essay against gun control

Gun Control Essay: Important Topics, Examples, and More

Gun Control Definition

Gun control refers to the regulation of firearms to reduce the risk of harm caused by their misuse. It is an important issue that has garnered much attention in recent years due to the increasing number of gun-related incidents, including mass shootings and homicides. Writing an essay about gun control is important because it allows one to explore the various aspects of this complex and controversial topic, including the impact of gun laws on public safety, the constitutional implications of gun control, and the social and cultural factors that contribute to gun violence.

In writing an essay on gun control, conducting thorough research, considering multiple perspectives, and developing a well-informed argument is important. This may involve analyzing existing gun control policies and their effectiveness, exploring the attitudes and beliefs of different groups towards firearms, and examining the historical and cultural context of gun ownership and use. Through this process, one can develop a nuanced understanding of the issue and propose effective solutions to address the problem of gun violence.

Further information on writing essays on gun control can be found in various sources, including academic journals, policy reports, and news articles. In the following paragraphs, our nursing essay writing services will provide tips and resources to help you write an effective and informative guns essay. Contact our custom writer and get your writing request satisfied in a short term.

Gun Control Essay Types

There are various types of essays about gun control, each with its own unique focus and approach. From analyzing the effectiveness of existing gun laws to exploring the cultural and historical context of firearms in society, the possibilities for exploring this topic are virtually endless.

Let's look at the following types and examples from our essay writing service USA :

Argumentative Essay : This essay clearly argues for or against gun control laws. The writer must use evidence to support their position and refute opposing arguments.
Descriptive Essay: A descriptive essay on gun control aims to provide a detailed topic analysis. The writer must describe the history and evolution of gun laws, the different types of firearms, and their impact on society.
Cause and Effect Essay: This type of essay focuses on why gun control laws are necessary, the impact of gun violence on society, and the consequences of not having strict gun control laws.
Compare and Contrast Essay: In this type of essay, the writer compares and contrasts different countries' gun laws and their effectiveness. They can also compare and contrast different types of guns and their impact on society.
Expository Essay: This type of essay focuses on presenting facts and data on the topic of gun control. The writer must explain the different types of gun laws, their implementation, and their impact on society.
Persuasive Essay: The writer of a persuasive essay aims to persuade the reader to support their position on gun control. They use a combination of facts, opinions, and emotional appeals to convince the reader.
Narrative Essay: A narrative essay on gun control tells a story about an individual's experience with gun violence. It can be a personal story or a fictional one, but it should provide insight into the human impact of gun violence.

In the following paragraphs, we will provide an overview of the most common types of gun control essays and some tips and resources to help you write them effectively. Whether you are a student, a researcher, or simply someone interested in learning more about this important issue, these essays can provide valuable insight and perspective on the complex and often controversial topic of gun control.

Persuasive Essay on Gun Control

A persuasive essay on gun control is designed to convince the reader to support a specific stance on gun control policies. To write an effective persuasive essay, the writer must use a combination of facts, statistics, and emotional appeals to sway the reader's opinion. Here are some tips from our expert custom writer to help you write a persuasive essay on gun control:

Research : Conduct thorough research on gun control policies, including their history, effectiveness, and societal impact. Use credible sources to back up your argument.
Develop a thesis statement: In your gun control essay introduction, the thesis statement should clearly state your position on gun control and provide a roadmap for your paper.
Use emotional appeals: Use emotional appeals to connect with your reader. For example, you could describe the impact of gun violence on families and communities.
Address opposing viewpoints: Address opposing viewpoints and provide counterarguments to strengthen your position.
Use statistics: Use statistics to back up your argument. For example, you could use statistics to show the correlation between gun control laws and reduced gun violence.
Use rhetorical devices: Use rhetorical devices, such as metaphors and analogies, to help the reader understand complex concepts.

Persuasive gun control essay examples include:

The Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual's right to own any firearm.
Stricter gun control laws are necessary to reduce gun violence in the United States.
The proliferation of guns in society leads to more violence and higher crime rates.
Gun control laws should be designed to protect public safety while respecting individual rights.

Argumentative Essay on Gun Control

A gun control argumentative essay is designed to present a clear argument for or against gun control policies. To write an effective argumentative essay, the writer must present a well-supported argument and refute opposing arguments. Here are some tips to help you write an argumentative essay on gun control:

Choose a clear stance: Choose a clear stance on gun control policies and develop a thesis statement that reflects your position.
Research : Conduct extensive research on gun control policies and use credible sources to back up your argument.
Refute opposing arguments: Anticipate opposing arguments and provide counterarguments to strengthen your position.
Use evidence: Use evidence to back up your argument. For example, you could use data to show the correlation between gun control laws and reduced gun violence.
Use logical reasoning: Use logical reasoning to explain why your argument is valid.

Examples of argumentative essay topics on gun control include:

Gun control laws infringe upon individuals' right to bear arms and protect themselves.
Gun control laws are ineffective and do not prevent gun violence.

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How to Choose a Good Gun Control Topic: Tips and Examples

Choosing a good gun control topic can be challenging, but with some careful consideration, you can select an interesting and relevant topic. Here are seven tips for choosing a good gun control topic with examples:

Consider current events: Choose a topic that is current and relevant. For example, the impact of the pandemic on gun control policies.
Narrow your focus: Choose a specific aspect of gun control to focus on, such as the impact of gun control laws on crime rates.
Consider your audience: Consider who your audience is and what they are interested in. For example, a topic that appeals to gun enthusiasts might be the ethics of owning firearms.
Research : Conduct extensive research on gun control policies and current events. For example, the impact of the Second Amendment on gun control laws.
Choose a controversial topic: Choose a controversial topic that will generate discussion. For example, the impact of the NRA on gun control policies.
Choose a topic that interests you: You can choose an opinion article on gun control that you are passionate about and interested in. For example, the impact of mass shootings on public opinion of gun control.
Consider different perspectives: Consider different perspectives on gun control and choose a topic that allows you to explore multiple viewpoints. For example, the effectiveness of background checks in preventing gun violence.

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Pro-Gun Control Essay Topics

Here are pro-gun control essay topics that can serve as a starting point for your research and writing, helping you to craft a strong and persuasive argument.

Stricter gun control laws are necessary to reduce gun violence in America.
The Second Amendment was written for a different time and should be updated to reflect modern society.
Gun control and gun safety laws can prevent mass shootings and other forms of gun violence.
Owning a gun should be a privilege, not a right.
Universal background checks should be mandatory for all gun purchases.
The availability of assault weapons should be severely restricted.
Concealed carry permits should be harder to obtain and require more rigorous training.
The gun lobby has too much influence on government policy.
The mental health of gun owners should be considered when purchasing firearms.
Gun violence has a significant economic impact on communities and the nation as a whole.
There is a strong correlation between high gun ownership rates and higher gun violence rates.
Gun control policies can help prevent suicides and accidental shootings.
Gun control policies should be designed to protect public safety while respecting individual rights.
More research is needed on the impact of gun control policies on gun violence.
The impact of gun violence on children and young people is a significant public health issue.
Gun control policies should be designed to reduce the illegal gun trade and access to firearms by criminals.
The right to own firearms should not override the right to public safety.
The government has a responsibility to protect its citizens from gun violence.
Gun control policies are compatible with the Second Amendment.
International examples of successful gun control policies can be applied in America.

Anti-Gun Control Essay Topics

These topics against gun control essay can help you develop strong and persuasive arguments based on individual rights and the importance of personal freedom.

Gun control laws infringe on the Second Amendment and individual rights.
Stricter gun laws will not prevent criminals from obtaining firearms.
Gun control laws are unnecessary and will only burden law-abiding citizens.
Owning a gun is a fundamental right and essential for self-defense.
Gun-free zones create a false sense of security and leave people vulnerable.
A Gun control law will not stop mass school shootings, as these are often premeditated and planned.
The government cannot be trusted to enforce gun control laws fairly and justly.
Gun control laws unfairly target law-abiding gun owners and punish them for the actions of a few.
Gun ownership is a part of American culture and heritage and should not be restricted.
Gun control laws will not stop criminals from using firearms to commit crimes.
Gun control laws often ignore the root causes of gun violence, such as mental illness and poverty.
Gun control laws will not stop terrorists from using firearms to carry out attacks.
Gun control laws will only create a black market for firearms, making it easier for criminals to obtain them.
Gun control laws will not stop domestic violence, as abusers will find other ways to harm their victims.
Gun control laws will not stop drug cartels and organized crime from trafficking firearms.
Gun control laws will not stop gang violence and turf wars.
Gun control laws are an infringement on personal freedom and individual responsibility.
Gun control laws are often rooted in emotion rather than reason and evidence.
Gun control laws ignore the important role that firearms play in hunting and sport shooting.
More gun control laws will only give the government more power and control over its citizens.

Example Essays

Whether you have been assigned to write a gun control research paper or essay, the tips provided above should help you grasp the general idea of how to cope with this task. Now, to give you an even better understanding of the task and set you on the right track, here are a few excellent examples of well-written papers on this topic:

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Final Words

In conclusion, writing a sample rhetorical analysis essay requires careful analysis and effective use of persuasive techniques. Whether you are a high school student or a college student, mastering the art of rhetorical analysis can help you become a more effective communicator and critical thinker. With practice and perseverance, anyone can become a skilled writer and excel in their academic pursuits.

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Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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The Ineffectiveness of Gun Control Laws

The Impact on Law-Abiding Citizens

The ineffectiveness of strict gun laws, preserving the right to bear arms, exploring comprehensive solutions.

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Unveiling Gun Control: Balancing Rights and Safety essay

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An Argument against Gun Control Essay

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Introduction

Why gun control should be abolished, works cited.

One of the most valued liberties by the American people is their right to bear arms; a right enshrined in the Second Amendment. This right, which was included in the bill of rights in 1791, has continued to be upheld by successive governments up to today.

However, this right has come under heavy criticism in recent years because of the numerous incidents of gun related violence’s in the country. The destruction caused by firearms in school shootings and the public at large has enraged many and led to calls for tighter gun control measures.

The government has responded to this by imposing gun regulation, a move that has greatly angered gun control opponents. This paper will argue that the US government does not have any right to control guns and as such, it should respect the second amendment and stop taking up measures to impose gun control on its citizens.

Gun control is an infringement upon the basic rights of the Americans to possess firearms. This right is explicitly protected by the Second Amendment, which states, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed” (Barnett 265). By trying to impose gun control measures in the country, the government is going against the constitution. Considering that the government is required to uphold the constitution at all times, gun control measures are essentially unlawful.

Advocates of gun control argue that the Second Amendment cannot be used to justify an individual’s right to own firearms since this right was conditioned on “service in an organized militia”. This advocates state that the individual’s right to bear arms was tied to a military context and citizens were only empowered to have guns in readiness to serve when called to duty. Legal scholars refute this claim by stating that the Second Amendment protected the right of the individual to possess firearms.

Barnett states that even at the time of the making of the Second Amendment, the term “bear arms” did not have an exclusively military connotation; the term was also used to connote purely private use of arms (244). Therefore, the right of individuals to have fire guns in the present era is still protected by the US constitution.

The control of bullets or even the ban of assault rifles will not prevent murderous people from engaging in killing. Domenech observes that most of the calls for stricter gun control measures come following tragic incidents like the mass killing of students in school by gun wielding individuals (25). Gun control proponents use tragedies of mass murders such as the Sandy Hook incident to make a case for further restrictions on the gun-owning rights of American citizens.

This is in spite of the fact that there is no research data supporting the theory that gun possession increases the likelihood of mass murders taking place. Stricter gun control legislation will not prevent sad incidents like the Sandy Hook case which robbed 20 children and six adults of their lives since, as Domenech explains, no laws can make the murderously insane sane or remove their ability to destroy innocent lives (25).

The government should try to identify the reasons for such incidents and take measures to avoid them from occurring in future. Blaming gun possession for action of deranged murderous is neglectful and it will only leave the public vulnerable to such attacks in the future.

The ability of an individual to protect himself by having guns is reduced by having gun controls measures. Opponents of gun ownership hope to make it impossible for citizens to buy and have guns for self-protection. Most people invest in firearms so as to keep themselves and their loved ones safe. Domenech reveals that most handgun sales in the US are made to individuals who are interested in defending their homes (27).

Strict gun control legislations will prevent many people from being able to acquire guns for this defensive purpose. It can be expected that the crime rates in the country will increase if individuals are barred from having guns. This is because guns have a deterrence effect on criminals who are discouraged from attacking homes where the owner has a gun. If criminals are not worried about being confronted by lethal legal weaponry by the person they intend to rob, crime rates will rise.

Proponents of gun control argue that individuals with firearms still are attacked and even murdered by criminals. While this is true, it should not be used as the basis for denying people a right to protect themselves and increase their chances of fighting off criminals. The government should therefore stop all gun control since these measures have a negative impact on the safety of the citizens.

Gun control will amount to an intrusion into the private lives of individuals by the government. As it is, the US has a gun culture that stretches back to centuries. This culture is connected to ideals such as individuality and liberty due to the deep relationships that guns have with the war for independence, which took place from 1775 to 1782 (Wolpert and Gimpel 244). Gun restrictions ignore the fact that guns have many legitimate users such as sporting and hunting.

By imposing these laws, individuals are denied the right to enjoy their freedom to bear arms. Wolpert and Gimpel declare that by implementing gun control measures, the government is using coercive power to directly shape individual conduct (241). In a country that prides itself for having liberties for all its citizens, this government action should not be tolerated. The government should respect the privacy of its citizens and allow them to have firearms if they want to.

This paper set out to argue that gun control is an infringement upon the most basic of rights or American citizens and the government should not be empowered to control guns.

The paper began by nothing that gun control measures are a violation of the constitutional rights of the American citizens. While these measures are mostly demanded to try to reduce incidents of gun related violence, research indicates that possession of guns by citizens does not reduce violence since people who intend to commit murder will still find a way to engage in these acts.

