"An Updated Background Check System Will Help Prevent Gun Violence." Guns and Crime. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "A Plan to Prevent Future Tragedies." MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.

Summary:

Guns have long since been an issue in America, with many shootings occurring throughout our history. Clearly, our gun system is broken. Records have been left incomplete, and there are loopholes that make it possible for almost anybody to acquire a gun. Changes must be implemented to correct the currently corrupt system. Some of these changes include getting all the names of people who should be prohibited from buying a gun in the background check system, and closing loopholes in the purchasing process by updating the background check system.

Facts and Figures:

• In 1968, assassins gunned down Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. In the wake of that double tragedy, Congress passed the first federal laws to limit access to guns
  
• The Columbine [Colorado, April 20, 1999] killers got around the system by using guns bought at a gun show from an unlicensed seller: no paperwork, no questions asked.
  
• At Virginia Tech [Virginia, April 16, 2007], a killer got a gun he should have been prohibited from buying because his records were never reported to the FBI's gun background check system.
  
• The shooter in Tucson [Arizona, January 8, 2011] also got a gun he should have been prohibited from buying because his records weren't in the database—and then got a second gun because lax federal regulations frustrated the intent of the law.
  
• Every day, 34 Americans are murdered with guns, and most of them are possessed illegally. Since 1968, more than 400,000 Americans have been killed with guns.
  
• The number of records in NICS' Mental Defective File increased significantly under the new law, from nearly 300,000 in 2006 to more than 1.1 million today.
  
• The legislation, enacted in 2008, is failing to achieve its goals in part because Congress has supplied only 5.3% of the authorized amount from Fiscal Year 2009 through Fiscal Year 2011
  
• Since 1968, federal law has prohibited anyone "who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" from possessing any gun
  
• ATF has reported that over 27% of the guns involved in its criminal trafficking investigations were tied to trafficking by unlicensed sellers, and over 30% were tied to trafficking at gun shows.
  

Source:

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&dviSelectedPage=&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=&displayGroups=&sortBy=&zid=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010015251&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=f449069d27d4af3cdca9ef8123a3be9e

Summary:  In this article Sandra M Alters, from Cengage Learning, talks about the history of gun control and how the debate has been "solved". She addresses documents like English Assize of Arms of 1181 created with the militia which permitted gun control in self defense but forbade it from being used to just terrify others. She also brings up the Bill of Rights and how it deals with the issue. She also goes into the more modern laws and regulations of Gun control. She gives major arguments for and against gun control and how you can justify either side. She closes out her article with the topic of Gun control and it being a public health issue.

Facts and Figures:

• "The modern debate over gun control erupted after a series of high-profile assassinations in the 1960s and gained new urgency after gun-related violence rose in the 1980s and 1990s. After the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado there were renewed calls for Congress to pass stronger gun control laws."

• "One of the first documents to link the bearing of arms with a militia (an army composed of citizens called to action in time of emergency) was the English Assize of Arms of 1181, which directed every free man to have access to weaponry."

• "The Bill of Rights removed the word guns from the list of items the poor were forbidden to own by the Game Act of 1671. From this time on, the right to keep and bear arms belonged to all Englishmen, whether rich or poor."

• -"In November 2001 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in United States v. Emerson (No. 99-10331) that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to 'privately possess and bear their own firearms.'"

Source: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3020690101&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=9228286f6ffeabea8830c461e1683b33

Sandy Hook, while tragic, was unfortunately only "popular" for a short period of time and seemed to spark the gun control debate for only a short period of time before people were distracted by the Boston massacre a few months later. Americans get incredibly defensive about their second amendment right, and the threat of gun laws becoming stricter outrages the majority of families that keep guns around the house. Guns are linked to our ideal of freedom; gun ownership equals patriotism.

Facts and Figures

• Americans own upwards of 300,000,000 guns collectively
  
• Paradoxically, 90% of Americans and 80% of gun owners believe that there should be more gun control laws
  
• 75% of Americans don't own guns, however one cannot be sure as the laws governing purchases and registrations are inadequate
  

Citation

Semeiks, Jonna G. "We the people confront Sandy Hook." Confrontation 113 (2013): 11+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.

