Taking Away Our Freedom Essay, Research Paper
TAKING AWAY OUR FREEDOM
The legalization of concealed weapons for the purpose of self protection has and
will decrease the number of gun related crimes. Guns were not invented for the purpose
of robbing a bank, or mugging someone in a dark alley. Guns were not invented by
criminals or by people looking for a way to murder or intimidate. The invention of the
gun was directed at making hunting easier and eventually was used in war to defend our
country. The first guns, or ?mortars? were cannons. These weapons were used to defend
cities in the early 1400s. The French were the first to use cannons in mobile warfare. And
in recent wars guns have provided the artillary to defend inocent countries against
terrorist. What is so wrong with self defense?
If someone has the intent to murder, mug, or rape an innocent person, gun laws
will not stop that person. The only thing that a gun law does is to take away the right of
good citizens like us to protect ourselves from these criminals. We can not go back in
time and not invent the gun. We will never get rid of them all, so as long as guns exist,
criminals will obtain them easier and faster than the average citizen has ever been able to.
A woman who thought she was alone in her Jacona, New Mexico, home and had
just emerged from the shower when she heard the sounds of someone ransacking the
residence. The quick-thinking resident retreated to the bedroom but was soon confronted
by a stocky male intruder who had violently kicked down the locked door. That?s when
the intended victim pointed a handgun at the man, sending him fleeing! The woman in this
story and others like her are the types of people who cherish the right to bare arms.
One year after Australian gun owners were forced to surrender 640,381 personal
firearms to be destroyed, including semi-automatic .22 rifles and shotguns, a program
costing the government over 500 million dollars. The results are less than expected. A
dramatic increase in criminal activity involving firearms has been experienced by the
citizens of Australia. Just after twelve months of the new gun laws, Australia-wide
homicides are up 3.2%, assaults are up 8.6%, and armed robberies are up 44%! In the
state of Victoria, homicides with firearms are up 300%! Figures over the past 25 years
were showing a steady decrease in gun related crimes, and in just twelve months the new
gun laws changed everything for the worse.
The same thing is happening in Britain. Armed crime rose 10% in 1998, and the
numbers for 1999 are expected to be even more dramatic. Since guns are illegal, every
criminal wants one, and it is very profitable to smuggle them in. According to a police
spokesman, weapons from Eastern Europe, some still new in their boxes, are turning up
during investigations. Criminals now have unprecedented access to high quality guns at
affordable prices.
The January 14, year, issue of the Manchester Guardian says that their city is now
being called ?Gunchester?. Police sources have been quoted saying that guns have
become ?almost a fashion accessory? among young criminals on the street. Street gangs
are armed with fully automatic weapons, and unarmed police are afraid of confrontation.
The 1999 Sunday Express says, ?In recent months there have been a frightening number of
shootings in Britain?s major cities, despite new laws banning gun ownership.?
Unfortunately, the downward progress of gun control goes only one way. British citizens
will never regain the basic human right to armed self-defense.
The legalization of concealed weapons is one of the best ideas I have ever heard.
Muggers, rapists, and murderers often go after the weak or those incapable of protecting
themselves. Most of these criminals will not choose you as a victim knowing you have a
handgun. They are just as scared of guns as we, the honest citizens of the world are, but if
they are the only ones with guns, what is going to stop them from committing these crimes
everyday and more often? Everyone should have the right to self defense.