One of the main arguments that anti gun control groups make is that they have a constitutional right to own guns. The second amendment to the constitution says that all American citizens have the right to bear arms. There are many people who think that guns should be banned all together. According to the constitution, this can't be done. All people have the right to own a gun if they want to. If the people are given this right by the constitution, then this right can't be denied.

The government hasn't gone so far as to ban guns completely yet, but they have started to pass some laws aimed at controlling guns

Some people go as far as to argue that gun control laws can actually increase gun related crime. One example of this is Britain. Britain has very strict gun laws. In an article by Miguel A. Faria Jr., he says that in Britain, only certified members of approved target shooting clubs are allowed to own guns, which have to be kept locked up at the club at all times. Guns have virtually been eliminated in Britain. (Miguel A Faria Jr., 10) Despite these laws, crime has risen in Britain over the last few years. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a person is nearly twice as likely to be robbed, assaulted, or have a vehicle stolen in Britain than in the U.S. While America has cut its crime rate dramatically over the past few years, Britain's crime rate has gone up. Burglars in the U.S. generally rob people at night and try to make sure that no one is home so their intended victim doesn't shoot them. In Britain, on the other hand, burglars are a lot more daring. Day robberies are common there. The burglars know that they won't get shot if they are discovered because they know the people they are robbing donit own guns. (Miguel A. Faria Jr., 10) Crime in Britain has gone up a lot ever since they instituted the gun laws. This just goes to show

Another thing that the government is considering is mandatory gun locks. They claim that gun locks would reduce accidental shootings, especially for young children. Gun enthusiasts don't think this would be the case. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 1996, there were only 44 accidental gun related deaths for children under the age of ten. There are about 80 million gun owners in the U.S. The fact that there are so many gun owners in the U.S. and so few accidental deaths would suggest that the vast majority of gun owners are extremely careful with their guns anyway. By comparison, about twice as many kids drown in the bathtub each year. (John R. Lott Jr., 6) Only the careful, responsible people would even obey the law and lock their guns, and they aren't the ones causing the problem. Also, locked guns don't offer much protection against intruders. The only thing that locked guns would do is increase deaths resulting from crime.

The government should crack down on the types of guns that are allowed. Some types of guns are simply more dangerous than others. In an article by Jack Maple, he says that modern automatic and semiautomatic weapons are more powerful, hold more bullets and can be reloaded much faster. A criminal can do a lot more damage with one of these than he could with a basic rifle or revolver. (11) There is no reason why anyone would ever need to own an assault weapon or even most handguns. People should be restricted to basic guns such as rifles, shotgun, and revolvers. This would eliminate the more dangerous guns, but still give hunters and people who use a gun for protection what they need. Any other types of really guns aren't.

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Approximate Word count = 2360
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)