Gang violence has played a large part in this country's history and is represented by all ethnic groups. Gang members obtain their weapons under unlawful circumstances, either stealing them or buying them with cash at gun shows.

Facts and Figures

• Gang violence accounts for 50% of all violence in the United States
  
• FBI: 800 murders are committed by gang each year
  
• 15% of the 10,000 murders that happen yearly involve the use of guns
  
• About 240,000 guns are reportedly stolen each year
  

Citation

Willis, Tiffany. "Better Gun Control Would Reduce Gang-Related Violence."Organized Crime. Ed. David Haugen, Susan Musser, and Michael Chaney. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Who Arms America's Gangs?: Responsible Gun Owners." LiberalAmerica.org. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.

Wright, Stephen E. "Gun Control Laws Will Not Save Lives." Guns and Crime. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Anti-Gun Group Common Sense Gun Laws and Real Common Sense." StephenEWright.com. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.

Summary:

Gun control laws have never worked in the past, and they will continue to be ineffective in the future. The right to bear arms is in the constitution and should not be taken away. Making stricter gun laws would have no impact on deaths, because killers will kill, no matter what the weapon is. The gun control law argument is supported by only emotion, and is still promoted, no matter how many times they are proved wrong. Handgun purchases should not be limited, large capacity magazines should not be banned, and concealed guns should be allowed.

Facts and Figures:

• 1 gun per month/12 guns per year would satisfy most shooters
  
• In any case most criminal activities, including the murders of police officers, involve very few shots fired (on average 3-4)
  
• There are numerous verifiable cases of civilians using firearms for effective self-defense every day, and virtually none of burglars taking away guns and shooting the homeowner or his family. Just try to find one.
  
• America does have a wildly disproportionate number of murders vs. other western countries.
  

Source:

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&currPage=&zid=&action=e&prodId=OVIC&display-query=&limiter=&dviSelectedPage=&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&displayGroups=&disableHighlighting=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010015249&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=00bda2bf77fc13f2fb229865f516e1ff

Gun-free zones are not necessarily safe-zones. Students should be allowed to carry guns on college campuses to be able to defend themselves. The mass murder that occurred at Virginia Tech in April of 2007 might not have been so cataclysmic if students had had the means to defend themselves/fight back against the shooter. "College campuses represent one of the final frontiers in the fight for concealed carry." "Students are deluded into thinking that they are safer when disarmed." Educational activities such as concealed carry classes, gun safety lessons or other firearms training are held at some schools. Students are supposedly responsible enough to wield a weapon on campus.

Facts and Figures

• Arizona, South Carolina, and Georgia passed laws allowing at least guns to be kept in parked cars on campus
  
• 25 states ban guns on college campuses, eight of them leave it to universities to set their rules, and some states don't address the issue at all, which sometimes creates legal gray areas
  
• Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), a group formed in direct response to the Virginia Tech shooting, has over 40,000 members
  
• in 2003, Colorado State University (CSU) chose to comply with the law and allow concealed carry on campus. Though certainly there are other factors at play, the school's crime rate has steadily declined ever since, dropping from 800 crimes in 2002 to 200 in 2008. Sexual offenses alone dropped from 47 in 2002 to only two in 2008.
  

Citation

Burnett, David. "Students Should Have the Right to Carry Guns on College Campuses." Guns and Crime. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Colleges Reveal Their Plan to Keep Students from Becoming Victims of On-Campus Violence: Duck & Cover." National Rifle Association Online, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.

Summary: In this article, Tucille, J.D. from the Reason Foundation talks about Colorado Legislatures and their tight laws on firearms they have enforced. The amount of paperwork associated with the laws grew tremendously. With the facts the author presents she argues that the people of Colorado who owned guns simply ignored all these laws the legislatures making because of Colorado having no formal gun registration.

Facts and Figures: -"Lawmakers estimated that 420,000 transactions would pass through the system over the first two years"

• "$3 million in increased user fees to fund the paperwork. Instead, after a year in operation, officials had performed only about 13,600 reviews."

• "The 13,600 figure includes gun show sales, which were previously required and not part of the expected flood of checks on private transfers."

• -"Lawmakers' forecasts were based on a National Institute of Justice guesstimate that 40 percent of gun transfers are between private parties. Nobody knows whether that's even close to accurate."

