the imposition of bans or waiting periods. But what gun control proponents do not realize is that these bans and waiting periods do not deter who they were designed for-- the criminal. This is because people who use their guns in crimes do not go to licensed gun dealers to purchase their guns. A 1991 survey of a sample of inmates of juvenile correctional facilities and inner-city high school students found that a large majority of them got their guns from friends, family, or from other criminals. Another survey of prison inmates found that four-fifths of them felt that they could get a firearm after their release from prison. In addition, these criminals stated that if handguns were not available, they would turn to other types of guns instead. Although this research does not prove that guns are uncontrollable, it does show that criminals can get guns whenever and wherever they want. The laws will only impede everyone else from acquiring firearms. Gun control advocates often point out that using a gun for self-defense is not a good argument for owning a gun. They feel that self-defense does not occur often enough to warrant owning guns for that person. This may seem to be a reasonable argument, until you look at the facts. In John Conklins book, Criminology it shows a nationwide survey “that citizens use firearms in self-defense against crime 2.1 to 2.5 million times each year, and they use handguns in 1.5 to 1.9 million of those cases.” “In comparison, firearms are used in approximately 238,000 robberies and 14,000 murders each year.” This would mean that people use guns in self-defense almost ten times more than guns are used in crimes. Since criminals can get guns no matter what bans or restrictions are in effect, the only number such regulations will affect would be the number of self-defense cases. As we have seen, guns are used in a large number of crimes. But how can we reduce the amount of guns used in c...
