Gun Control: For and Against.

When approaching this topic I tried to imagine myself as an American, to imagine that I had the rights and freedom that they do so as not to be automatically bias with my conclusions. Firstly I looked at http://gunowners.org/protect.htm a devoted anti gun control website by the Gun Owners of America lobbying organisation.

"From state legislatures and city councils to the United States Congress and the White House, GOA represents the views of gun owners whenever their rights are threatened. GOA has never wavered from its mission to defend the Second Amendment -- liberty's freedom teeth, as George Washington called it."

The GOA is associated with other 'branches', the Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund, the Gun Owners of California and the Gun Owners Foundation.

• The Political Victory Fund helps to raise the money to support anti gun control candidates during elections. "GOA has a record of helping pro-gun candidates defeat anti-gunners in hundreds of races across the country over the past 30 years" This includes Tea Party member Marco Rubio, Florida.
  
• Gun owners of California deals solely with gun related issues that arise in that state.
  

The GOA's main argument is that owning a gun is in the Second Amendment of the Constitution and is therefore the people's right and any change to this would be a violation of their freedom. "Guns are not the problem. On the contrary, lax criminal penalties and laws that disarm the law-abiding are responsible for giving criminals a safer working environment." Within the website, they have a section for "skeptics" which outlines their arguments for frequently asked questions from those who are pro gun control. http://gunowners.org/just-for-skeptics.htm

They say that banning guns would not reduce the number of murders and homicides and takes Washington DC as an example, stating that there has been no proof or any studies showing that taking away the citizens constitutional rights has made a difference. "I am not aware of any credible study which shows these law have worked -- by which I mean that they have reduced crimes by individuals using guns. And the gun-grabbers and their allies are unable to cite any such study." In fact, the senior editor and attorney at the CATO institute says that the murder rate within Washington DC has increased by 50% since the banning of guns 25 years ago.

The site dispels myths about gun control, including gun control reducing crime rates in other countries, specifically within England. Throughout this particular argument, the font changes size drastically, getting a lot larger on points they want to drive home such as: "British crime reporting tactics keep murder rates artificially low. "Suppose that three men kill a woman during an argument outside a bar. They are arrested for murder, but because of problems with identification (the main witness is dead), charges are eventually dropped. In American crime statistics, the event counts as a three-person homicide, but in British statistics it counts as nothing at all."

The website is convincing in the arguments it makes because they try to back everything up with facts and figures as well as producing case studies and real life events to defend their points. Events listed include:

1. "How to stop a rapist"
2. "True stories of self-defense"
3. "Unseen self-defense stories"
4. "How a gun could have saved my parents lives"
   

These were not the only arguments they used, they also mentioned response times of the police, the medias being bias against guns particularly when it comes to school shootings. The media fails to realise that guns were used to stop the killers. However, it could be argued that the shootings may have never taken place if gun control had been harder. They also touch on the subject of "the hidden cost of gun control." Something else that contributes to the successful argument against gun control is the extensive amount of resources the site incorporates. As well as facts and statistics, you can get access to other sites supporting the same ideals, get women's opinions on the matter, read source studies and see decisions made by the Supreme Court. Another interesting section is the "Gun Owners of America Analysis of Current Gun Bills" which can be found here: http://gunowners.org/111anatb.htm -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I asked someone I know in NJ, what her opinions are on gun control and to start with she said she didn't really have an opinion on the subject. I said that I thought all Americans had one and then this was her response:
"Not all Americans do. It's not something I'm faced with day in and day out. I don't even know anyone that owns a gun but my cousins who are police officers. Yes in my state (NJ) its hard to get a license to own a gun. Most people go outside the state to get one. And in order to carry a gun you have to have a permit. Not that it'll stop people right? I guess as long as there's crime, they'll be illegal guns on the streets. Its great that they try to control it but when you have corrupt people handling the situation there won't be a real solution."

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The second site I visited was: http://www.csgv.org/issues-and-campaigns which is the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

"The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) seeks to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy. Our organizational structure is unique among national gun violence prevention organizations. CSGV is comprised of 48 national organizations working to reduce gun violence. Our coalition members include religious organizations, child welfare advocates, public health professionals, and social justice organizations. This diversity of member organizations allows us to reach a wide variety of grassroots constituencies who share our vision of non-violence."

The same as with the other page, it divides into manageable sections listing it's key issues and campaigns, as well as a section for those new to the issue which I found most useful.

The first argument that becomes apparent is the ability to buy guns without a background check through something called the "Gun Show Loophole." This is alarming when it means that criminals leaving the prison system can come straight back out and buy a weapon. They linked to the following video to explain it better.



On the page for those new to the issue, they are their most convincing to try and win people over to their cause. They pick 3 issues that will hit home with the majority of people.

1. Criminals having access to weapons.
2. Political parties making money through the sale of guns.
3. 9 children dying as a result of gun violence everyday. (Underneath in smaller font it mentions the 75 adults that die each day as well.)

What makes it more convincing to me, is that they do accept what the anti gun control supporters would say and use it to their advantage. "Yes, people kill people, but without easy access to guns it would be a lot harder."

Both sides talk about freedom, however Coalition against Gun Violence addresses the NRA's description of freedom as "freedom from government oppression" and says that "This toxic mix of ideology and firepower has moved beyond rhetoric and resulted in real violence in our country."
What was most effective in this section was the opening paragraph, which brings the reader in by attacking the NRA.
"The National Rifle Association (NRA) sells everything from its political agenda to its merchandise with a simple equation: more guns equal more freedom. The NRA steadfastly maintains that the 30,000 gun-related deaths with firearms in the United States every year are a small price to pay to guarantee freedom."