Source: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/MagazinesDetailsPage/MagazinesDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Magazines&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA384779467&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=5c8b55069c716046ad90ca6e4618f48a

Dickerson, Darby. "Students Should Not Be Allowed to Carry Guns on College Campuses." Guns and Crime. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "White Paper—Guns on Campus." NaBita.org. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.

Summary:

College campus's are learning environments that need to be taken care of. College age students have brains that are not even fully developed. There are many concerns about having guns on campus, especially with past incidents.

Facts and Figures:

• Currently, 26 states plus the District of Columbia ban concealed weapons on college and university property. Twenty-three states allow individual campuses to decide. Only Utah allows guns on the campuses at public institutions; the state allows private institutions to set their own policies.
• George Mason has 30,000 students enrolled ranging from age 16 to senior citizens, that more than 350 incoming freshman would be under 18, that elementary and high school students attend summer camps on campus, and that children attend an on-campus preschool.... Parents expect their students to be taken care of in a safe environment with little risk
  
• In the underlying case, a student-interest group sued the university alleging that its weapons control policy violated Colorado's Concealed Carry Act (CCA) and the right to bear arms in self-defense under the Colorado Constitution.
  
• In response to the Virginia Tech shooting, the U.S. Secret Service, Department of Education, and F.B.I. studied violence at institutions of higher education. As part of this study, 272 incidents of targeted violence were identified through a comprehensive search of open-source reports from 1900 to 2008. The incidents include various forms of targeted violence, ranging from domestic violence to mass murder. Most incidents occurred during the 1990s and 2000s. Across these 272 incidents, the perpetrators killed 281 people and injured 247 more. The perpetrators used guns 54% of the time, knives or bladed instruments 21% of the time, and a combination of weapons 10% of the time. Florida had the fourth highest number of incidents in the study.
  

Source:

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&currPage=&zid=&action=e&prodId=OVIC&display-query=&limiter=&dviSelectedPage=&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&sortBy=&displayGroups=&disableHighlighting=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010015253&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=219e72c17ef3374b0880bdaf5c4f8e08

Over the past two decades, state legislatures across America have removed law enforcement discretion from the permitting process, significantly expanded the places in which permit holders may carry concealed firearms, and otherwise made permits dangerously easy to acquire. Americans want a response to our nation's firearm violence epidemic. Fortunately, state legislatures have recognized that concealed weapons on college campuses would needlessly place college students at an increased risk for accidental shootings, drug- and alcohol-related violence and suicide and are overwhelmingly opposed by the American public.

Facts and Figures

• 32 states allow a person to openly carry a loaded handgun without a permit
• Guns kill 30,000 people every year in America and injure 70,000 more
• 73% of Americans oppose easing concealed carry permit requirements
• More than 40% support a nationwide ban on the carrying of concealed firearms
• 34 four states are "shall issue" states--meaning law enforcement officials are required to issue a permit to anyone meeting minimum requirements (the applicant is over 21, has not been convicted of felony, and is a U.S. citizen); 11 states are "may issue" (justifiable need)
• Illinois, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons, and no permit is required to carry a concealed weapon in Alaska, Arizona, or Vermont.
• CCW permits generally entitle permit holders to carry hidden, loaded firearms in any public place except where explicitly prohibited. Most states, unfortunately, do not prohibit carrying at many locations where large numbers of defenseless people congregate, or where interpersonal conflicts are commonplace

Summary: In this article, Christine Watkins of the Detroit: Green haven press argues the need for stronger gun control laws. Her first argument includes that just having a gun your household increases the risk of firearm death/ injury. She argues that the laws we have now are flawed and don't really solve the problem, people are finding easy loop holes out of these laws. Watkins is concerned over the negative impact on modern society with the use of guns. Overall, her point is still that gun control saves lives. And even though people choose to not follow these laws its still a safety restriction that is extremely beneficial towards the community.

Facts and Figures:

• "we own an estimated 270 million firearms—approximately 90 guns for every 100 people."
• "guns are used to kill more than 30,000 Americans each year and injure approximately 70,000. Guns are also used to commit nearly 400,000 crimes each year."
• "Virginia's one-gun-a-month law, enacted to address gun trafficking, significantly reduced the number of out of state crime guns traced back to Virginia dealers."
• "In 12 states where child access prevention laws had been in effect for at least one year, unintentional firearm deaths fell by 23% from 1990-94 among children under age 15."
• "The overall firearm-related death rate among U.S. children under the age of 15 is nearly 12 times higher than that among children in 25 other industrialized nations combined."

