Violence in America
Essay by big_lazy • November 28, 2012 • Essay • 466 Words (2 Pages) • 1,336 Views
Violence in America is becoming more of a concern to everyone in our nation. Among
the traditional scapegoats are media desensitization, broken homes and the always popular
presence of guns in America. I do believe that the problem is one that should be solved,
but I do not think that the proper solution is one that is given enough consideration: Not
a high enough presence of guns in the hands of the law abiding citizens in America.
It is widely believed that without guns, humans would not be able to kill their fellow man.
While I admit that guns do have the potential to aid in murder, it is necessary to remember
that murder began long before firearms entered society. People who wish to murder will
find a way to do it. The only thing that taking guns away from the general public will
accomplish is to make potential victims unable to defend themselves. Unfortunately, it is
nature for the stronger to dominate the weaker. Firearms are a way that the weaker can
protect themselves from those that nature just happened to make stronger and life just
happened to make angrier.
A perfect example can be found in the community of Kennesaw, Georgia. In Kennesaw,
residential burglaries were becoming unfortunately common. To try and solve this
problem a law was passed requiring the head of each household to keep a weapon in the
home. Within one year of the law being passed, residential burglaries fell 82%. I think
that this example shows that criminals loose much of their willingness to take advantage of
the general population if the population is armed.
Still, I know that there are people who will disagree with me and claim that the only way
to completely end violence is to end gun ownership. However, according to an FBI study,
violent crimes do not involve guns as often as many people believe. According to the FBI
study, only 13% of violent crimes involve firearms. The other 87% of violent crimes
involve some kind of physical force. This means that if we did put an end to gun in
America, only 13% of violent crimes would stop. Not to
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