Gun control also prevents people from engaging in legitimate personal activity such as hunting and protecting themselves form assailants. By stopping its attempts at gun control, the government will not only be upholding the constitutional rights of its citizens but it will also ensure that the citizens are able to enjoy the benefits that firearms bring to the individual and the society at large.

Barnett, Randy. “Was the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Conditioned on Service in an Organized Militia?”. Texas Law Review 83.1 (2004): 237-277. Web.

Domenech, Benjamin. “The Truth about Mass Shootings and Gun Control”. Commentary 135.2 (2013): 25-29. Web.

Wolpert, Robin, and Gimpel James. “Self-interest, symbolic politics, and public attitudes towards gun control”. Political Behavior 20.3 (1998): 241-262. Web.

Constitutional checks and balances
American Government and Separation of Powers
Gun Limitation: Proponents and Opponents of Gun Control
Hallucinations and Geriatric Depression Intervention
Obama’s Speech on the Issue of Gun Control
Federal Government Spending: Welfare Department
Problems of Climate Change
Deputy Minister Hiring Decision
Addressing Barack Obama's Presidency Issues
Corporate Welfare in the US
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, December 19). An Argument against Gun Control. https://ivypanda.com/essays/an-argument-against-gun-control/

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Gun Control Argumentative Essay: 160 Topics + How-to Guide [2024]

After the recent heartbreaking mass shootings, the gun control debate has reached its boiling point.

Do we need stricter gun control laws ? Should everyone get a weapon to oppose crime? Or should guns be banned overall? You have the opportunity to air your opinion in a gun control argumentative essay.

Below, you’ll find everything you need to write a great paper in no time. Check weighty arguments, catchy gun control essay titles, and the latest sources on the subject.

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🔝 Top 10 Gun Control Essay Titles

💥 take a stand in the gun control debate.

👍 Pro Gun Control Essay Topics

👎 Against Gun Control Essay Topics

⚡ gun violence essay titles, ⚖️ gun laws essay topics to explore, 🔫 gun control controversial topics for a research paper, 🔰 pros and cons of gun control, ✍️ 5 steps in writing a gun control essay.

🤔 Frequent Questions
Does gun ownership deter crime?
Ethics of owning guns for sport.
Gun control laws and suicide rate.
Do weapons bring a sense of safety?
Guns and domestic abuse protection.
Do gun control laws reduce gun deaths?
Gun control laws and government tyranny.
Are gun control laws invasion of privacy?
Should high-capacity magazines be banned?
Gun control as a way to reduce the crime rate.

Did you know that 33 people are killed with guns every day in America? This is one of the numbers you can use in your essay on gun control. Are you ready to learn more reasons both for and against gun control? Here they are, in a nutshell:

Have you chosen which side you’re on? Great! Now you already have solid background knowledge on the issue.

The information above will help you write an outstanding essay on gun control. Moreover, you can easily proofread it using Grammarly and avoid common grammar mistakes.

👀 150 Catchy Gun Control Topics

Do you want to know the next step toward your A+ gun control essay? It’s a catchy title that expresses your standpoint and grabs your readers’ interest.

Here are some examples.

👍 Pro-Gun Control Essay Topics

Arms possession is a right enshrined in the US constitution. Yet, more and more people voice their concerns about owning firearms. Mass shootings, suicides, and abuse are among the top arguments for stricter laws. Here, we’ve collected plenty of insightful pro-gun control topics for you to explore.

Pro-gun radicalism and American fears. Guns and fear often go hand in hand. Studies suggest that gun owners are more prone to phobias and distrust. The topic requires showing the irrational essence of gun ownership.
Being pro-gun equals being anti-women. Firearms make domestic violence a lot more likely to end in death. Prohibiting gun access for abusers could save women’s lives.
Why background checks don’t always work. Background checks are essential. Yet, they don’t always prevent ineligible individuals from acquiring a firearm. This “why we need gun control” essay shines a light on the procedure’s flaws.
The economic burden of firearms. This topic concerns the costs linked to gun-related injuries and deaths. These preventable expenditures strain the US economy. You can underline the necessity of gun control to alleviate the problem.
Gun control to protect schools from firearms. Schools are at the heart of the anti-gun movement. Meanwhile, gun control plays a vital role in preserving safety in educational facilities. An essay could communicate the intricate connection between the two.
Kids are not ok: pediatric gun-related injuries and deaths. Children often become victims of gun violence. The number of pediatric firearm-related injuries and deaths is disproportionate. Should parents remove all guns from their households to protect their kids?
Rising gun deaths: a call for action. The high firearm-related death rate is a notorious problem. In the United States, the number is consistently above average. In this gun control argumentative essay, it becomes a reason for stricter gun policies.
Reducing firearm ownership is not decreasing civil liberties. The topic handles primary gun control opponents’ counterarguments. The key reasoning is that gun ownership is not a universal human right. In this essay, you can explore the notion of civil liberties.
Suicide and the availability of guns. Gun control topics are rarely concerned with suicide. It’s an essential yet underexplored and part of it. You can show how stricter gun control would help reduce suicide rates.
More guns, more shootings: understanding gun control. This topic requires exploring the link between firearms and shootings. You can use gun ownership and mass shooting rates to prove your point. In this pro-gun control essay, statistical information is instrumental.
Gun control as an answer to violent murders.
Do firearm restrictions harm democracy?
The perverseness of being pro-life and pro-gun.
Do guns in households cause more accidental deaths?
Why are some people scared of stricter gun control?
Debunking “guns for self-defense” myths.
Gun control’s positive impact on hospitalization rates.
Does better gun control improve life quality?
Firearms and suicidal behavior: another case for restrictions.
What fears drive opponents of gun laws?
Do firearms restrictions increase the value of life?
Do gun laws reduce societal costs?
Restricting the carry of firearms for societal benefit.
Does pro-gun activism favor domestic abusers?
Firearms: used far less for defense than for attacks.
More guns – more violence
Stop the wrong people from getting guns
Revision of the Second Amendment to prevent human tragedies
The Second Amendment and gun control can co-exist
The thin line between self-defense and deadly force

Stricter laws can’t solve every problem. In cases such as prostitution and drug use, they are even detrimental. But does this reasoning also apply to gun control? Find it out by discussing its disadvantages with one of the following engaging prompts:

Gun control laws: a waste of taxpayers’ money. Firearm restrictions have economic consequences. Additional gun control measures are not free— they require more monetary resources. Besides, stricter gun control deprives many citizens of firearm-related jobs.
Firearm regulations deny the right to self-defense . Self-defense is a constitutional right granted by the Founding Fathers. When an attacker is armed, defensive gun use remains the only option. Gun control diminishes the capacity of citizens to protect themselves.
Guns don’t breed crime—society does. Crime is a colossal social challenge. It is vital to direct resources for crime prevention and management. Yet, gun control is not the ultimate solution to this problem.
Gun control laws are not fruitful. One of the purposes of gun control is to curb the gun violence epidemic. Yet, whether it works or not is debatable. This “is greater gun control a great idea” essay demonstrates gun control’s ineffectiveness.
Gun control: limiting citizens’ freedoms. Gun control is not only fruitless, but it’s also unconstitutional. The right to possess and carry guns is civil liberty. Firearm restrictions violate the essence of the country’s constitution.
Gun ownership increases the sense of security. Besides, firearms perform an important psychological function. They give their owners a sense of safety, bringing emotional comfort. Gun control takes away the knowledge that one can protect oneself.
Firearms black market: a bigger problem. Gun control will not prevent determined individuals from obtaining firearms. Restricting access to legal guns could prompt people to buy weapons from black markets.
Knives, hardware, and vehicles are lethal weapons, too. Firearms are only a small part of a criminal’s arsenal. For instance, they frequently use cars as deadly weapons. Firearm control can’t always prevent those determined to harm someone from doing it.
Eliminating guns: an oversimplified approach. Gun control proponents often oversimplify the problem. Access to firearms is not the root cause of gun-related deaths and violence. The phenomenon has multiple origins that you could examine.
Disarming Americans kills their national identity. Guns are deeply ingrained in American culture and national identity. The right to bear them has a profound symbolic notion. This “against gun control” essay covers the meaning of firearms in American nationhood.
Gun control hinders African American emancipation.
How does gun control incite government tyranny?
Gun control doesn’t prevent violent behavior.
The racist history behind firearm restrictions.
The Second Amendment: the cornerstone of gun rights.
Firearms as an answer to domestic violence.
Would gun control make the country safer?
Firearm ownership: gaining control over life.
Gun control and the demise of democracy.
The empowering role of firearms .
Gun control as a method of disabling citizens.
What’s your position on the statement: “Assault is not a weapon but a behavior”?
Why gun control laws should be scrapped.
Is there a link between firearm ownership and crime?
Banning guns means more black markets.
Gun control is not the answer – education is
Gun culture propaganda starts with cartoons
Mass media is to blame: murder is an easy route to fame
Gun control: why not ban everything that poses a potential threat?
Criminals don’t obey gun control laws

Firearm violence has developed into a significant human rights issue. It affects our right to life and health. Not only that, but it can also limit our access to education. Gun violence disrupts school processes and endangers student safety. An essay on this issue gives you many different directions to explore.

Firearm violence as a racial equity challenge. Studies have shown that some ethnicities are more likely to experience gun violence than others. African Americans, in particular, are affected by the issue. Your essay can investigate how firearm violence reflects and aggravates discrimination.
The relationship between mental health and mass shootings. Mental illness is the prime suspect as the root of gun violence. Researchers often consider it a determiner for mass shootings. For this topic, it’s vital to analyze literature regarding the correlation.
Preventing and responding to firearm-related deaths. Each year, thousands of US citizens die due to gun violence. As the rate of firearm death rises, the issue becomes exponentially troubling. Decreasing the gun-related mortality rate is a topic of high priority.
The socio-economic roots of firearm violence . Gun violence has pronounced socio-economic causes. Low income and life in a deprived neighborhood are among the most significant risk factors. Examining how certain circumstances prompt gun violence is instrumental in alleviating the issue.
Long-term psychological effects of gun violence. Survivors and witnesses of gun violence experience grave psychological consequences, including PTSD and depression. Your essay can present gun violence as an extremely traumatic event.
The contagion effect in mass shootings. The contagion effect describes the spread of behavior. You can use it to explain the epidemic of gun violence. The topic requires you to look into the phenomenon.
Intimate partner violence: the role of firearms. The severity of intimate partner violence is related to how accessible guns are to abusers. Many domestic homicides involve the use of weapons. This gun ownership essay prompts to explain how firearms contribute to the phenomenon.
Mass shootings and weapon availability. This topic prompts you to investigate the mass shootings aspect of gun violence. In particular, it’s concerned with the link between gun accessibility and mass murder. You could use quotes and statistics regarding gun laws to establish the connection.
Gun violence: A poignant human rights issue. Firearm violence causes psychological, social, and financial harm. Its victims suffer from long-term consequences in the form of mental disorders. It’s unwise to overestimate the issue’s global burden.
Gun violence against women and girls. Firearms violence negatively impacts the life quality of women. Women and girls frequently become victims of gun attacks. Here, you could discuss how deep-seated misogyny contributes to the problem.

The global burden of guns.
Firearms violence: A community health problem.
The reasons behind gun violence in the United States .
A gender profile of firearm violence .
School shootings: portrayal in media.
What are the economic consequences of firearm violence?
Preventing gun violence in vulnerable neighborhoods.
The role of toxic masculinity in gun violence.
Discuss the effect of firearm ownership regulations.
How can the government reduce firearm violence in low-income neighborhoods?
Psychological consequences of school shootings.
Supporting school shooting survivors.
What are the effects of gun ownership on violence?
The epidemiology of mass shootings.
Mass shootings from a sociological perspective.
Fighting against gun violence: social activism .
Gun violence: the primary cause of premature death.
What ethical problems occur regarding mass shootings?
How does the media promote gun violence?
The health implications of gun violence.

Gun laws are vital to ensure the safe handling and purchase of firearms. Regulations come from the federal as well the state level. It makes gun laws confusing for many. If you’d like to entangle the issue, this section is for you.

Major loopholes in gun laws. Federal and state laws are vulnerable to exploitation. It means they contain gaps endangering public safety. The “Charleston loophole” is the most notorious example. You can inspect it along with other deficiencies.
Gun laws: too strict or too weak? The harshness of gun laws is a debatable issue. Given the present gun violence epidemic, the answer might appear evident. Still, this topic encourages viewing the problem from multiple perspectives.
Prohibiting the possession of assault weapons. Assault weapons are another intriguing facet of America’s gun problem. Currently, there is no federal law prohibiting their ownership. Using such a weapon in a shooting increases mortality and traumatism.
The problem with private gun sales. Private firearms trade results in excessive gun accessibility. Private sellers are allowed to bypass crucial standards such as sales recordkeeping. The situation poses a threat to communal well-being.
Mental illness in the context of firearms control legislation. In the context of gun laws, mental illness is a prominent notion. The term and its usage in state and federal laws have nuances. You can interpret them in your essay.
Using deadly force to defend property. Firearms constitute a part of the “deadly force” notion. Regarding the defense of private property, its use is not always justifiable. This gun law essay proposes to reflect on the norms of firearm use.
Nuances and limitations of the stand-your-ground law. The stand-your-ground law is the subject of heated debate. It’s easy to misinterpret it. It most notably concerns the boundaries of gun use. Yet, knowing what is allowed is essential in self-defense.
The need for federal registration laws. Although there is no national gun registry, its introduction could be beneficial. It would allow law enforcement agencies to track firearms more efficiently. In your essay, you could research other advantages of federal registration as well.
Differences in gun laws at the state level. Besides federal laws, each state has its own firearms policies. Federal and state regulations tend to vary considerably. It could be interesting to analyze how gun use and possession regulations differ from state to state.
Buying guns without a background check: a dangerous loophole. Background checks are indispensable under federal law. Still, a loophole makes it possible to sell firearms to incompetent and dangerous individuals. Say what could be done to make background checks more efficient.
Are tougher gun laws a solution?
Politically polarizing firearm policies.
What are the public’s views of federal firearms laws?
Gun licenses and political affiliation.
Firearm registration and accessibility of guns to criminals .
Gun laws: State vs. Federal.
How are state gun laws and firearm mortality connected?
Gun laws from the constitutional point of view.
Understanding the duty to retreat in US legislation.
Gun-friendly state laws and criminality.

