Kevin Arocha
Professor Noonan
ENC1102
Spring 2012 Research Paper

“The right to bear arms”, an amendment so prioritized by our founding fathers that it earned the very second spot on the list of birth rights as Americans. However, with constant tragedies striking the United States, such as massacres in public high schools and universities, mall shootings, and attempted assassinations on state representatives, it’s no wonder law makers are constantly debating the topic of gun control. The history of firearms has changed dramatically since the late 1700’s. A rifle is no longer defined as a single shot, muzzle loading musket. Should …show more content…

In his article, John Stossel writes that “Government may promise to protect us from criminals, but it cannot deliver on that promise. If you are the target of a crime, one other person besides the criminal is sure to be at the scene; you. There is no good substitute for self-responsibility” (NYSun.com) In fact, average police response time can fall anywhere between 7-10 minutes in metropolitan areas (city-data.com). According to a recent study conducted by the Washington Post, Police response time has actually fallen over an entire minute since 2002. Police are now taking longer than ever before to arrive at the scene of priority 1 calls, “which are typically calls regarding armed robberies, assaults, and shootings” (Washingtonpost.com).

Later in the article, Stossel questions whether tighter gun laws might actually result in more crime. According to ABC News, regardless of the newly seized 162,000 firearms by the British government “gun related crimes in the United Kingdom still managed to nearly double since after the gun ban was enacted” (ABCNews.go.com). This helps prove Stossel’s argument of criminals being less fearful of committing crime in unarmed communities, eventually leading to a spike in crime rates.

John Stossel’s argument throughout his “Gun Control Isn’t Crime Control” article was an effective one, I believe. Stossel