Source: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&currPage=&zid=&action=e&prodId=OVIC&display-query=&limiter=&dviSelectedPage=&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&sortBy=&displayGroups=&disableHighlighting=false&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010015248&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=82cb1aabba6dad738d6e7bf9a21b9777

"Weak Laws Permitting Concealed Weapons Endanger Public Safety." Concealed Weapons. Kacy Lovelace. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. At Issue. Rpt. from "America Caught in the Crossfire: How Concealed Carry Laws Threaten Public Safety." www.lcav.org/concealedcarry/. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Summary:

In the summer of 2009, many Americans were shocked to see protesters with guns, and even more shocked to find that it was perfectly legal for them to do so. Concealed carry laws are getting progressively worse and over the past two decades, law enforcement discretion is being removed. This greatly increasing the places that people with permits can carry concealed firearms. Permits have also been made extremely easy to get.

Facts and Figures:

• 32 states allow a person to openly carry a loaded handgun
  
• 73% of Americans oppose easing permit requirement
  
• 9/10 respondents stated that they do not want average citizens to be able to carry guns in to places like restaurants, college campuses, sports stadiums, bars, hospitals, or government buildings
  
• More than 40% of Americans support a nationwide ban on the carrying of concealed firearms.
  
• Our nation's gun violence epidemic kills more than 30,000 and injures almost 70,000 each year
  
• Even convicted felons are able to easily acquire a gun
•  It found that Texas CCW permit holders were arrested for weapons-related crimes at a rate 81% higher than that of the state's general adult population

Source:

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010788205&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=0240fc6c64f75230756cb36322cbcfd9

Summary: In this article, Sandra M. Alters uses the point about how gun control is affecting today's youth and using it to argue against gun control. First she gives statistics about the homicide offender rate in youth from the years 1976-2005. She also gives more graphs and statistics on murders from youth with a firearm and the trends throughout the years. Alters tries to justify other reasons for this behavior, however, the solutions go back to the issue of gun control. She mainly gives the point of how the rate of deaths by young people have increased tremendously. This article has TONS of graphs, and statistics on youth and gun control that are very useful and bring the point across.

Facts and Figures:

• "Young adults aged eighteen to twenty-four had the highest rate of homicide offenders throughout the period."
• "Homicide offending rates for African-American and white males under age twenty-five increased dramatically beginning in the mid- to late 1980s through about 1994 and then decreased dramatically through about 2000."
• "According to Howard N. Snyder and Melissa Sickmund of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report (March 2006, http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/nr2006/downloads/NR2006.pdf), 90% of the overall increase occurred with males killing nonfamily members with guns, usually handguns."
• "Juvenile weapons offenses increased 11% from 2000 to 2004 and 6% from 2003 to 2004."
• "African-American males aged fourteen to twenty-four accounted for 18.9% of all homicide offenders in 1976, compared to 34.6% of the total in 1993. The proportion of young black males who were homicide offenders declined after 1993, reaching a low of 25.6% in 2002 before increasing to 27.8% in 2005."
• "The percentage of the population represented by white males fourteen to twenty-four years of age declined from 8.9% in 1976 to 6.3% in 2005."
• "White males aged fourteen to twenty-four represented 8.7% of homicide victims in 1976, compared to 10.4% in 2005."
• "Most students obtained guns from home (37.5%), with the next likely source being a friend or relative (23.4%). Only 7% of guns used in school-related crimes were purchased, and 5.5% were stolen."
• "For 17.3% of crime guns recovered from teenagers, the median time from sale to recovery was less than three years, which indicates deliberate gun trafficking."
• "Freshmen were the next most likely to carry a gun (5.2%), followed by seniors (5%). Juniors (4.6%) were the least likely to carry a gun to school in 2007."
• "Ray notes that in 2003 teens with guns at home were more likely to live in the South and Midwest. White teens (51%) were more likely than African-American teens (20%) or Hispanic teens (27%) to have guns at home."
• "The CDF notes in Protect Children, Not Guns 2008 (2008, http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/Gun_report_2008.pdf?docID=7581)that gunfire killed 3,006 American children and teens in 2005."
• "Even though there has been a decline in child gun deaths since the peak year of 1994—from nearly sixteen deaths per day of children and teens by gunfire in 1994 to eight per day in 2005—104,419 children have died from gun violence between 1979 and 2005."