22% of gun owners in America haven't passed a background check.

Open carry and concealed carry laws.
The extent of federal gun laws.
Concealed carry: not covered by the Second Amendment.
Should the US government enforce firearm registration?
Limiting concealed carry under the influence.
Weaker gun laws equal less public safety.
Gun control policies: Democrats vs. Republicans.
The benefits of a universal background check.
Analyze gun laws in the state of Missouri.
Restoring the federal assault weapons ban.

There are few topics more controversial than gun control. That’s why it’s the perfect base for a good debate. Controversies surrounding gun control include questions of race, gender, and ethics.

Gun ownership: gender, ethnicity, and class . The demographic portrait of a gun owner is a politically loaded subject. Despite the possible implications, it necessitates in-depth research. This topic suggests considering gun owners’ social class, gender, and ethnicity.
The racial element in American gun culture. Racism and gun control are more connected than might appear. A range of opinions exists. Evaluating their interconnection might yield compelling results. In your essay, investigate American gun culture through the prism of racial inequality.
Firearms ownership: do we need incentives or fees? Gun ownership has several advantages, such as a sense of security. Nevertheless, its less positive effects could eclipse them. Discussing whether gun ownership should be discouraged or encouraged could help you write an engaging paper.
The usage of firearms in self-defense. The efficacy and frequency of self-defense weapon use are essential for the gun control debate. Analyzing these factors could help establish the validity of the argument.
Gun ownership regulation: the Swiss example. In terms of firearm possession, Switzerland is a liberal country. It has lax laws regarding the acquisition and usage of guns. What can Switzerland teach the US about gun control?
The ethicality of firearm ownership. It is common to examine whether gun ownership is constitutional. Looking at its ethicality is a rarer approach. This controversial gun control essay topic helps to bridge the knowledge gap.
Constitutional contradictions regarding gun rights. The Constitution’s meaning is not as self-evident as it may appear. Whether gun rights are constitutional or unconstitutional is at the core of the debate.
Do gun rights promote vigilantism? Vigilante violence is a severe community challenge. A vengeful armed vigilante is a threat to their society. In your paper, investigate the role of gun rights in contributing to the problem.
Preventing criminals from accessing guns. How effective is gun control in stopping gun violence? Contradictory opinions denying or supporting its productiveness need scrutiny. For this paper, you can use statistics and facts to clarify the situation.
The ideology behind gun control and rights. The gun control debate has long gone beyond objective arguments. By now, the problem entails larger political implications. Gun ownership or its absence strongly correlates with political behavior.
Interpretations of the Second Amendment regarding gun control.
Does unrestricted gun ownership lead to more shootings?
The effectiveness of firearm restrictions.
Multiple origins of gun-related crime.
Are gun restrictions instrumental for public safety?
Gun control as a measure against crime and gun violence.
Firearm control rhetoric: an analysis.
Should the public use of guns remain legal?
Gun control: creating optimal policies.
Presidential elections and gun control rhetoric.
Limiting access to guns: is it useful or debilitating?
Evaluating gun control and its impact on crime.
The future of gun laws.
The political battle over gun control.
Gun policies and common sense.
How relevant is firearms control?
What effect does gun ownership have on domestic abuse?
The economics of gun control.
Gun control: Is it saving lives or narrowing freedoms?
Should you ever be able to buy a gun without a license or permit?

Gun control pros and cons have been discussed and thoroughly analyzed countless times. Both advocates and opponents have stuck to their positions, leaving the issue unresolved. Here are a few important pros and cons:

Points made in support of gun control (pros)

Gun control statistics reveal that although the United States accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, U.S. residents own 50% of guns in the world.
When gun deaths statistics for different countries were expressed as the number of gun deaths in a population of a million people, the United States was ranked below South Africa.

Points against gun control (cons)

The very idea of gun control goes against the US constitution that allows people the right to safeguard their lives. People need guns to defend themselves when being attacked by others. Additionally, firearms can provide a sense of comfort and security. It would be undemocratic to take away a person’s right to feel safe.
Since the Second Amendment upholds the right to gun ownership, it should not be restricted. It seems dangerous to start altering the constitution whenever we see fit. In doing so, we might create a precedent that others can use to promote more harmful agendas.

Whichever side you chose, now you already have a few persuasive arguments. Let’s move on to the actual writing part.

Writing an impressive essay on gun control can be a bit difficult without proper organization. No matter what type of paper you are going to work on, you’ll need some detailed planning and thorough research.

Follow these five steps to write a perfect gun control essay:

Define what gun control is. Whether you are writing an argumentative, persuasive, or any other type of paper, the first thing you need is context. Use the definitions that are most appropriate for your essay. For example, you might start with a dictionary definition. Then, add some general facts about types of firearms. Next, you might give statistics on gun control , such as ownership and reasons for it.
Write a gun control thesis statement. Besides context and definitions, any essay introduction requires a thesis. It’s the message you’re going to argue in the following paragraphs. So, work on it before writing the rest of the paper. Make sure your gun control thesis statement is concise and easy to understand. You can use an online thesis generator if that requirement is hard for you to achieve.
One option is to use studies that have collected plentiful information over the years.
If you are writing a pro-gun control essay, you can use studies or statistics on how guns owned by private citizens have killed innocent people. You can also cite cases where students used their parents’ guns to commit violent crimes in school.
If you are arguing against gun control, cite studies proving that private gun ownership saves lives. You could also add research revealing the positive effects of gun ownership.
Organize your paper. Of course, the content and organization vary for each particular essay. The facts remain the same. It is the way that you arrange and present them that will create a concrete argument. That’s why you should make sure to draft an outline before you get started.
End with a strong conclusion. In there, you should summarize your essay and reiterate the most important points. Don’t forget to restate and develop your statement based on the facts you mentioned. If it’s not an argumentative essay, present your findings and suggestions about the issue.

As you can see, writing an impressive gun control essay takes time and effort. It also requires deep research. If you’re finding this task too challenging, you can order an essay from our custom writing service. We provide 100% original papers at reasonable prices.

🤔 Gun Control FAQ

To create a great title, you should express your point of view in a concise and eye-catching manner. A creative title grabs your readers’ interest. Try to make up an unusual keyword combination, or paraphrase a metaphor or a set expression. Using two opposite ideas works well, too.

If you want to spark a discussion, you need to make an educated standpoint choice. For a good debate essay, make sure to thoroughly study the topic. A list of pros and cons will help you gain a deeper insight. Then decide where you stand before you start writing.

Good persuasive topics provoke emotions. A great topic for an essay is an issue that concerns nearly everyone in society. For example, gun control or animal testing may be good topics for college essays.

Good thesis statements give a clearly formulated opinion. You need to state whether you are for or against gun control. Either way, the author’s position must be based on convincing arguments and facts.

🔗 References

Gun Control Latest Events
The Link Between Firearms, Crime and Gun Control
Gun Control Pros and Cons
Second Amendment: Right to Bear Arms
A Brief History of the National Rifle Association
Gun Control Essays at Bartleby
Argumentative Essays on Gun Control
Gun Control Issues, Public Health, and Safety
Universal Background Checks: Giffords
Gun Violence: Amnesty International
Facts on US Gun Ownership: Pew Research Center
Gun Control in the US: Encyclopedia Britannica
Gun Control: The Debate and Public Policy: Social Studies
Guns and Gun Control: The New York Times
Gun Control Topic Overview: Gale
US Gun Policy: Global Comparisons: Council of Foreign Relations
US Gun Debate: Four Dates that Explain How We Got Here: BBC News
Gun Control and Gun Rights: US News
Why Gun Control Is So Contentious in the US: Live Science
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my thing is this it’s not the guns it’s people now if we could make it to where you’ll have to possess a gun ownership license kinda like a drivers license that would solve most problems don’t you think

I agree with you, Richard.

I am trying to cite this website for my English paper on “NoodleTools” and there are multiple things I can’t find. Like the publisher, publication date, “permalink,” and more. I really like this article though!

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My opinion if I may is that guns should be in the hands of law enforcement and military. If a person wants a gun for protection they only need to call 911 on their cell or landline if a person is frightened to take steps which are many, to ensure your safety guns do kill people and there have been far too many innocent people dying! Football games schools churches concerts outdoor activities and or indoor activities places just about anywhere and people in danger it is terrible. What has become to civilization where people are going about their innocent daily lives and get killed!!!!! What is wrong with this picture? Many years ago American citizens did not have to live in such danger as it is today, the government does nothing including NRA. Congress does nothing, sadly we live in a dangerous and volatile world and something needs to be done about this to prevent innocent children and adults from dangerous people who have guns in their hands the government should protect America from harm and danger!!!!

This helped me with my essay due. I wanted to do it on gun control, but I had no idea where to start. This really helped to develop my thesis statement and claim to turn in. Now I just have to write 8 pages on it. 🙂 Wish me luck, lol.

Do you still have a copy of this essay ?

Good luck, Danielle! 🙂 Glad the article was useful for you.

I think you should add how guns can be a big cause in the world because guns are a bad thing.

This helped me with a 5-paragraph essay I need due.

This article saved me so much time, thank you!!!

Thank you! This post helped me a lot with my essay.

Persuasive Essay Writing

Persuasive Essay About Gun Control

Persuasive Essay About Gun Control - Best Examples for Students

Published on: Jan 9, 2023

Last updated on: Jul 23, 2024

Short Argumentative Essay About Gun Control

Check out these examples of argumentative essays on gun control.

Short Argumentative Essay on Pro-Gun Control

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Tips to Write a Persuasive Essay

Persuasive essays can be tricky. Still, with some tips from the experts, you'll be able to write one that truly convinces your reader of your argument.

So what are you waiting for? Check out these six tips for persuasive essay writing!

Choose Your Position

Before beginning the writing process, decide which side of the argument you will take and state it clearly in your thesis statement.

Choose a Strong Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is your argument boiled down to one sentence. It should clearly state your opinion on the topic and give a sense of direction for the rest of the essay.

Research Extensively

To make a good persuasive essay, you need to back up your opinion with facts, figures, and other research.

Take the time to explore all sides of the issue and consider different points of view. Make sure your evidence is both relevant and reliable.

Check out this video explaining essential tips and tricks for writing a persuasive essay.

Create an Outline

A good persuasive essay has a clear structure that is easy for the reader to follow. An outline can help you organize your ideas and arguments to flow logically.

Check out our amazing blog on how to write a persuasive essay outline here.

Use Strong Language

Choose words that are powerful and precise. Powerful language can make your argument more convincing. Take the time to craft sentences that make an impact.

Make It Personal

Connect with readers on an emotional level by sharing stories and experiences. This will help you to create a connection between your argument and the reader. It will make them more likely to agree with you.

Edit Thoroughly

Take the time to edit your essay, so it's clear and concise. Check for grammar or spelling mistakes and arguments that don't make sense.

Thorough editing can also help you remove unnecessary information, making your essay more persuasive.

These tips should help you write a strong and effective persuasive essay.

Persuasive Essay Topics About Gun Control

Let's explore a few persuasive essay topics about gun control that might help get your point across.

Should the government implement stricter gun control regulations?
How can Congress work to reduce gun-related deaths and injuries?
Is the Second Amendment an outdated law that should be revised?
Should individuals be allowed to carry firearms in public places?
Are laws requiring background checks on gun purchases effective?
Are concealed carry laws a good idea?
What are the risks and benefits of having private citizens own guns?
Should states have the right to set their gun laws?
Is there a role for mental health professionals in developing gun control policies?
How can we prevent children from accessing firearms?
What role does the media influencing people's opinions on gun control?
Does the NRA hold too much sway over legislators regarding gun control laws?
Is stricter gun control legislation the best way to reduce mass shootings?
Are smart gun technologies viable for promoting responsible firearm ownership?
How can we work together to create more effective gun control laws?

Take a look at more detailed persuasive essay topics to get inspired.

Whether you are for or against gun control, conduct thorough research and use evidence when writing your paper.

So keep these tips in mind and start writing your gun control essay today!

So here you have it! We've provided excellent examples of persuasive essays on gun control for your reference, but don't stop there!

Take a look at our website and see how our persuasive essay writing service can help you take your writing skills to the next level.

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Frequently asked Questions

What should be included in a persuasive essay outline.

A persuasive essay outline should include the thesis, evidence, counterarguments, and conclusion. It is important to structure your argument logically to effectively communicate your point of view to readers.

How do I write a strong persuasive essay?

To write a strong persuasive essay, you should start by thoroughly researching your topic and familiarizing yourself with both sides of the argument. You should structure your essay using an effective introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

What are good sources for writing a persuasive essay?

When writing a persuasive essay, it is important to use credible sources. Examples of good sources include scholarly journals, government documents, and reputable websites. Make sure you check the credibility of any source before using it in your essay.

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Gun Control Essay Guide: Titles, Example, Writing Tips

Writing against gun control essay follows the basic steps of an argumentative essay. The paper begins with an introduction which highlights what the entire essay will be about. Then, three body paragraphs follow: the second paragraph presents the first supporting reason; the third gives the second supporting argument, whereas the fourth paragraph offers the pro-gun control arguments to show the existence of opposing viewpoints.

The firearms debate is something that has been going for a while, and in light of increased mass shootings and a higher risk of terrorist threats, it will continue to be a hot topic. Here at EssayService , we have put together a handy guide to help you with creating any type of essay on this controversial subject.

What is The Gun Control?

