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Why Is Gun Control Important

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Gun control has once again become a hot topic in recent years after the catastrophic mass shootings that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary (Newtown, Connecticut) Washington Navy Yard shooting (Southeast Washington D.C.), and the Aurora theater shooting (Aurora, Colorado). It is no coincidence that after such events occurred some American citizens and Government officials feel the need for tighter gun control laws. Data can sometimes be skewed in order to support ones stance as it pertains to gun control. If research is conducted correctly it is easy to see that gun ownership deters violent crimes. However, 90% of American citizens agree that some form of gun control should be in place. So should we as Americans have that right to bear …show more content…
Pro Gun Control proponents believe that concealed carry does not prevent crimes and that it will in fact increase crime. However, when Florida passed a concealed carry law, their homicide rate fell from 36% above the national average to 4% below the national average. In Texas, murder rates fell 50% faster than the national average in the year after their concealed carry law passed. In 1982 Kennesaw, Georgia passed a law that required heads of households to have at least one firearm in the house. The burglary rate for that town dropped 89% compared to Georgia as a whole only dropped 10.4%. There have been potential mass shootings that were stopped due to states allowing concealed weapons. On December 11, 2012 in Clackamas County, Oregon, a man named Jacob Roberts was at a local shopping mall when he opened fire killing two people and seriously injured a third. A bystander named Nick Meli pulled his firearm on the shooter but did not take a single shot. Jacob Roberts, noticing that to tables turned on him, retreated and was later arrested. On December 16, 2012, shots were fired at a San Antonio movie theater which left people scrambling for the exits while trying to avoid bullets fired from the gun of Jesus Manuel Garcia. The gun fire was so intense that the police department at the site had to retreat. The gunman was eventually shot by an off duty cop carrying their personal firearm. Now ask yourself, were these events caused because firearms are easily accessible in these states or can events like this happen regardless of gun control? Could more innocent civilians have been killed if not for the state allowing concealed weapons? Well, since 1950 every public mass shooting in the U.S. has occurred in a place where civilians are banned from carrying a

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