Madisyn Hannion Mr.

West English 4 February 2014 Gun Possession

Roughly 16,272 murders were committed in the United States during 2008. Of these, about 10,886 or 67% were committed with firearms (Agresti and Smith). Gun possession is a very important topic when it comes to safety of other people. If there was a way to keep people from getting guns unless they have a registration or in a law enforcement officer then the percentage of murders committed with firearms would go way down. Gun possession is a very big issue that needs to be resolved to help save peoples lives. Not carrying firearms around can make it safer for the environment and everybody in it. Between May 2007 and Mar. 24, 2010, at least nine law enforcement officers and 142 private citizens were killed nationally by concealed handgun permit holders (Procon).This could have been avoided if the people who weren't suppose to have a firearm didnt. There are about 30-34% of adults that own a gun which would be 70-80 million people in the US in 2010. This number of people owning a gun affects the number of people killed every year. There are about 67% of people that kill people with a gun to protect themselves, 66% of people for target shooting and about 58% while they are hunting. If we enforced the gun laws we have now people would be able to be safer and be able to keep them only for protection not to kill people for no reason. If citizens carried guns around the cops wouldn't be able to distinguish criminals from the innocent citizens with a gun. Responsible adults with concealed handguns make it more difficult for police to distinguish criminals from ordinary citizens and to identify perpetrators

during a shooting (procon). This shows that if even the police can't tell who the criminals are then how are other citizens suppose to tell where they can be safe and not get into unnecessary shootings or problems. Carrying concealed handguns needlessly intimidates other citizens. Police frequently receive calls from customers at stores who feel threatened and less safe when another customer is said to be armed (procon). This can then start problems, especially if the citizen is innocent and didn't even want to do harm but can get the cops called on since you wouldn't be able to distinguish the difference of a criminals and citizens. Carrying guns around can cause unnecessary shootings. The concealed carrying of handguns increases the likelihood of unintended shootings taking place. According to a July 2001 peer-reviewed study appearing in Accident Analysis and Prevention by Matthew Miller, PhD, Deborah Azrael, PhD, and David Hemenway, PhD, approximately 50 people are unintentionally shot each day in America and a child under 15 years of age dies every other day from unintended gunfire (Procon). Many problems we have today is from not following the law which then results in unnecessary shootings and deaths. "Chicago does not have a gun problem. They have a gang problem and a people problem, Phelps said. That gun's not walking up and down the street by itself going off. There's a person pulling that trigger (Byrne). This is very true when it comes to unnecessary shooting because there has to be a person pointing and shooting the gun at another person. Since the outset of the Chicago handgun ban, the percentage of Chicago murders committed with handguns has averaged about 40% higher than it was before the law took effect (Agresti and Smith). This shows that people will do whatever they want and want to do it even more if their is a law which then will cause more pointless shootings. People behind the gun have more power than they think. Criminals are less likely to attack someone that they believe might be armed. The deterrent effect of concealed carry

benefits the individual carrying a handgun as well as the general public because criminals never know who is armed (procon). Some people believe that when you have a gun you're safe but you don't know what the man behind the other gun is capable of. If the man behind the gun has mental health or a criminal background you have no idea what he could do. If you have a gun also he may react differently because he may think there is competition. Many people lose their lives to using guns recklessly. People shouldnt be able to carry guns around because its not always safe and the cops won't be able to distinguish the criminals from ordinary citizens and this can also cause unnecessary shootings. We will be able to save many lives if people followed the law better.