The problem of mass shootings has been on the rise around the world, with the United States being the most affected. A report published by The Guardian in 2016 showed that in the United States, there are 265 million guns compared to the 242 million adults living in the country. Also, half of the guns are owned by 3% of the adult population, with each of these adults owning eight to 140 guns. The gun control law aims at regulating the manufacture, possession, transfer or use of firearms by civilians.

The use of guns is something that has to be regulated to maintain safety for everyone. Pro campaigners argue that with increased mass shootings and easy access to firearms, make it too difficult to prevent this kind of tragedies.

Anti-gun control crusaders argue that due to the failure of the governments to ensure their safety, they are forced to acquire guns to defend themselves. However, some pro-gun control campaigners argue that gun ownership should be limited to the police and army officers due to the increased shootings in high schools and colleges. The report published by The Guardian revealed that there are 30, 000 gun deaths in the US annually, the highest across the globe.

One of the pro-gun control arguments is that the law on gun ownership must be amended to control how guns are used and stored. They link the increased shootings in schools to unsafe storage of firearms. As a result, students quickly access their parent’s shotguns and carry them to school and use them to commit crime and murder. Although anti-gun control crusaders argue that the guns will ensure their safety, there have been instances where innocent people were hurt injured and even killed.

The pro-gun control campaigners advocate changing the constitution to either monitor the use of guns or totally ban gun possession among civilians. Also, parents and educationists have taken measures to educate children on the misuse of guns through lectures and open forums. One of the techniques professors use to educate students is by assigning them assignments to write an essay on gun control. That way, students can do adequate research and review existing literature before drafting the final gun control essay. Parents have also taken steps to monitor their children’s exposure to violent video games and videos that influence them to be violent.

In recent years there has been increased education in schools and universities to ensure fewer chances of this kind of tragedies happening again. A typical exercise can involve giving students a gun control essay to research and write. This way the students can see what are the current laws and do research themselves into what problems can be affected if you change them.

Things to Consider when Writing a Gun Control Essay

The law states that anyone in the U.S. can carry a firearm under certain conditions and restrictions depending which local authority governs them. Even tho there is Federal laws and local laws in place they can be confusing in some areas but generally, a version of the second amendment is followed.

The original text from the Bill of Rights 1789 which was later edited and ratified as the Second Amendment is as follows:

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”.

There is debate over interpretation of this ancient text but it generally accepted as having a trained military or “state guard” and the people which is anyone native or considered part of the community to be able to keep and carry weapons.

Things to consider:

When this law was drawn up the world was a very different place.
Many laws have been changed to fit in with modern society.
Other countries gun laws are much stricter.
People owning guns would not protect themselves from the government.

Gun Control Essay Titles

It is an important part of your essay to include a catchy title, this will inform the reader of your stance and also intrigue them to read further. It can also help other people look for your article quicker. If at first, you can not think of a title then it's a good idea to write as much of the essay and come back to naming it. It should be a creative process and do not just rush in to label your work. Think of something different and fresh that could challenge the reader, so a question, for example, is a good way to do this. Imagine your gun control essay to be a movie and you need to title it suitably can be another useful trick.

When writing your essay, you need to include a memorable title for your article. Here are some examples from our paper writing service online to help you:

Take a side, not a sidearm
Violence in America, guns under fire
Gun control under control
Shooting holes in the second amendment
Gun deaths on deaf ears
Guns don’t kill people, husbands that come home early do
Putting guns into the hands of the bad and leaving the innocent unarmed
Gun control: deciding who's pulling the trigger
How gun control can cost your life
Gun control, man caught over a barrel

Pro Gun Control Essay or Against Gun Position Choice

Before embarking on writing your essay, it is vital you decide if you are pro or against the idea. Then you can plan out the essay according to your stance.

When you have decided which angle you are taking, research as much as possible and gain a lot of statistics that are already published. Remember hard facts are needed for your article.

Here is an argumentative gun control essay sample to give you clearer idea:

Then you can begin to outline your essay.

How to Write Your Gun Control Essay Outline?

Draw up a plan of what you need to do, a gun control outline will save you time in the long run which will help with planning and researching. Here is a free template to follow and fill in sections accordingly:

Introduction - Brief description of the article and stance taken, include a hook and thesis.

Body of text - Supporting evidence and statistics for the argument.

Conclusion - Present summary of the most important ideas.

Gun Control Essay Introduction

After crafting a worthy title, you can move onto a gun control essay introduction. Sometimes the best way to start is with a gun control essay hook which the reader will find interesting. Then proceed with a description of what the article will include and maybe some interesting background to the research undertaken. Include a gun control essay thesis. This will give you a target to aim for during your research to help focus on the important parts, it is also possible to come back and change the thesis statement later on. This is a very important part of the article as the audience will already have formed some opinions of the work after they have finished reading the opening paragraphs.

Body of Gun Control Essay

Depending on what type of essay you are writing will determine which style you adopt. Most common styles would include an argumentative essay or expository essay so check the links for free help on this style of writing. The vital part to presenting your side in these formats would be stating a fact or statistic to prove your point then writing a paragraph with your ideas and opinions on it. Make sure you use hard evidence for every point or it will just count as just commentary. Another popular style would include a research paper , here is free help with this format. Make sure your paragraphs flow well between points and ideas so that the reader will not be bored and use transition words and phrases to help with this.

Gun Control Essay Conclusion

When you write the gun control essay conclusion it is important to present a summary of the main ideas that back up your thesis or the point that is being proved. Depending on the style you can restate the thesis then lead into the summary. Whichever style adopted make the final sentence memorable which could include a dramatic plea or a question as this will be the last thing the audience takes away with them. Even try to challenge the reader.

Citations or References Section of Gun Control Essays

Depending on the type of essay or work you are writing this will have an impact on how to reference material used. It is vital that you include a references section usually at the end of the essay.

Pro Gun Control Essay Tips

Here at essay writing service , we have collected some of the best top tips for writing your essay to help you out.

Backup all your ideas. When you put a claim or point of view across make sure you have supporting evidence or statistics to back up. Most students forget to include the vital information to backup their ideas. Here is a good website for global firearm laws and statistics .
Clearly structure each point or idea. Do not make the essay boring to the reader so include transition words and phrases and create one idea based on facts per paragraph.
Look for fresh and new research. This topic has been covered a lot to a variety of different levels so try to get modern research and data to present the best ideas. There have been many students completing essays like this so try to stand out.
Understand human psychology. Look and think outside the box because anyone can own a gun but not everybody has a strong enough mind to not pull the trigger. Guns are part of the argument but look at human thought and reasons.
Be honest. With everybody under the sun having a say in this topic, just be clear and present your idea with truth and this will give you the best essay.

Gun Control Essay Example

Gun Policy: The Views of Republicans and Democrats

Do you know how many firearms are currently in civilian possession in the US? According to official numbers, over 393 million guns are owned by Americans, which makes up for 46% of the global stock of civilian firearms. This statement alone indicates how strong and well-developed gun culture is in this country. On the other hand, the rate of firearm deaths (both homicides and suicides) keeps growing at a rapid pace, causing the gun policy to be one of the hottest and most discussed topics. Unsurprisingly, the two major opposing parties in the US: Republicans and Democrats, are having very diverse opinions concerning this matter. While Republicans want to keep it easy, Democrats are voting for more restrictions, and they only agree on a couple of points.

To go into detail, Republicans are generally supporting gun ownership. They believe that it should be accessible to the majority of US citizens. According to the survey by the Pew Research Center, the majority of Republicans don't really see gun violence as a "very big" problem:

42% of the party representatives see the problem as "moderately big";
And 23% believe there is no issue at all.

Thus, when it comes to the majority of suggestions concerning stricter regulations of gun possession among civilians, Republicans vote for such changes very reluctantly. Instead, the party representatives strongly support the allowance of concealed carry of firearms in most public places. And, they also vote for allowing school teachers and authorities to carry guns at the workplace. All in all, Republicans are convinced that stricter gun policies cannot help minimize cultural brutality and prevent cruel crimes. But they believe that death penalties can.

Democrats, on the contrary, have a very different viewpoint on gun policy. According to Pew Research Center, as many as 65% of the party representatives believe that the problem of gun violence is very big. And another 26% think that it is moderately big. Due to their outlook on the problem, the majority of Democrats are strongly against making concealed carry of guns allowed. They also don't support reducing the waiting time for legal firearm purchases. They, on the contrary, support stricter background checks. Democrats even suggest creating federal databases to gain stronger control over gun sales. One more point in Democrats' policy is a restriction of sales of assault-style weapons.

Despite critically opposing ideas that Republicans and Democrats have regarding gun policy, they do find a few points of contact on this issue. Namely, the equal number of Republicans and Democrats vote for restricting mentally ill people from purchasing and owning firearms. Another shared idea with a small gap in the number of votes is that gun ownership should not be accessible to people who are included in no-fly or watch lists. Finally, the last policy update on which both parties somewhat agree implies the introduction of background checks for private sales and sales made at gun shows.

Overall, Republicans and Democrats have fundamentally contradicting views on issues related to gun violence. Despite the fact that the number of firearms crimes keeps striking, Republicans keep stubbornly voting for more sparing policies and less control. Democrats, on the contrary, are spreading awareness of the issue. They assure that the problem is real and suggest stricter policies. The goal of stricter gun policies is to minimize the danger for citizens. Interestingly enough, despite the strong gun culture in the country, according to surveys, most Americans would rather support democrats. 52% of citizens believe that gun control has to be stricter, and personally, I would also stand by the same ideas that the Democratic party is spreading.

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Gun Control - Free Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

The topic of gun ownership is very relevant in modern society in the United States and is increasingly being discussed at different levels. This social issue has also seeped into educational structures, so students often have to write essays considering this topic.

It’s important to keep in mind some general requirements while writing a research paper on gun control. Amongst others are presenting your opinion about gun ownership, adding a topic sentence to structure your work, and starting every new idea with a new paragraph, you may also consult a specialist to know how to make an introduction, conclusion and outline for gun laws essay.

Get creative and speak up. Tell whether you believe weapons are necessary for defending yourself and being in safety, or on the contrary, you think guns may lead to a high school shooting or other crime and the law should go through a reform. Share if you see any solution — elaborate a thesis statement about gun control to consolidate your beliefs. You can find an argumentative essay on gun control in America to familiarize yourself with the main questions on the issue.

Weapon ownership being a social issue, is quite difficult to write about and is a topic that causes debate. So one should read a sample. For instance, we provide free persuasive essays about gun control to facilitate general comprehension. Don’t forget to take a look at gun control essay examples too before writing one, and a hook for gun rights essay may also be helpful.

The History, Politics, Stakeholders, and Legislation of Gun Control Laws

Our nation needs gun control laws. The United States' inhabitants are slaughtering each other every day, but Congress is doing little to stop this. If we had gun control laws, teenagers wouldn't have access to automatic weapons our army uses. Historically, our nation has done little to restrict the ease of getting these weapons. There are big stakeholders that are anti-gun control such as the NRA who are so big, congress is not willing to disagree with their lobbying firm. […]

Why Gun Control Won’t Work

Society sees guns as a source of violence and evil. Consequently, society believes that there needs to be strict regulations on firearms. However, many fail to realize that enforcing strict gun control is not the solution to the problem. People are very ignorant on guns, and they just speak with the masses. Gun control is such a controversial topic because it isn't stated in the constitution if the regulation and control of guns is constitutional or not. Most people on […]

Pros and Cons of Gun Ownership

Gun control is very controversial issue because all though guns can be used for leisure, they can cause much harm. In reason years, guns have landed in the wrong hands, and as a result many innocent lives were lost. The question we all ask is should more gun control laws be enacted? They say more gun control laws would reduce the deaths, with high compacity magazines should be banned because they turn people into mass murders. The second amendment of […]

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Stricter U.S. Gun Control: Safety Vs. Rights

Gun control means control. It means control for the government and the government starts controlling people says Luke Scott. Guns have become so problematic in the United States and as the year goes by and it is so devastating to hear news about schools, grocery stores and many more places that were involved in a gun-related events. One of the few ways to help improve the problem is that the government should do a psychological screening before purchasing guns to […]

Gun Control in America

Throughout American history, the debate on gun control has divided the nation. Gun control is a difficult subject to discuss. There is so much controversy over guns that it can become difficult to analyze the subject, through an objective lens. Americans today own more guns than ever recorded. The firearm industry has grown tremendously and is estimated to be a thirty billion dollar industry, which is contributing to the countries economy (Hindman, Nate C.). While mass shootings are on the […]

Chicago’s Gun Laws

Year after year, Chicago has had an increase in gun crimes. Chicago has gun laws that seem to be ineffective, therefore there are high crimes rates in the city. Since I have a personal experience that involves having a gun to my head, I believe that gun laws need to be changed to be made stricter because it can traumatize a person. There needs to be a restriction on who is capable of purchasing these times of weapons. In Chicago, […]

School Shootings and Gun Control

Killing people for pleasure or killing people because a person has mental problem should be an issue to look into. Gun control in schools are a dangerous and devastatin. Kids who go through shootings/ anxiety and PTSD. Gun control in schools and why it should not be a law. Gun controls in schools is a big problem and should be addressed by the community and the state. The history behind guns and gun control can be very interesting. Gun control […]

Gun Control – Debatable and Controversial Topic between Individuals and Politicians in USA

Gun control can be a topic that is very debatable and controversial topic in the United States between individuals and politicians. In our society currently, there is a strong movement to strengthen gun control laws. The idea of strengthening gun control laws stem from the number of shootings that have happened recently; however, many Americans seem to be missing the point of what gun control truly is. Gun control is a right given to individuals by the government, but guns […]

Does the U.S. Need Tougher Gun-Control Laws?

The United States holds the title of having one of the highest rate of gun-related deaths in the world. As that number continues to rise, and with the benefits that reap from implementing gun control in America outweighing the so called negative effects, it is no surprise that more and more people have become pro-gun control. Legislation should be passed to permit gun control laws and more regulations on guns to be put in place. What exactly is gun control? […]

Why is Gun Control Still an Issue in Today’s America?

