David Frum said, “In the mid-2000s, crime rates were declining fast, and have been steadily declining(Fear Drives Opposition To Gun Control).” This means that it is safer for people to live in America. Also, people that own guns are honestly only putting themselves in danger. One very strong force that pushes people towards siding with anti-gun control is the news. People should support gun control, and oppose anti-gun control.

People do not need their own guns for protection. The police will protect you, there’s no way they would deliberately go out of their way to avoid saving a life. It is their job and they will protect people as best as they can, and gun owners shouldn’t take matters into their own hands and rely on their guns at all. If the crime is as serious as a shooting or someone being harmed, then it will be on the high priority list. We need to have faith in our police in order for them to do their job effectively, just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you know how to use.

American citizens are safe now, and guns aren’t needed. Legally owned guns only serve to cause more problems and spark issues about public safety. The overall violent crime index has fallen one-third since the beginning of the 1990s, based on David Frum’s data. Daniel B. Wood says, “ In the past 20 years, for instance, the murder rate in the United States has dropped by almost half, from 9.8 per 100,000 people in 1991 to 5.0 2009(Us Crime Rate at Lowest Point in Decades). Legally owned guns have the same amount of risk hurting a child, they have the same amount of risk as being hurt by an illegally owned. Either way guns kill and aren’t needed because there is a decrease in crime as seen in these studies taken.

People that own guns are at a higher risk of injuring themselves. More than 30,000 Americans injure themselves with guns every year(Fear Drives Opposition To Gun Control). The risk is higher when there are children involved, especially children that aren’t properly informed about how dangerous guns are. In one case, a 4 year-old shot his own father, he stumbled across the handgun and shot his father in the chest(Gun Control 2013: Yet Another Tragic Accident Involving Children and Guns, Who’s to Blame?). There are multiple cases like this one that are only caused because there are legally owned guns in the house.

The news is the main reason why people support anti-gun control. People that watch the news usually only hear about the bad part of their city, thus supporting the notion in their mind that they need a gun for self-protection. David Frum says, “In the mid-2000’s, when crime rates were declining fast, almost 70% of Americans wrongly said they had risen the past year.” This was caused by the influence of the news. David Frum also says, “ Local TV news is dominated by news of violent crime, the more spectacular and murderous the better. TV news creates a false picture of a country under attack by rampaging criminals, and especially non-white criminals.”(Fear Drive Opposition To Gun Control) The news is doing a better job of supporting anti-gun control than the NRA.

A counterclaim that opposes my claim would be that anti-gun control is better because they can use guns for self-protection(Fear Drives Opposition To Gun Control). A Georgia lawmaker says, “The police aren’t going to be able to protect you. They’re going to be checking out the crime scene after you and your family’s been shot or injured or assaulted or raped.”(Fear Drives Opposition To Gun Control).I am refuting this claim because I say that the police can protect you, instead gun owners dying or hurting themselves to get protection by taking matters into their hands, they should just not get involved. It is the police’s job to protect people and they will do their best to protect people.

Another counterclaim said by Chuck Baldwin, “ Guns don’t kill people;people kill people.
People agree with this because they just don’t want their guns taken away from them, even it children dying. Well I am refuting this by saying that without laws to prohibit guns, guns will always be available legally. Also how does children dying falling under the “people kill people” category. The truth is that it doesn’t go in that category, it doesn’t go in any category, and it can only be stopped by taking guns out of homes and only in the hands of police.

Finally, guns should only be used by law enforcement , we need less vigilantes, and more police officers. It needs to be recognized that America is safer now than it ever has been. Also people that own guns have a higher risk of hurting themselves. The news is the main reason why people support anti-gun control. In conclusion, people should support gun control and shouldn’t support anti-gun control.



Wood, Daniel B. "US Crime Rate at Lowest Point in Decades. Why America Is Safer Now." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 09 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. <http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2012/0109/US-crime-rate-at-lowest-point-in-decades.-Why-America-is-safer-now>.

Frum, David, and The Opinions Expressed in This Commentary Are Solely Those of David Frum. "Fear Drives Opposition to Gun Control." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/23/opinion/frum-guns/index.html>.

Chandorkar, Medha. "Gun Control 2013: Yet Another Tragic Accident Involving Children and Guns, Who's to Blame?" PolicyMic. N.p., June-July 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.