Source: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3020690107&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=a8d396a496d91fa44f11570bffa819a7

Obama passed a law in 2009 declaring that in National and State Parks, the laws about carrying weapons will be the same as those in the host state. (So, in Colorado, for example, anybody with a valid concealed carry permit can possess a weapon in Rocky Mountain National Park). There was a lot of backlash to the law by the general public from people that claimed they wouldn't feel safe if people could carry weapons in parks. People claimed that it is impossible to use a gun in self-defense without incredibly fast reflexes and a fair amount of adrenaline, as the attacker always has an element of surprise and, therefore, the upper hand. There is "irrational fear of guns" and that it is a legitimate phobia--the chances of running into someone with a concealed weapon in a National Park are the same as running into someone with a concealed weapon walking down the street. (The article goes on to make fun of the fear of guns, sarcastically instructing the reader which places to avoid if they are a "hoplophobe".

Citation

Kopel, David. "Concealed Weapons Should Be Permitted in National Parks."Concealed Weapons. Kacy Lovelace. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. At Issue. Rpt. from "Guns in Parks: The Hoplophobes' Travel Guide to the United States."The New Ledger. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Geer, Michael. "Banning Guns Will Increase Gang-Related Violence." Organized Crime. Ed. David Haugen, Susan Musser, and Michael Chaney. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Gang Violence and Gun Control." American Thinker. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Summary:

If guns are banned, gangs will continue to acquire them illegally, and the people who abide by the law will have no way of protecting themselves. Gang members will always have guns and banning them will just increase the problem. It would also be incredibly difficult for authorities to revoke current weapons held by gangs.

Facts and Figures:

• 100% of cities with populations greater than or equal to 250,000 reported gang activity in 2001
• 85% of cities with populations between 100,000 and 229,999 reported gang activity in 2001
• 65% of cities with populations between 50,000 and 99,999 reported gang activity in 2001
• 44% of cities with populations between 25,000 and 49,999 reported gang activity in 2001
• 20% of cities with populations between 2,500 and 24,999 reported gang activity in 2001
• 35% of suburban counties reported gang activity in 2001
• 11% of rural counties reported gang activity in 2001
• 95% of the jurisdictions reporting gang activity in 2001 had also reported gang activity in previous survey years
• 3,000 jurisdictions across the US are estimated to have had gang activity in 2001
• 56% of cities with populations greater than or equal to 100,000 reported an increase or no significant change in the number of gang members in 2001
• 42% of cities with a population of at least 25,000 reported an increase in the number of gang members
• 45% of cities with a population of at least 25,000 reported an increase in the number of gangs from the previous two years
• 69% of cities with populations of at least 100,000 reported having gang-related homicides in 2001
• 37% of cities with populations between 50,000 and 99,999 reported having gang-related homicides in 2001
• 59% of all homicides in 2001 in Los Angeles and
• 53% in Chicago were gang related; there was a total of 698 gang-related homicides in these two cities combined, whereas 130 other cities with populations of at least 100,000 with gang problems reported having a total of 637 homicides among them

As predicted, non-gun owners are more in favor of the assault weapon ban renewed, however, the majority of gun owners wouldn't seem to mind the strengthening of the ban. Between seventy and ninety percent of all people surveyed believe there should be a 21 year-old minimum to purchase a weapon. Between 55 and 75% of the people surveyed believe the ban should be renewed, and between 75 and 100% believe assault weapon kits should be banned altogether.

Citation

"Public support for renewing and strengthening the assault weapons ban, February 2004." Gun Control: Restricting Rights or Protecting People?. Ed. Sandra M. Alters. 2007 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Information Plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Summary: In this article, Don B. Kates argues for gun ownership by referencing the second amendment to prove his point. Kates explains his view on "collective rights" and claims to use it for the second amendment is an "oxymoron." he also argues the point how the militia/ military should not be the only group of people to have the "right to bear arms" when there are people who are just as experienced or even more experienced than the people in the militia/military. Kates goes into a detailed description of his theory of the second amendment to fully get his point across. Overall this article is the viewpoint of a person for gun control, who persuasively makes his argument come across well.

