To start making our nation safer from criminals we must work at a better gun control plan. One step towards gun control would be much more careful who we allow to purchase handguns. "..There is not one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia that does not have gun laws."(William Weir, pg.206). Some might argue that criminals do not go through gun dealers to purchase their handguns. Sarah Brady however states,"...a 1985 Department of Justice study entitled "The Armed Criminal in America" found that over 20 percent of criminals obtain their handguns through gun dealers."(Sarah Brady, pg. 207). Although background checks are conducted and waiting periods are followed, we need to do something more. Not every one who purchases a handgun intends on using it right away. Most states require a seven-day cooling off period however, some have adopted a fifteen-day waiting period that has shown to be more efficient. "...According to a police official in Memphis, Tennessee, the states fifteen day waiting period screens out about fifty applicants a month, most of whom have criminal records."(Sarah Brady. 207). Something more is needed than background screenings. People who plan on using a gun in their first criminal act can pass a background check and be approved to buy a handgun to use in a crime. Furthermore, people have found illegal ways to get handguns. There should be some thought given to this and laws passed to stop this from happening. Only twenty seven percent of handguns are actually bought from retail stores. The other seventy three percent of handguns are obtained illegally, through family or friends, the black market, and theft. This means that seventy three percent of handguns in the United States are owned illegally and can be used illegally without being traced to the person actually committing the crime. Someone with a gun in their own name would be much less likely to use it in a crime. Some kind of enforcement is needed against people who have a handgun that was purchased illegally from an authorized retail store. Stronger enforcement of laws already in place can be an immense help towards getting illegal guns off the street, as well as making it harder for criminals to get handguns. We also could be much more strict on gun dealers who carelessly sell firearms without doing thorough background checks.

An additional reason that handguns are a target of the gun control movement is because they have been built and designed to kill human beings. "Three specific design features enhance killing power: the "three deadly C's" of concealability, capacity, and caliber."(Josh Sugarman, pg.6). The concealability of a handgun refers to its small size which makes it easy to carry secretly or without people knowing. This makes them more dangerous because they can be carried around and used without being seen. The capacity of a handgun refers to the amount of shots it can fire. Since handguns are difficult to shot accurately they were designed to hold several bullets so it has the ability to fire several rounds quickly. Finally, caliber shows the size of a bullet. B

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Approximate Word count = 2082
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)