Introduction to Guns and Crime in America

All over America, thousands of crimes are committed each day. These crimes range from petty misdemeanors to heinous acts that destroy and take lives. Although crime may come in many different shapes and sizes, most people can agree on one aspect of crime – crime and guns share a close relationship. Undoubtedly, a gun would be the number one choice weapon for most criminals; guns make their job easier and enable them to usually overpower any obstacle between them and their objective. If guns and crime share this close relationship, a shift in gun control or firearm availability should affect crime rates. The question is: in which direction should a shift be allocated, for more control or for more gun rights?
Legislatures and judicial courts on both the federal and state level battle each day with the question of if guns either reduce or increase crime. The political playing field is filled with a general array of two opposing groups: those who advocate gun legislation and those who rally for protection of gun rights. Unfortunately, the political implications of this issue typically detract attention from whether guns truly increase or decrease crime. On average, gun rights activists cite the Second Amendment and argue that gun legislation, regardless of its affect (whether negative or positive) on crime rates, violates a person’s fundamental right to bear arms. In contrast, those who push for gun legislation claim that guns are the problem and that legislators and judges should use whatever means necessary to reduce crime by restricting gun rights. Both sides argue legitimate perspectives that have deep political and social implications. Therefore, to solve this debate a comprehensive study of both sides’ arguments and the facts regarding the issue is necessary.

The reality that crime is a problem in everyday society is a fact that can be agreed upon by both sides of the issue. The 2010 U.S. Census Report reveals that in 2007, the number of violent crimes was 1,408,000. A further breakdown of the data indicates that of those violent crimes, 17,000 were murders; 90,000 were forcible rape; 445,000 were robbery; and 856,000 were cases of aggravated assault. These statistics alone solidify that crime is a problem. Over 10,000 of the murders committed involved the use of a firearm. 4,745 of the murders committed involved a weapon other than a firearm. Therefore, over two-thirds of the murders in 2007 were committed by the use of a firearm. This data does not account for the amount of other violent and non-violent crimes, other than murder, committed that involved a firearm in 2007. Undoubtedly, if this data were provided, it would reveal an even higher usage of firearms to execute criminal acts. The fact is that crime involves the overwhelming use of guns. Guns, when in the hands of criminals, facilitate crime.

The above data illustrates a sobering reality. Crime represents a serious problem and threat to a safe society in the United States. There exists a direct correlation between guns and crime; most murders are committed by using some type of firearm. This data easily convinces many people that guns are the cause of crime. Such people declare that if there were not so many guns, there would not be so many murders. On the surface, reducing the availability of guns would seem to reduce the amount of crime. This has been the main objective of gun legislation over the past century in the United States.