The number of mass shooting in the USA during 2018 has recently risen above 300. By November 9, 1135 people were killed as a result of these mass shootings ( Bonnie Berkowitz, Denise Lu & Chris Alcantara, 2018). These numbers do not even scratch the surface of the problem that is gun violence in the US. Every time a new shooting happens, a debate rises, gun control advocates try to raise awareness, but the conclusion is still the same: there […]

The Importance of Gun Control

Gun control is one of the most battled zones in the United States. There have been legislative issues raised by activists on gun control and other weapons associated with the same matter. Many people have fallen victims of gun violence and activists' movements in America have been battling its control. Statistics show that close to 270million personnel own weapons outside the military in the United States (ProCon, 2016). In order to control this ownership, measures to input strict control over […]

Gun Rights in America

Gun rights in America have been at the focal point of discussion for quite a long time, and this is because hits home for such a significant number of Americans. According to research at the University of Chicago, around 200 to 250 million guns are owned all through the nation, (Cook, 2009). A similar research shows that one in four Americans had possessed a weapon in 2009. Firearms are a vital piece of the wellbeing of Americans, yet the dangers […]

The Relationship of Gun Control and America

With recent events, gun control has been a topic among citizens in the United States of America. So many opinions are being spread from politicians, celebrities, and common citizens. The United States of America has an extensive history with assault weapons. Organizations such as the National Rifle Association have spread messages against gun control which have divided the nation. The current situation in America is not ideal with the number gun-related incidents rising and increase in assault weapon sales. Although […]

Gun Control Legislation

Gun control has been a popular topic of discussion over the last couple of years. The second amendment of the United States Constitution awarded citizens the right to purchase and bear arms. If the individual is licensed, they can carry their firearm(s) on their person. The guidelines to obtain firearms are too lenient. Others have said that heavy firearms are too accessible for public use and has started to affect the quality of life for the people of the United […]

Effects of Gun Control

As the effects of gun control become an increasing topic of current events, it is time that we take the initiative to learn each side of gun control; strong and weak. Stated in the constitution, Citizens have the right to bear arms (2nd amendment, Bill of Rights). This is the major reason there is any conflicting matters to limiting the use of firearms due to inappropriate use. The decision however comes from the citizens themselves; to find a correct solution […]

Gun Control in USA

One of the most controversial political topics in today's climate is gun control. The increasing rates of gun violence has lead to an outcry on both ends of the political spectrum, and has necessitated the need for more legislation and clear laws regarding american citizen's second amendment rights. However, to get the full scope of how these laws have been interpreted over time and how we, as a country, have reached this current crisis, one needs to look towards the […]

Security Enhanced Peace for the Entire Nation

It is the responsibility of citizens in collaboration with the government to ensure that security is maintained by all means possible. The United States is a diversified nation and gun usage has been no news. Owning of guns by citizens irrespective of age has been an ongoing trend. It is evident that security matters and the acquisition of these guns to some citizens in essential. On the other hand, gun misuse cases have been reported from a number of citizens […]

The Early Gun Control Movements

The United States of America has always had a tangled and romantic history with guns, and as the nation owning more guns than any other country in the world, some Americans view gun ownership and violence as a grave social danger. Several organizations and movements have formed in the last two centuries with the hopes of regulating the availability of firearms and limiting the freedom to own firearms. The ultimate goal then and now is to reduce crimes and accidents […]

Gun Control has Many Effects in USA

The United States still has gun rights but we also still have rules to that matter. Gun control always had two vectors: common sense, and and to keep guns from the untrustworthy (pg 28). Some people should not be able to own a gun if they have a bad history for guns or if they have been in trouble for robbery etc... In some situations you may need gun rights such as in school, work, parks etc¦ The United States […]

America’s Debate on Gun Control

All Americans, from whatever walks of life and of whatever political or philosophical convictions, hate the death of innocent human beings and have had a reaction of shock and pain due to the killing of 20 schoolchildren and six staff members in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012. Since the shooting at sandy hook elementary, Americans have had to consider with great thought and caution how best to proceed to protect innocent families and people. First we had to think about […]

Does Gun Control Actually Control Crime

On average, there are 276 gun homicides a week throughout America. There are 439 gun suicides. All told, there are, on average, nearly 1,200 incidents involving gun violence, every week, in America (Dam). In society today violence is more prevalent than ever specifically gun violence. From worldwide news to small town news channels we hear about gun violence on a weekly basis. There is a belief that no gun control powerful enough to stop those who want to use guns […]

Stop Gun Violence

Guns in America are ruining our society. Watch the news any day and you will most likely see either a school shooting ora shooting at some type of gathering. For some children going to school is horrifying because they are extremely disturbed by the school shootings that are going in our society. Children as young as kindergarten are learning how to act in the case of a school shooting. Yet, guns are killing innocent people by being able to have […]

Why Gun Control and Ban on Certain Guns Will not Work in the United States

In this paper I will state the reasons why gun control and ban on certain guns will not work in the United States, especially in rural areas across the country. 46% of americans in rural areas own a gun compared to 19% of urban residents. 75% of rural gun owners own more than one gun to 48% of urban gun owners. 47% of rural gun owners owned a gun before age 18 only 27% of urban gun owners owned them […]

Gun Control in the US

So why is it that the most important country in the world has the easiest process to get a gun? In a country that is so powerful and filled to the brim with people from around the globe getting a gun shouldn't be so easy. Mass shootings are a real problem in the United States and more so recently because they are becoming more frequent. Even though school shootings are the focus there are more problems than just that, sure […]

How Gun Control Affects the American’s Point of View

John R. Lott once wrote, American culture is a gun culture? (Lott 1) . On December 15, 1791 the second amendment to the United States Constitution became a law and made it legal for all people in the United States to own a firearm. However, people have evolved since the 1700's. Today, the news is constantly filled with crime and violence using guns. People are injured from guns what seems along the lines of almost every day. All of the […]

More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws

John R. Lott has written a series of books, three to be exact, all with the same topic. More guns and less crime is the issued discussed. These books provide true evidence and facts on gun control and how it relates to crime. In the latest addition of the series, John portrays American culture to one considered as gun culture. One statistic states that in 2009, one hundred and twenty four million people lived in homes that obtained a total […]

Rethinking Gun Laws in the United States: a Urgent Call to Action

Just from this year, there have been over three hundred shootings in the United States just this year. Having stricter gun laws could reduce the crime rate we have in the United States and the gun violence in not only schools and universities, but also in everyday life. The fact that some Americans aren't concerned with our current gun control laws worries me and is ridiculous that people aren't doing anything about it even after all the shootings. The purpose […]

Common Sense and Gun Control don’t Mix

In January of 2013 President Obama signed 23 executive orders pertaining to guns. Action number 14 deemed gun violence a serious public health issue that affects thousands of individuals, families, and communities across the Nation (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council 12). This directed the CDC to identify firearms' effect on public health. This study focused on a handful of major questions. Two of which were the characteristics of gun violence and risks and protective factors. The study analyzed […]

Mental Illness and Gun Control

Gun Violence relating to Mental Illness and Background Checks Gun Violence is a huge threat to people across America. 'In 2018 alone 46,000 incident of violence with a gun, 11,700 death by gun, and 290 mass shootings were more than 4 people have died each shooting' (Gun Violence Archive). Gun violence is something that needs to be taken seriously and acted upon fast. Background checks are not keeping guns out of the people who threaten us the most especially criminals […]

Gun Violence and Gun Control

Gun violence in America is a never-ending series of tragedy after tragedy, mass-shooting and the one of the constant social problem in United State. Many innocent lives have been taken to gun violence from Sandy Hook elementary, Pulse nightclub in Orlando, 2017 Las Vegas, Columbine High School, and all of that violence has been increasing. The Second Amendment, the right of the people to bear arms, has given the individual to own a gun, but many have abused the power […]

How To Write an Essay About Gun Control

Introduction to the complexities of gun control.

Gun control is a multifaceted and often contentious topic, making it an engaging subject for an essay. The introduction of your essay should begin by defining what gun control encompasses – including various laws, policies, and public opinions surrounding the regulation of firearms. It's crucial to present the relevance of this topic, especially in the context of current events and societal debates. This section should set the stage for your essay, providing a brief overview of the different aspects of gun control you will explore, and subtly introducing your thesis statement. This groundwork is key to preparing the reader for a nuanced discussion on the complexities of gun control.

Building a Structured Argument

The body of your essay is where you'll develop your argument, which should be clearly outlined in your thesis statement. Whether you're examining the effectiveness of gun control measures, their impact on crime rates, or the constitutional debates surrounding the Second Amendment, each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect or argument supporting your thesis. Use evidence such as statistical data, historical examples, or case studies to reinforce your points. It's also important to acknowledge and address counterarguments. By presenting a balanced view that considers multiple perspectives, your essay will be more persuasive and reflective of the multifaceted nature of the gun control debate.

Exploring the Broader Implications

Beyond the immediate arguments for and against gun control, your essay should delve into the broader implications of the topic. This includes examining how gun control policies affect different communities, the relationship between gun rights and public safety, and the cultural and political factors that influence the gun control debate. Discuss the ethical considerations involved, such as the balance between individual liberties and community safety. This section should encourage readers to think about gun control in a wider social, cultural, and ethical context, providing a deeper understanding of why it's such a persistent and polarizing issue in society.

Concluding with Insight

In your conclusion, revisit the key points of your essay, tying them back to your thesis statement. This is your chance to underscore the significance of the topic and the strength of your argument. Offer a reflection on the potential future of gun control, considering recent developments and ongoing debates. You might also propose areas for further research or suggest ways in which the conversation around gun control can be advanced constructively. A strong conclusion will not only provide closure to your essay but will also leave the reader with lingering thoughts or questions, encouraging further contemplation and discussion on the topic of gun control.

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Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?

History of Gun Control Laws

Gun control laws are just as old or older than the Second Amendment (ratified in 1791). Some examples of gun control throughout colonial America included criminalizing the transfer of guns to Catholics , enslaved people, indentured servants, and Native Americans ; regulating the storage of gun powder in homes; banning loaded guns in Boston houses; and mandating participation in formal gathering of troops and door-to-door surveys about guns owned.

Guns were common in the American Colonies, first for hunting and general self-protection and later as weapons in the American Revolutionary War . Several colonies’ gun laws required that heads of households (including women) own guns and that all able-bodied men enroll in the militia and carry personal firearms. Read more history…

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1 The Second Amendment is not an unlimited or individual right to own guns. In the June 26, 2008, District of Columbia et al. v. Heller U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited… nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.” [ 3 ] On June 9, 2016 the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-4 that “[t]he right of the general public to carry a concealed firearm in public is not, and never has been, protected by the Second Amendment,” thus upholding a law requiring a permitting process and “good cause” for concealed carry licenses in California. [ 145 ] [ 146 ] A 2018 study found that 91% of the 1,153 court cases with claims stating a government action or law violate the Second Amendment between the 2008 D.C. v. Heller decision and Feb. 1, 2016 failed. [ 157 ] Further, the Second Amendment was intended to protect the right of militias to own guns, not the right of individuals to own guns. Former Justice John Paul Stevens, in his dissenting opinion for District of Columbia et al. v. Heller , wrote, “the Framer’s single-minded focus in crafting the constitutional guarantee ‘to keep and bear arms’ was on military use of firearms, which they viewed in the context of service in state militias,” hence the inclusion of the phrase “well regulated militia.” [ 3 ] Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, stated there is nothing about an individual right to bear arms in the notes about the Second Amendment when it was being drafted, discussed, or ratified; the US Supreme Court declined to rule in favor of the individual right four times between 1876 and 1939; and all law articles on the Second Amendment from 1888 to 1959 stated that an individual right was not guaranteed. [ 47 ] Read More

Pro 2 More gun control laws would reduce gun deaths. There were 572,537 total gun deaths between 1999 and 2016: 336,579 suicides (58.8% of total gun deaths); 213,175 homicides (37.2%); and 11,428 unintentional deaths (2.0%). Guns were the leading cause of death by homicide (67.7% of all homicides) and by suicide (51.8% of all suicides). Firearms were the second leading cause of deaths for children, responsible for 15% of child deaths compared to 20% in motor vehicle crashes. [ 30 ] [ 162 ] Female first-time firearm owners were 35 times more likely to commit suicide within 12 years of buying the gun compared to women who did not own guns; male first-time firearm owners were about eight times more likely to do so. [ 171 ] [ 172 ] Approximately 50% of unintentional fatal shootings were self-inflicted; and most unintentional firearm deaths were caused by friends or family members. [ 4 ] [ 18 ] Five women are murdered with guns every day in the United States. A woman’s risk of being murdered increases 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute. During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 5,364 US soldiers were killed in action between Oct. 7, 2001 and Jan. 28, 2015; between 2001 and 2012 6,410 women were killed with a gun by an intimate partner in the United States. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] A study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that “legal purchase of a handgun appears to be associated with a long-lasting increased risk of violent death” [ 6 ] Researchers found that a “general barrier to firearm access created through state regulation can have a significant deterrent effect on male suicide rates in the United States. Permit requirements and bans on sales to minors were the most effective of the regulations analyzed.” [ 32 ] According to a Mar. 10, 2016 Lancet study, implementing federal universal background checks could reduce firearm deaths by a projected 56.9%; background checks for ammunition purchases could reduce deaths by a projected 80.7%; and gun identification requirements could reduce deaths by a projected 82.5%. [ 148 ] Gun licensing laws were associated with a 14% decrease in firearm homicides, while increases in firearm homicides were seen in places with right-to-carry and stand-your ground-laws. [ 158 ] [ 160 ] More gun control leads to fewer suicides. When US gun ownership goes down, overall suicide rates drop; meanwhile, each 10 percentage-point increase in gun ownership is linked to a 26.9% increase in the youth suicide rate. In Indiana and Connecticut, after “red flag” laws to remove guns from people who may pose a threat were enacted, gun suicides decreased by 7.5% and 13.7% respectively, while suicides by other means did not decrease during the same time. A person who wants to kill him/herself is unlikely to commit suicide with poison or a knife when a gun is unavailable. [ 31 ] [ 33 ] [ 158 ] [ 159 ] [ 164 ] The US General Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that 31% of total accidental shooting deaths could have been prevented by installing safety devices on guns: 100% of deaths per year in which a child under 6 years old shoots and kills him/herself or another child could be prevented by automatic child-proof safety locks; and 23% of accidental shooting deaths by adolescents and adults per year could be prevented by loading indicators showing when a bullet was in the chamber ready to be fired. [ 35 ] Marjorie Sanfilippo, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Eckerd College who has researched children’s behavior around guns, stated, “We put gates around swimming pools to keep children from drowning. We put safety caps on medications to keep children from poisoning themselves…. [B]ecause children are naturally curious and impulsive, and because we have shown time and again that we cannot ‘gun-proof’ them with education, we have a responsibility to keep guns out of the hands of children.” [ 36 ] Read More

