remember, HARDER LAWS DO NOT ENSURE THEIR APPLICATION!!! Harder law enforcement is what works
I would definetly recommend to you all,
DEFEND your rights!
DEFEND yourself, but most of all,
DEFEND YOUR FAMILY!!!
God bless you.
P.S sorry if my spelling is wrong… English is not really my language…
You all had better get yourselves informed and up to speed on Hillary, Obama and the UN Small Arms treaty deal…….
Please look it up if you haven’t already. This deal is close to being made and they have yet again found a way around the people, the congress and the constitution.
GET READY, cause all hell will break loose if in fact they circumvent all the above and sign this most illeagal treaty to get our small arms!!!
I grew up around guns and learned to shoot at a vey young age. I take the view that guns are a tool. Ex. you want to dig a hole in the ground you go get a shovel. You want to hunt game you go get a firearm. You want personal defense you carry concealed. At least in NC (perhaps in a lot of other states) one may defend themselves if threatened from death, serious bodily injury or sexual assualt- tool- .380 or 9mm.