What Role Should The Government Play In — страница 3

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responsible gun safety. Every year more than thirty four thousand Americans are killed with handguns in homicides, suicides, and accidents. Only three hundred are listed as ?justifiable homicide? (Roleff 22-23). This category includes shooting a burglar, rapist, or mugger. Police kill close to 330 innocent people annually. Citizens kill only thirty people a year because they are mistaken for an intruder (Lott, 1-2). It has been proven that a gun in the home is forty three times more likely to kill its owner, a family member, or friend rather than an intruder (Roleff 23). In 1992, more people in Texas were killed by guns than car accidents (Roleff 25). Those who do not favor gun control argue that those figures do not include citizens whose lives were saved because an intruder was

scared off by a gun. They claim that close to 82,000 people use firearms in defense for themself, someone else, or their property (Roleff 117). There are two basic approaches to controlling this problem. Either let everyone have access to guns, except those prohibited by law, or do not let anyone have a gun except those permitted, such as those in the line if duty or law enforcement officials. I personally believe that all handguns and assault weapons should be banned and destroyed with the exception of law enforcement officials and military. We might not be able to stop all of this gun violence but at least we can close loopholes that control the sale and distribution of guns in America. Next to automobiles, guns are the second most deadly consumer product on the market. There

are over two hundred million guns in circulation today, compared to the mere fifty four million in 1950 (Roleff 142).