Pro 3 The presence of a gun makes a conflict more likely to become violent. The FBI found that arguments (such as romantic triangles, brawls fueled by alcohol or drugs, and arguments over money) resulted in 1,962 gun deaths (59.9% of the total). [ 37 ] An editorial published in the American Journal of Public Health noted, “gun-inflicted deaths [often] ensue from impromptu arguments and fights; in the US, two-thirds of the 7,900 deaths in 1981 involving arguments and brawls were caused by guns.” A study published in the same journal found that “the weapons used [in altercations]… were those closest at hand.” And thus, according to another study, “[r]ather than confer protection, guns kept in the home are associated with an increase in the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance.” [ 38 ] [ 39 ] [ 40 ] Statistics show that guns are rarely used in self-defense. Of the 29,618,300 violent crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.79% of victims (235,700) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm, the least-employed protective behavior. In 2010 there were 230 “justifiable homicides” in which a private citizen used a firearm to kill a felon, compared to 8,275 criminal gun homicides (or, 36 criminal homicides for every “justifiable homicide”). Of the 84,495,500 property crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.12% of victims (103,000) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] Further, armed civilians are unlikely to stop crimes and are more likely to make dangerous situations, including mass shootings, more deadly. None of the 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012 were stopped by an armed civilian. Jeffrey Voccola, Assistant Professor of Writing at Kutztown University, notes, “The average gun owner, no matter how responsible, is not trained in law enforcement or on how to handle life-threatening situations, so in most cases, if a threat occurs, increasing the number of guns only creates a more volatile and dangerous situation.” [ 41 ] [ 43 ] Common sense gun control laws can decrease the likelihood of a violent situation turning deadly. President Ronald Reagan and others did not think the AR-15 military rifle (also called M16s by the Air Force) should be owned by civilians and, when the AR-15 was included in the assault weapons ban of 1994 (which expired on Sep. 13, 2004), the NRA supported the legislation. A Mother Jones investigation found that high-capacity magazines were used in at least 50% of the 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012.When high-capacity magazines were used in mass shootings, the death rate rose 63% and the injury rate rose 156%. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 48 ] The Second Amendment was written at a time when the most common arms were long rifles that had to be reloaded after every shot. Civilians today have access to folding, detaching, or telescoping stocks that make the guns more easily concealed and carried; silencers to muffle gunshot sounds; flash suppressors to fire in low-light conditions without being blinded by the flash and to conceal the shooter’s location; or grenade launcher attachments. Jonathan Lowy, Director of Legal Action Project at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, states, “These are weapons that will shred your venison before you eat it, or go through the walls of your apartment when you’re trying to defend yourself… [they are] made for mass killing, but not useful for law-abiding citizens.” [ 49 ] [ 50 ] Read More

Pro 4 A majority of adults, including gun owners, support common sense gun control such as background checks, bans on assault weapons, and bans on high-capacity magazines. According to a Feb. 20, 2018 Quinnipiac Poll, 97% of American voters and 97% of gun owners support universal background checks. 67% support a nationwide ban on assault weapons, and 83% support mandatory waiting periods for gun purchases. [ 155 ] As much as 40% of all gun sales are undocumented private party gun sales that do not require a background check (aka the “gun show loophole”). [ 28 ] 53% of all adults surveyed approve of high-capacity magazine bans. 89% of adults with a gun in the home approve of laws to prevent the purchase of guns by the mentally ill, and 82% approve of banning gun sales to people on no-fly lists. [ 27 ] 77% of Americans support requiring a license to purchase a gun. [ 165 ] Don Macalady, member of Hunters against Gun Violence, stated, “As a hunter and someone who has owned guns since I was a young boy, I believe that commonsense gun legislation makes us all safer. Background checks prevent criminals and other dangerous people from getting guns.” [ 29 ] Many would like to see the U.S. enact more laws like other countries, citing the fact that countries with restrictive gun control laws have lower gun homicide and suicide rates than the United States. Both Switzerland and Finland require gun owners to acquire licenses and pass background checks that include mental and criminal records, among other restrictions and requirements. In 2007 Switzerland ranked number 3 in international gun ownership rates with 45.7 guns per 100 people (about 3,400,000 guns total). In 2009 Switzerland had 24 gun homicides (0.31 deaths per 100,000 people) and 253 gun suicides (3.29 deaths per 100,000 people). Finland ranked fourth in international gun ownership rates with 45.3 guns per 100 people (about 2,400,000 guns total). In 2007 Finland had 23 (0.43 deaths per 100,000 people) gun homicides and 172 gun suicides (4.19 deaths per 100,000 people). [ 44 ] [ 45 ] Read More

Con 1 The Second Amendment of the US Constitution protects individual gun ownership. The Second Amendment of the US Constitution reads, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Gun ownership is an American tradition older than the country itself and is protected by the Second Amendment; more gun control laws would infringe upon the right to bear arms. Justice Antonin Scalia in the June 26, 2008, District of Columbia et al. v. Heller U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion syllabus stated, “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” [ 3 ] The McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) ruling also stated that the Second Amendment is an individual right. [ 51 ] Lawrence Hunter, Chairman of Revolution PAC, stated, “The Founders understood that the right to own and bear laws is as fundamental and as essential to maintaining liberty as are the rights of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion and the other protections against government encroachments on liberty delineated in the Bill of Rights.” [ 52 ] The Second Amendment was intended to protect gun ownership of all able-bodied men so that they could participate in the militia to keep the peace and defend the country if needed. According to the United States Code, a “militia” is composed of all “able-bodied males at least 17 years of age… under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.” Therefore, the militia mentioned in the Second Amendment would have been composed of almost all adult men and, in turn, that most adult men should not have their right to own firearms infringed. [ 99 ] [ 100 ] Read More

Con 2 Gun control laws are discriminatory and infringe on citizens’ rights Current gun control laws are frequently aimed at inner city, poor, black communities who are perceived as more dangerous than white gun owners. Charles Gallagher, Chair of Sociology at LaSalle University, stated that some gun control laws are still founded on racial fears: “Whites walking down Main Street with an AK-47 are defenders of American values; a black man doing the same thing is Public Enemy No. 1.” [ 94 ] [ 95 ] [ 96 ] In the late 1960s, gun control laws were enacted in reaction to the militant, gun-carrying Black Panthers. Adam Winkler, UCLA Constitutional Law Professor, stated “The KKK began as a gun-control organization. Before the Civil War, blacks were never allowed to own guns” so, after the Civil War, there was “constant pressure among white racists to keep guns out of the hands of African Americans because they would rise up and revolt.” For example, in Virginia, in response to Nat Turner’s Rebellion (also called the Southampton Rebellion, in which enslaved people killed 55 to 65 people in the most fatal slave uprising in the United States) in 1831, a law was passed that prohibited free black people “to keep or carry any firelock of any kind, any military weapon, or any powder or lead and all laws allowing free black people to possess firearms were repealed. [ 97 ] [ 98 ] Background checks and micro-stamping are an invasion of privacy. Background checks require government databases that keep personal individual information on gun owners, including name, addresses, mental health history, criminal records, and more. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) worried that Senator Harry Reid’s 2013 proposed background check legislation (the bill failed 54-46) would have allowed the government to keep databases of gun purchases indefinitely, creating a “worry that you’re going to see searches of the databases and an expansion for purposes that were not intended when the information was collected.” Micro-stamping similarly requires a database of gun owners and the codes their personal guns would stamp on cartridge cases. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote that they would oppose any legislation that infringes “on the American people’s constitutional right to bear arms, or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance.” [ 77 ] [ 78 ] [ 79 ] [ 80 ] Gun control laws infringe upon the right to self-defense and deny people a sense of safety. The police cannot protect everyone all of the time. 61% of men and 56% of women surveyed by Pew Research said that stricter gun laws would “make it more difficult for people to protect their homes and families.” Nelson Lund, Professor at George Mason University School of Law, stated, “The right to self-defense and to the means of defending oneself is a basic natural right that grows out of the right to life” and “many [gun control laws] interfere with the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against violent criminals.” A Pew Foundation report found that 79% of male gun owners and 80% of female gun owners said owning a gun made them feel safer and 64% of people living in a home in which someone else owns a gun felt safer. Even Senator Dianne Feinstein, a gun control advocate, carried a concealed gun when her life was threatened and her home attacked by the New World Liberation Front in the 1970s. [ 58 ] [ 59 ] [ 64 ] Gun control laws, especially those that try to ban “assault weapons,” infringe upon the right to own guns for hunting and sport. In 2011, there were 13.7 million hunters 16 years old or older in the United States, High-powered semiautomatic rifles and shotguns are used to hunt and in target shooting tournaments each year. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, “So-called ‘Assault weapons’ are more often than not less powerful than other hunting rifles. The term ‘assault weapon’ was conjured up by anti-gun legislators to scare voters into thinking these firearms are something out of a horror movie… [T]he Colt AR-15 and Springfield M1A, both labeled ‘assault weapons,’ are the rifles most used for marksmanship competitions in the United States. And their cartridges are standard hunting calibers, useful for game up to and including deer.” According to a Feb. 2013 Pew Research report, 32% of gun owners owned guns for hunting and 7% owned guns for target or sport shooting. [ 55 ] [ 65 ] [ 66 ] [ 67 ] [ 68 ] Read More

Con 3 Gun control laws simply do not work. Gun control efforts have proved ineffective. According to David Lampo, Publications Director of the Cato Institute, “there is no correlation between waiting periods and murder or robbery rates.” Banning high-capacity magazines will not necessarily deter crime because even small gun magazines can be changed in seconds.The “gun show loophole” is virtually nonexistent because commercial dealers, who sell the majority of guns at shows and elsewhere, are bound by strict federal laws. According to a Mar. 10, 2016 Lancet study, most state-level gun control laws do not reduce firearm death rates, and, of 25 state laws, nine were associated with higher gun death rates. [ 102 ] [ 148 ] Mexico has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and yet, in 2012, Mexico had 11,309 gun murders (9.97 gun homicides per 100,000 people) compared to the United States that had 9,146 gun homicides (2.97 per 100,000 people). The country has only one legal gun store (the Directorate of Arms and Munitions Sales), compared to at least 63,709 legal gun stores and pawn shops in the United States as of Feb. 10, 2014. Mexico’s gun store is on a secure military base and customers must present a valid ID, go through a metal detector, and turn over cellphones and cameras to guards. To actually buy a gun, customers have to show proof of honest income, provide references, pass a criminal background check, prove any military duties were completed with honor, and be fingerprinted and photographed. If allowed to purchase a gun, the customer may buy only one gun (choosing from only .38 caliber pistols or lower) and one box of bullets. Between 2006 and 2010, Mexico’s one gun shop sold 6,490 guns, yet as of 2012, Mexicans own about 15,000,000 guns, or about 13.5 guns per 100 people. [ 44 ] [ 88 ] [ 89 ] [ 90 ] [ 91 ] [ 92 ] [ 93 ] The main reason gun control doesn’t work is because laws will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns or breaking laws. Of 62 mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and 2012, 49 of the shooters used legally obtained guns. Collectively, 143 guns were possessed by the killers with about 75% obtained legally. A Secret Service analysis found that of 24 mass shootings in 2019 at least 10 (42%) involved illegally possessed guns. [ 69 ] [ 176 ] The logical conclusion is that gun control laws do not deter crime; gun ownership deters crime. A study in Applied Economics Letters found that “assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level” and “states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murders.” While gun ownership doubled in the twentieth century, the murder rate decreased. Journalist John Stossel explained, “Criminals don’t obey the law… Without the fear of retaliation from victims who might be packing heat, criminals in possession of these [illegal] weapons now have a much easier job… As the saying goes, ‘If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.’” [ 53 ] [ 56 ] [ 103 ] More gun control is not needed; education about guns and gun safety is needed to prevent accidental gun deaths. 95% of all US gun owners believe that children should learn about gun safety. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc (SAAMI), stated, “Whether in the field, at the range or in the home, a responsible and knowledgeable gun owner is rarely involved in a firearms accident of any kind.” According to Kyle Wintersteen, Managing Editor of Guns and Ammo , studies show that “children taught about firearms and their legitimate uses by family members have much lower rates of delinquency than children in households without guns” and “children introduced to guns associate them with freedom, security, and recreation—not violence.” [82] [85] [154] [ 82 ] [ 85 ] [ 154 ] Read More

