28.concealed guns reduce crime

Concealed Guns Reduce Crime

In the US the number of gunshot deaths hikes every year. The results of the latest research show that by 2015 gun-related deaths in US will exceed traffic fatalities. Usually tragedies spark off heated debates. The December 14 slaying of 20 children and six adults at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, reignited a debate over gun violence. However, mass murders are rare, but shootings aren’t. About 85 Americans are shot dead daily -- 53 of them suicides.

One aspect of the debate over gun ownership deals with the question whether concealed guns should be outlawed or permitted legally.

Concealed weapons are weapons, especially handguns, which are kept hidden on one's person, or under one's control. Carrying a concealed weapon is illegal in most states unless the party with the weapon is a law enforcement officer or has a permit to carry a concealed weapon in public.

There are four types of concealed carry weapon laws. First is unrestricted, which means that anyone can carry a concealed weapon without a state-issued license. The second is shall issue, which means that as long as applicants meet certain requirements, they can receive a permit. The third is may-issue, which means the authorities may deny an applicant a license if they feel that the applicant has not presented a reasonable need for it. And the fourth is no-issue, which means that concealed weapons permits are not issued in that state.

In the US there is a strong opposition to gun control. Opponents of gun control restrictions claim that “the right to keep and bear arms” is not only a fundamental right of an American citizen but also his obligation. If an American is not ready to use a gun in self-defense, he is in dereliction of his duty. The major argument of concealed gun advocates is that concealed guns reduce crime.

Today a friend of mine, who happens to be a member of NRA , and a very devoted one, is going to convince me that concealed guns do reduce crime. So do you really think every American should have a right to carry concealed guns?

Liza: More and more people are answering in the affirmative. Today 300 million firearms are in private hands nationwide. The majority of gun owners, asked why they have guns, cite self-protection as one of the main reasons. Why, how do you think? The thing is that public gun ownership has some deterrent effect. According to the study conducted by Gary Kleck 40% of felons had at some time decided not to commit a crime because they believed the intended victim was armed. Three fifths of the felons said criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about the police. Kleck also notes that countries with far lower rates of gun ownership than the United States – like Great Britain and the Netherlands – have far higher rates of burglaries of occupied residences.

Julia: I’m afraid it’s a dubious argument. According to the study, in which crime rates in the states passing shall-issue laws were examined, the number of violent crimes in that state decreased by 4% to 7%. However, the number of non-violent crimes increased, as people influenced by the deterrent effect of confronting armed individuals switched from violent crimes to property crimes; this is sometimes called the substitution effect. Moreover, the result of another study showed that concealed carry weapon laws actually increased the crime rates. What is more, studies reach sharply different conclusions depending on different analysis techniques.

In any case, instead of reducing crime concealed weapons actually increase deaths. According to Kellerman’s study for every case of self-protection homicide involving a firearm kept in the home, there are 43 accidental shootings, criminal homicides and suicides involving firearms. The implications couldn’t be clearer: the gun that you keep at home or carry with you makes any altercation potentially more lethal.

Liza: But it is not about the weapon itself, it’s about the people who own it. Surely, some reasonable restrictions are necessary. Deranged or psychologically unstable people prone to suicide should be barred from owning a firearm. Background checks must not be cursory but profound. It’s not enough to ask a person whether they’ve been adjudicated mentally ill. One may easily lie. However, mentally healthy citizens should have a right to defend themselves and their families against offenders. There is another data, very important for me as a woman. Every year about 200 000 women use guns in self –defense from sexual abuse. Nevertheless, it is the last line of protection. In the majority of home invasions a mere display of a gun is enough to scare off the intruder.

Julia: I see that I cannot make you change your mind. But what about your children? Are you going to teach them how to use guns?

Liza: Sure. Kids should be taught to use guns. In this case such terrible tragedies as the shooting of 6-year-old Kayla Rolland by her classmate would not be possible. My older son developed a fascination with guns at the age of 8 and he’s already won a prize for an extraordinary feat of marksmanship!

Julia: How can you give your children access to guns? They just don’t understand that some things must not be done. They sometimes lose the feeling of reality and kill people without understanding that it is not a game. The guns in the hand of children are very likely to increase crime.

Liza: Well, you don’t blame cars for car accidents, do you? We can put the blame for such atrocious violent acts on TV, video games, movies or society but actually all that boils down to parents and their impenetrable senselessness towards their children. Only they are responsible for the wrapped sense of reality such kids have. Moreover, such tragedies occur because there is nobody to stop the massacre. If the teachers at school were armed they could easily stop spree shooters one way or another. For example, after a series of shootings in America the educational authorities in Harold, Texas decided that some teachers at the local school should have guns. Nobody knows who is armed. Everybody accepts it there as people feel safer this way.

Julia: I’m afraid I cannot agree with you here. The study of 62 US shootings at public places shows that in not a single case was the killing stopped by a civilian using a gun. Those civilians not only failed to stop the shooter but also were gravely wounded or killed. Moreover, it is easy to notice that the rate of mass shootings has increased in recent years—at a time when America has been flooded with millions of additional firearms and new laws have made it easier than ever to carry them in public places. Can you see what I mean? The more guns you have, the more lives they can take.

Liza: You mention only lives lost to guns. What about those saved by them? They simply couldn’t be counted! Many people are unlikely to talk about defensive gun use in the context of intensely personal crimes like domestic violence or rape. And since carrying a gun in public may be technically illegal, that, too, is not the kind of thing someone is going to admit to the pollsters. Furthermore, you cannot count how many intrusions didn’t occur because the perpetrator knew there were guns at home, how many shop robberies were prevented because the sales person owned a gun! Civilians kill more wackos than the police. Only in 2% of cases they shoot an innocent person while police does it in 11 % incidents. The painful truth is that you cannot simply get rid of weapons or ban it everywhere. Criminals will always buy guns across the kitchen table, while law-abiding citizens will be unprotected. The only way to defend yourself is to own a gun. Yes, deterrent effect again.

Julia: But what about morals? I will never shoot a man. I will never teach my children to carry a concealed gun just to be able to shoot a perpetrator on the street. It is just inhumane.

Liza: Moral issues don’t work in the matters of life and death. You can’t possibly think about it in a dangerous situation.

Julia: But if you pay a criminal in his own coin does not it mean you degrade to his level? Will we not all become criminals if everybody carries a concealed gun?

Liza: I don’t mind as long as me and my children are safe…

Julia: Hey, what’s wrong with you?

Liza: No barbed remarks, please.

Julia: I see that we will never reach a common ground. The only conclusion we can make is that carrying a concealed gun is a lottery. You are as likely to stop a potential spree killer (reducing a crime rate) as you are to kill an innocent citizen or even, accidentally, yourself.