Facts and Figures:

• "The Second Amendment was not the product of some devotee of states' rights and powers vis-à-vis [in regard to] the federal government. It was authored by James Madison who was so extreme an advocate of federal power vis-à-vis the states that he deemed the Constitutional Convention a failure because it rejected his proposal for a federal veto power over all state legislation."
• "Since 1980 almost 200 law review articles have discussed the Second Amendment. Upwards of 175 of those 200 endorse the individual right to arms."
• "The amendment uses the phrase 'right of the people,' which everywhere else in the Constitution denotes individual rights; the amendment does not use words like 'powers' or 'authority,' which is how government powers are described everywhere else throughout the Constitution"
• "Under current military practice, soldiers serve unarmed. On base they don't have either their own arms or military arms. When committed to a combat zone, they are issued particular weapons which the Army deems suitable to duties it assigns them. Soldiers do not get to possess personal arms. Any soldier fool enough to demand his 'right to arms in the context of military service' would end his military career in the stockade."
• "The amendment follows early state constitutional rights provisions in having a prefatory clause (the militia clause) preceding the rights declaration; the principle of construction then as now was that the prefatory clause cannot narrow or nullify the declared right."

Source: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&currPage=&zid=&action=e&prodId=OVIC&display-query=&limiter=&dviSelectedPage=&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&displayGroups=&disableHighlighting=true&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010223255&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=a166b14e7d4bd71e3c1eeca47e22cd47

Willis, Tiffany. "Better Gun Control Would Reduce Gang-Related Violence."Organized Crime. Ed. David Haugen, Susan Musser, and Michael Chaney. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Who Arms America's Gangs?: Responsible Gun Owners." LiberalAmerica.org. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Summary:

Gang members typically get guns through stealing them or buying them from legal gun owners.

Facts and Figures:

• Gang violence has been a part of this country's history since the early 1800s, from the early Irish gangs of New York, where it was estimated that 55,000 immigrants held allegiance to gangs in 1855 (out of a total population of 550,000
  
• It is reported that gang violence accounts for over 50% of all violent crime in this country
  
• The FBI reports that 800 murders are committed by gangs, both "gangland" and juvenile gangs each year. Another 800 murders are committed by drug interactions. All in all, about 15% of the 10,000 murders are committed with guns in this country.
  

Source:

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010915218&source=Bookmark&u=morr11627&jsid=419f36c6fc3f5ceaebc5951de45bb75a

Since 2003 in states that allowed concealed carry, violent crime rates have been lower than they have been since the mid 1970's. Concealed carry promotes the decrease of overall crime rate and offers peace of mind to those who choose to arm themselves.

Facts and Figures

• In research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, in which almost 2,000 felons were interviewed, 34% of convicted felons said that they were "shot at, wounded, scared off, or detained by" an armed person and 40% of those interviewed said that they were deterred from committing a crime out of fear that the person was potentially armed.
  
• Statistics from the FBI's Uniformed Crime Report of 2007 show that states with right-to-carry laws have a 30% lower homicide rate, 46% lower robbery, and 12% lower aggravated assault rate and a 22% lower overall violent crime rate than do states without such laws.
  
• Nearly 8,000 of our fellow citizens have died between 1992 and 1996 because of the irrational fear that law-abiding Americans would abuse their right to self defense.
  
• Two-thirds of Americans live in states with right-to-carry laws

The availability of firearms in the United States increases the risk of suicide for several reasons. First, suicide is usually impulsive, and if a gun is readily available, it is easier to carry out the act. Many suicidal crises are self-limiting, meaning they may be brought on by a loss of a job, a break up of a romantic relationship, or a run-in with the police. Guns are common in the U.S. and are lethal. A suicide attempt with a gun rarely affords a second chance.

Facts and Figures

• In 2005, the most recent year for which mortality data are available, suicide was the second leading cause of death among Americans 40 years of age or younger. Among Americans of all ages, more than half of all suicides are gun suicides.
  
• In 2005, and average 46 Americans committed suicide per day, accounting for 53% of all firearm deaths