Con 4 Gun control laws give too much power to the government and may result in government tyranny and the government taking away all guns from citizens. 57% of people surveyed by Pew Research in Feb. 2013 said that gun control laws would “give too much power to the government over the people.” [ 58 ] The NRA’s Wayne LaPierre stated, “if you look at why our Founding Fathers put it [the Second Amendment] there, they had lived under the tyranny of King George and they wanted to make sure that these free people in this new country would never be subjugated again and have to live under tyranny.” [ 75 ] Concurring, Alex Jones, radio host, stated, “The Second Amendment isn’t there for duck hunting, it’s there to protect us from tyrannical government and street thugs… 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms!” [ 76 ] The Libertarian Party stated, “A responsible, well-armed and trained citizenry is the best protection against domestic crime and the threat of foreign invasion.” Counsel for the NRA explains, “It is evident that the framers of the Constitution did not intend to limit the right to keep and bear arms to a formal military body or organized militia, but intended to provide for an ‘unorganized’ armed citizenry prepared to assist in the common defense against a foreign invader or a domestic tyrant.” [ 86 ] [ 87 ] Marco Rubio (R-FL), US Senator, speaking about gun control laws during his 2016 presidential campaign, stated, “If God forbid, ISIS visits our life, our neighborhood, our school, any part of us, the last thing standing, the last line of defense could very well be our ability to protect ourselves.” [ 149 ] Read More

Did You Know?
1. A Pew Foundation report found that 79% of male gun owners and 80% of female gun owners said owning a gun made them feel safer, and 64% of people living in a home in which someone else owns a gun felt safer. [ ]
2. The US General Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that 100% of deaths per year in which a child under 6 years old shoots and kills him/herself or another child could be prevented by automatic child-proof safety locks. [ ]
3. The Centers for Disease Control listed firearms as the #12 cause of all deaths between 1999 and 2015, representing 1.3% of total deaths. They were also the #1 method of death by homicide (67.3% of all homicides) and by suicide (51.9% of all suicides). [ ]
4. Mexico has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and yet, in 2012, Mexico had 11,309 gun murders (9.97 gun homicides per 100,000 people) compared to the United States that had 9,146 gun homicides (2.97 per 100,000 people). [ ] [ ]
5. Carrying a concealed handgun in public has been permitted in all 50 states since 2013, when Illinois became the last state to enact concealed carry legislation. [ ]
6. Five women a day are killed by guns in America. A woman's risk of being murdered increases 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute. [ ] [ ]

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Gun Control Essay: Goals, Topics, And How to Write

13 October, 2020

14 minutes read

Author: Mathieu Johnson

The issue of gun control is yet one of the top topics for heated debates. Some people have rather a negative opinion regarding gun control; others support it and believe that loose gun control rules lead to violence and devastation. And since the topic of gun control is represented by a multitude of contrasting opinions, it might be the topic for your next college paper.

The subject of gun control is an ongoing question, that is why many students either get assigned a gun control essay or do so for personal motives. What to include in your gun control essay and how to outline your ideas? You can find the answers to your questions in this guide.

Gun Control Essay: Definitions, Goals & Topics

Once you get assigned a gun control essay, you first need to make sure that you fully understand what a paper’s main idea is. As you can tell from the name ‘gun control essay’, such an essay asks you to indicate your opinion regarding restrictive regulations of gun use and production. While most countries have been limiting gun possession to minimize the risk of innocent people dying, the USA hasn’t. On the contrary, the US has persuasive gun control, meaning that almost anyone can buy and hold a gun. Many people share an idea that gun possession should be limited and permitted only to particular categories of people, that is why the question is very ongoing. So the most critical goal of a gun control essay is to present reasonable ideas about why people need or don’t need gun control.

Some of the compelling and relevant topics for a gun control essay may be:

Gun ownership promotes violence among young people
Gun ownership is unlikely to prevent some people from murdering
Gun possession as the only way to protect oneself
The wide accessibility of guns is the reason for suicides in the US

Gun Control Essay Titles

When writing a pro gun control essay, your initial task is to pick an intriguing, catchy title. You shouldn’t underestimate the importance of such a step if your goal is to attract the reader’s attention and make them aware of a topic. The thing to keep in mind is intriguing the audience and making them willing to take a deep dive into the subject. If you have no precise vision of which title to choose, take a look at a few tips we prepared for you.

First and foremost, you need to have a precise position regarding gun control in America. Are you a supporter, or are you firmly against gun control? Since there is yet a heated debate on this issue in the USA, you can decide to write either a for or against essay on gun control.

Titles supporting gun control:

Violence has never solved any problem
Guns out of control: why should innocent people die?
Youth violence as the result of no gun control

Titles opposing gun control:

Gun control won’t prevent people from killing
Gun control: why should we sacrifice our lives just because we can’t defend ourselves?
Illegal weapons trade as the only guaranteed outcome of gun control.

Gun Control Essay Structure

Most likely, you already know that a good structure largely predicts the success of a gun control argumentative essay. Whenever you are willing to present your opinion on a specific issue and want to convince the audience that your arguments are valid, you should sound logical. The ultimate way to make your gun control essay structure coherent and comprehensive is to draw an outline and plan the essay thoroughly. To assure that your argumentative essay on gun control communicates your idea to the reader, make sure to follow the structure that includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

Introduction

It would help if you organized your gun control essay introduction in a way that serves as an attention grabber. Namely, you can feel free to include some rhetorical question at the beginning or literally any good essay hook. To grab the reader’s attention, you may also outline some background information so that a reader grasps the idea of your gun control persuasive essay. And last but not least, don’t forget to introduce the most important part of a gun control essay outline – a thesis statement. A sound thesis statement gives a reader a general understanding of what you will cover in your essay.

Main body paragraphs’ role is to reveal what you mentioned in the thesis statement. Since your gun control essay will most likely be argumentative, you need to devote one paragraph to one argument. In each and every body paragraph, your main task is to build on some solid evidence and refer to numbers or facts to protect your position. It is better to include 3-5 body paragraphs so that the gun control essay doesn’t look messy.

When writing a gun control essay conclusion, you should avoid adding any extra information. Try to be very precise and make sure you restate the arguments you have indicated before. All in all, your gun control essay should logically end up with a summary of all the points. The reader has to be 100% sure that he or she fully comprehended your idea.

Best Tips For Writing Gun Control Essay

An outline is everything.

Create an outline even if you think that this step isn’t indeed necessary. Even when you have all those sparkling ideas and structure in your mind, it requires no effort to confuse them. And if we talk about an argumentative essay, it is fundamental for you as a writer to sound convincing and confident. An outline helps you to sound so. Hence, don’t neglect dedicating a few minutes to creating a helpful essay plan.

Find some convincing evidence

The goal of any gun control essay is to communicate an idea of why strict gun control is necessary or should be abandoned. After reading your essay, the audience will form an exact opinion: gun control is either good or bad. Try to search for some substantial evidence, numbers, particular cases that you find helpful while supporting your arguments. Otherwise, you undermine the chances of being heard.

Write about the topic that bothers you

Don’t try to figure up titles and topics that aren’t interesting for you. The point of a gun control essay is to make your voice heard and to be sincere while presenting your ideas. Try to give some ideas the way you see them, discuss only those topics that cannot let you stay indifferent. Only in this way will you end up with an excellent essay.

Edit and proofread

Once your essay is ready, don’t forget to proofread it and check it at least twice. So many excellent essays get a terrible score just because some minor mistakes spoiled the general impression! You can use a wide array of means to make sure your paper is polished: ask your friends to check it, use online tools, or ask a professional essay writing and editing service to get your paper checked by an expert.

Gun Control Essay Examples

If you feel like you need to refer to an example to get a profound insight into an idea of a gun control essay, here is one for you.

Strict gun control deprives people of their legal rights

The US is the country in which the share of people who own a gun is impressively high. Besides, there is no single country in the world that can be compared to the US by the number of firearms in the citizen’s hands. According to the official statistics, 80 percent of adults own a gun, meaning that the likelihood of a stranger you come across in the street possessing one are unbelievably significant. Recently, several regulations attempted to restrict gun possession to impose gun control. However, gun control is not only unjustifiable, but it also deprives people of their right for self-defence and peaceful life.

First and foremost, gun control, unfortunately, does not reduce the murder and crime rates in the US. Although it should generally hold true, the statistics contradict the misbelief that limiting gun possession minimizes the number of crimes committed. The research on weapon ban which was carried out during the past twenty years demonstrates that there is no correlation between reducing gun ownership and a falling number of murder cases. The research also indicated that the states that imposed strict gun control have witnessed a larger number of crimes.

This all leads to the conclusion that imposing a ban on gun possession is not a way to fight crime. Also, as the evidence shows, the number of guns in the US had been steadily growing in the last century, and this coincided with a decrease in the number of crimes committed. Essentially, gun control is unlikely to resolve the issue of crimes, since some people are likely to commit crimes even when they have no gun at their disposal.

Another argument against gun control is that the first inevitably infringe the citizen’s rights, Namely, banning weapons contradicts the right that the constitution of the US guarantees. According to the second amendment, under no circumstances should the citizen’s rights to possess a gun be infringed. The right to own a gun had already existed long before many countries appeared on the map. That is why many people deem gun control as a crime against humanity. Even though there is yet some logical explanation to an attempt to control gun usage and manufacturing, it still deprives US citizens of their inviolable right.

What is even more, the supreme court together with the constitution considers gun ownership as one of the liberties that all the US citizens have. Just like the freedom of speech, the space to protect oneself is crucial, and it should remain untouchable. Introducing gun control, therefore, leads to violating people’s freedom and liberties since people become incapable of even defending themselves in their property.

Gun control robs people of the right for safety and self-defence. Imposing strict gun regulations will inevitably make millions of people incapable of defending themselves if something threatens their and their close ones’ lives. According to the data represented by the National Rifle Association, the number of cases of gun usage solely for self-defence purposes equals 2.5 million times annually. People use guns to protect their families and property, but, apparently, the states find the self-defence motive weak enough. If they impose strict gun control, it means that these 2.5 million people may literally sacrifice their lives and die just because they couldn’t hold a gun legally.

The truth is, the Police are physically incapable of protecting all the people who need protection, so these people are bound to defend themselves on their own. But how to protect yourself if you cannot even possess a gun? So far, using a weapon for self-defence has proved to be the most effective way . Therefore, depriving people of the right for self-defence or for saving other people in trouble is inhumane and unjustified.

Overall, gun control has lately become a hot topic that has both its advocates and opponents. So far, the evidence against gun control is very reasonable and convincing. Gun control robs the citizens of their exceptional right – the right to protect themselves and those in danger. Besides, gun control contradicts the second amendment, which guarantees the right to possess a gun for adult US citizens. Finally, it is unlikely to reduce the crime rate as the science hasn’t yet found any valid proof for that.

Write a Gun Control Essay with HandmadeWriting

Composing a brilliant essay about gun control is somewhat challenging due to the peculiarity of this topic. But this is not something above your capacity. Keeping all the tips in mind as well as following a precise gun control essay structure will significantly facilitate the writing process. And if you need help with writing or editing – HandmadeWriting will have you covered! At any time of day and night, essay writers at HandmadeWriting work hard to deliver top-quality papers and support students from all over the world. So if you’re struggling with your essay, feel free to get in touch with us.

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Gun Control Points for Argumentative Essay

by Antony W

August 9, 2022

Gun control is among the most popular topics. In fact, some instructors are against writing an argumentative or persuasive essay on the topic of gun control.

In the wake of mass shooting, there have been debates and controversies, with people in one camp supporting stricter gun control laws, while those in the other camp fighting against the enforcement of these laws with everything they own.

As a student, you will probably handle essays related to the same more times than you can recall.

When assigned with one, you can always buy a gun control essay or request free samples from Help For Assessment.

But before that, here is why we took the liberty to put together some helpful gun control points for argumentative essays.

What is Gun Control?

Before we take a look at gun control argumentative essay points, gun control refers to a set of laws enforced to regulate the manufacture sale, and the use of firearms.

In other words, gun control refers to laws established to control the type of firearms an individual can sell, purchase as well as where and how they are supposed to be stored.

As mentioned, gun control is a hot topic, and one of the most conflict-ridden debates across America.

Each mass shooting often stirs up hot debates, with each side coming up with strong points to either fight or support gun control laws.

Have you ran out of time and don't know what to do to get your essay done? Check out our argumentative essay writing service and hire our experts for help.

Notable Gun Control Regulations

While the regulations vary from one state to another, take a look at these notable gun control regulations to get an idea of why gun control is such a hot topic in the US;

To purchase a short gun, an individual must be at least 18, and a legal citizen of the US. To purchase other high capacity firearms such as handguns and high capacity magazines, one must be 21 years and above. Note, state and local officials have the freedom to implement higher restrictions.
Fugitives, mental health patients, individuals with a criminal record that includes being jailed for more than a year are restricted from the purchase and possession of firearms.
Firearm sellers must be at least 21 years and above. They must have a Federal-Firearm License and a gun selling premise. Additionally, they must be of a healthy state of mind, and a clean criminal record.

Pro-Gun Control Argumentative Essay Points

If you‘ve been assigned a gun control argumentative or persuasive essay and planning to support it, or to buy a gun control essay here are some useful points you could use to back up your arguments;

Strict gun control laws help reduce homicide
Gun control laws facilitate the reduction of accidental injuries
The 2 nd amendment doesn’t grant average individuals the unlimited rights to own firearms.
The risks of violence and mass shootings is reduced
Gun control helps reduce crime by minimizing a criminal’s access to firearms
Stricter gun control regulations eradicate the sale of dangerous firearms such as high capacity magazines capable of doing more harm in the hands of a murderer or individual with ill-intentions.
Gun control laws help protect women from domestic abuse, and stalkers
Legally owned guns are rarely used for self defense
Enforcing gun control laws will help lower the government costs related to gun violence
The easy access to firearms increases the likelihood of simple conflicts that would otherwise be solved escalating to gun violent situations.
The 2 nd amendment was enforced to safeguard the rights of gun-owning militia, and not the rights of average individuals who have the resources to get one.
A good majority of gun owners support gun control laws as well.
Legally owned guns are commonly stolen by criminals, putting legal gun owners at risk of being framed for crimes they played no part in.
Gun laws don’t undermine the 2 nd amendment
A majority of mass shootings happen through firearms that were legally purchased
The 2 nd amendment has loopholes that gun control laws could help seal
Gun control laws don’t mean legal gun owners will automatically lose their guns.
Gun control laws will help reduce suicide rates
Most mass shootings stem from a domestic violence incident
A majority of American citizens support gun control laws

Anti-Gun Control Argumentative Essay Points

If you are in the opposite camp of gun control or if your supervisor wants you to write an argumentative essay arguing against gun control laws, here are some efficient points to strengthen your argument;

Gun control undermines the right to live as we please
Gun control laws infringe the right to self-defense
The enforcement of gun control laws will slowly lead to a complete ban on gun ownership
Gun control laws fuel the growth of a black market as anyone determined to buy a firearm will do so even if it means using illegal channels.
Gun control laws undermine the 2 nd amendment
Mexico has a reputation for strict gun control measures yet it has higher rates of gun homicides than the US.
Educating the mass about gun safety would be a more effective approach to firearm regulation and the prevention of accidental gun deaths than gun control
Most gun violence is attributed to suicide and not necessarily crime
Legal gun owners are more likely to use a gun in self-defense than on crime-related gun violence.
Gun control laws will not prevent criminals from breaking the law
Gun control measures such as background checks on gun buyers are an invasion of privacy
Gun control does not prevent suicide as there’s still plenty of alternatives for a person determined to take away their life to execute their plan.
Gun control measures are racists as they frequently target poor black legal gun owners perceived to be dangerous than white legal gun owners

Get Your Gun Control Argumentative Essay Done By Pros

Whether you are for, or against gun control, this is one of the best argumentative essay topics you will ever write about during your studies.

However, it’s also a hot, complicated and value-based topic which means it can also be challenging to craft. Hopefully, the gun control argumentative essay points above will help you ace it.

But in case you are having challenges writing one, don’t hesitate to buy a gun control essay from our team of reliable essay writers today.

Fill your argumentative or persuasive papers details here , and get a passing essay in no time.

About the author

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Gun Control, Explained

A quick guide to the debate over gun legislation in the United States.

By The New York Times

As the number of mass shootings in America continues to rise , gun control — a term used to describe a wide range of restrictions and measures aimed at controlling the use of firearms — remains at the center of heated discussions among proponents and opponents of stricter gun laws.

To help understand the debate and its political and social implications, we addressed some key questions on the subject.

Is gun control effective?

Throughout the world, mass shootings have frequently been met with a common response: Officials impose new restrictions on gun ownership. Mass shootings become rarer. Homicides and suicides tend to decrease, too.

After a British gunman killed 16 people in 1987, the country banned semiautomatic weapons like the ones he had used. It did the same with most handguns after a school shooting in 1996. It now has one of the lowest gun-related death rates in the developed world.

In Australia, a 1996 massacre prompted mandatory gun buybacks in which, by some estimates , as many as one million firearms were then melted into slag. The rate of mass shootings plummeted .

Only the United States, whose rate and severity of mass shootings is without parallel outside conflict zones, has so consistently refused to respond to those events with tightened gun laws .

Several theories to explain the number of shootings in the United States — like its unusually violent societal, class and racial divides, or its shortcomings in providing mental health care — have been debunked by research. But one variable remains: the astronomical number of guns in the country.

America’s gun homicide rate was 33 per one million people in 2009, far exceeding the average among developed countries. In Canada and Britain, it was 5 per million and 0.7 per million, respectively, which also corresponds with differences in gun ownership. Americans sometimes see this as an expression of its deeper problems with crime, a notion ingrained, in part, by a series of films portraying urban gang violence in the early 1990s. But the United States is not actually more prone to crime than other developed countries, according to a landmark 1999 study by Franklin E. Zimring and Gordon Hawkins of the University of California, Berkeley. Rather, they found, in data that has since been repeatedly confirmed , that American crime is simply more lethal. A New Yorker is just as likely to be robbed as a Londoner, for instance, but the New Yorker is 54 times more likely to be killed in the process. They concluded that the discrepancy, like so many other anomalies of American violence, came down to guns. More gun ownership corresponds with more gun murders across virtually every axis: among developed countries , among American states , among American towns and cities and when controlling for crime rates. And gun control legislation tends to reduce gun murders, according to a recent analysis of 130 studies from 10 countries. This suggests that the guns themselves cause the violence. — Max Fisher and Josh Keller, Why Does the U.S. Have So Many Mass Shootings? Research Is Clear: Guns.

Every mass shooting is, in some sense, a fringe event, driven by one-off factors like the ideology or personal circumstances of the assailant. The risk is impossible to fully erase.

Still, the record is confirmed by reams of studies that have analyzed the effects of policies like Britain’s and Australia’s: When countries tighten gun control laws, it leads to fewer guns in private citizens’ hands, which leads to less gun violence.

What gun control measures exist at the federal level?

Much of current federal gun control legislation is a baseline, governing who can buy, sell and use certain classes of firearms, with states left free to enact additional restrictions.

Dealers must be licensed, and run background checks to ensure their buyers are not “prohibited persons,” including felons or people with a history of domestic violence — though private sellers at gun shows or online marketplaces are not required to run background checks. Federal law also highly restricts the sale of certain firearms, such as fully automatic rifles.

The most recent federal legislation , a bipartisan effort passed last year after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, expanded background checks for buyers under 21 and closed what is known as the boyfriend loophole. It also strengthened existing bans on gun trafficking and straw purchasing.

— Aishvarya Kavi

What are gun buyback programs and do they work?

Gun buyback programs are short-term initiatives that provide incentives, such as money or gift cards, to convince people to surrender firearms to law enforcement, typically with no questions asked. These events are often held by governments or private groups at police stations, houses of worship and community centers. Guns that are collected are either destroyed or stored.

Most programs strive to take guns off the streets, provide a safe place for firearm disposal and stir cultural changes in a community, according to Gun by Gun , a nonprofit dedicated to preventing gun violence.

The first formal gun buyback program was held in Baltimore in 1974 after three police officers were shot and killed, according to the authors of the book “Why We Are Losing the War on Gun Violence in the United States.” The initiative collected more than 13,000 firearms, but failed to reduce gun violence in the city. Hundreds of other buyback programs have since unfolded across the United States.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton announced the nation’s first federal gun buyback program . The $15 million program provided grants of up to $500,000 to police departments to buy and destroy firearms. Two years later, the Senate defeated efforts to extend financing for the program after the Bush administration called for it to end.

Despite the popularity of gun buyback programs among certain anti-violence and anti-gun advocates, there is little data to suggest that they work. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research , a private nonprofit, found that buyback programs adopted in U.S. cities were ineffective in deterring gun crime, firearm-related homicides or firearm-related suicides. . Evidence showed that cities set the sale price of a firearm too low to considerably reduce the supply of weapons; most who participated in such initiatives came from low-crime areas and firearms that were typically collected were either older or not in good working order.

Dr. Brendan Campbell, a pediatric surgeon at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and an author of one chapter in “Why We Are Losing the War on Gun Violence in the United States,” said that buyback programs should collect significantly more firearms than they currently do in order to be more effective.

Dr. Campbell said they should also offer higher prices for handguns and assault rifles. “Those are the ones that are most likely to be used in crime,” and by people attempting suicide, he said. “If you just give $100 for whatever gun, that’s when you’ll end up with all these old, rusted guns that are a low risk of causing harm in the community.”

Mandatory buyback programs have been enacted elsewhere around the world. After a mass shooting in 1996, Australia put in place a nationwide buyback program , collecting somewhere between one in five and one in three privately held guns. The initiative mostly targeted semiautomatic rifles and many shotguns that, under new laws, were no longer permitted. New Zealand banned military-style semiautomatic weapons, assault rifles and some gun parts and began its own large-scale buyback program in 2019, after a terrorist attack on mosques in Christchurch. The authorities said that more than 56,000 prohibited firearms had been collected from about 32,000 people through the initiative.

Where does the U.S. public stand on the issue?

Expanded background checks for guns purchased routinely receive more than 80 or 90 percent support in polling.

Nationally, a majority of Americans have supported stricter gun laws for decades. A Gallup poll conducted in June found that 55 percent of participants were in favor of a ban on the manufacture, possession and sale of semiautomatic guns. A majority of respondents also supported other measures, including raising the legal age at which people can purchase certain firearms, and enacting a 30-day waiting period for gun sales.

But the jumps in demand for gun control that occur after mass shootings also tend to revert to the partisan mean as time passes. Gallup poll data shows that the percentage of participants who supported stricter gun laws receded to 57 percent in October from 66 percent in June, which was just weeks after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo. A PDK poll conducted after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde found that 72 percent of Republicans supported arming teachers, in contrast with 24 percent of Democrats.

What do opponents of gun control argue?

Opponents of gun control, including most Republican members of Congress, argue that proposals to limit access to firearms infringe on the right of citizens to bear arms enshrined in the Second Amendment to the Constitution. And they contend that mass shootings are not the result of easily accessible guns, but of criminals and mentally ill people bent on waging violence.

— Annie Karni

Why is it so hard to push for legislation?

Polling suggests that Americans broadly support gun control measures, yet legislation is often stymied in Washington, and Republicans rarely seem to pay a political price for their opposition.

The calculation behind Republicans’ steadfast stonewalling of any new gun regulations — even in the face of the kind unthinkable massacres like in Uvalde, Texas — is a fairly simple one for Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. Asked what the reaction would be from voters back home if he were to support any significant form of gun control, the first-term Republican had a straightforward answer: “Most would probably throw me out of office,” he said. His response helps explain why Republicans have resisted proposals such as the one for universal background checks for gun buyers, despite remarkably broad support from the public for such plans — support that can reach up to 90 percent nationwide in some cases. Republicans like Mr. Cramer understand that they would receive little political reward for joining the push for laws to limit access to guns, including assault-style weapons. But they know for certain that they would be pounded — and most likely left facing a primary opponent who could cost them their job — for voting for gun safety laws or even voicing support for them. Most Republicans in the Senate represent deeply conservative states where gun ownership is treated as a sacred privilege enshrined in the Constitution, a privilege not to be infringed upon no matter how much blood is spilled in classrooms and school hallways around the country. Though the National Rifle Association has recently been diminished by scandal and financial turmoil , Democrats say that the organization still has a strong hold on Republicans through its financial contributions and support, hardening the party’s resistance to any new gun laws. — Carl Hulse, “ Why Republicans Won’t Budge on Guns .”

Yet while the power of the gun lobby, the outsize influence of rural states in the Senate and single-voter issues offer some explanation, there is another possibility: voters.

When voters in four Democratic-leaning states got the opportunity to enact expanded gun or ammunition background checks into law, the overwhelming support suggested by national surveys was nowhere to be found. For Democrats, the story is both unsettling and familiar. Progressives have long been emboldened by national survey results that show overwhelming support for their policy priorities, only to find they don’t necessarily translate to Washington legislation and to popularity on Election Day or beyond. President Biden’s major policy initiatives are popular , for example, yet voters say he has not accomplished much and his approval ratings have sunk into the low 40s. The apparent progressive political majority in the polls might just be illusory. Public support for new gun restrictions tends to rise in the wake of mass shootings. There is already evidence that public support for stricter gun laws has surged again in the aftermath of the killings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. While the public’s support for new restrictions tends to subside thereafter, these shootings or another could still produce a lasting shift in public opinion. But the poor results for background checks suggest that public opinion may not be the unequivocal ally of gun control that the polling makes it seem. — Nate Cohn, “ Voters Say They Want Gun Control. Their Votes Say Something Different. ”

Essay on Against Gun Control

Introduction

Gun violence is on the rise in many societies, as contributed by control policies and licensing rules. Guns can be used for protective reasons in the community, and there is a need always to vet individuals who apply for the same before issuing them with handguns. An example of a country that has high gun violence cases is the United States. The gun culture in the country has led many to the assumption that guns are a must within the society (Azrael, et al. 295). The use of firearms within the society leads to a significant impact on the rates of crime. Some argue in favor of control policies for their reasons. It is essential to focus on the issue of gun control and assess the essence of imposing rules on the same. Gun control illustrates a situation where the government imposes laws and regulations that restrict the issuance and use of handguns within the society. Some societies have stringent rules on gun ownership, while others are lenient. In my opinion, gun control is not justified as guns are used purposively within the community. The paper aims to argue in favor of the topic of discussion by providing a detailed review of claims that support the elimination of gun control policies.

Background Information

It is essential to approach the study by understanding the scope of gun control and use in the society. A background check on the topic of discussion indicates that over 35% of the population in the United States has licensed guns. For instance, Hsiao asserts that gun control is a matter that has helped the economy of countries such as the United States. In his article, “Against Gun Bans and Restrictive Licensing,” the author provides an argument against restrictions on the use of guns (Hsiao 180). The author argues that more guns within the society can lead to increased safety for many within the society. The article is informative on why many societies in the world should reduce restrictions on gun use and issuance (Hsiao 182). As such, the research supports the argument on reducing regulations and impositions on use of guns across the world.

Lott John in the 2013 researched on the issue of understanding crime and gun control as a significant social issue. The author has vividly explained how the increase in the number of guns issued can reduce crime in the society (Lott 50). When the number of firearms in the public hands is high, there is a possibility that criminals can fear attacking citizens, for they might respond with a gunshot. In his article, the author expresses interest in the reduction or elimination of control rules on gun usage.

In the year 2013, La Valle provided a critical argument that is against gun control and licensing. The author presents a case that is against the ideological divide favoring the topic of discussion. Elimination of gun control policies can help the society nurture upright citizens who do not need control rules (La Valle 20).

Reasons for Opposing Gun Control

The first argument that supports the elimination of gun control is self-defense and protection. Many people in the society need protection from unnecessary attacks in their daily activities. As such, gun control measures expose the general public to the danger of being attacked. A community that is unprotected is vulnerable to threats that endanger their social stability. Equally armed civilians can play a role in taking out bad guys who are threatening peace. In essence, gun control measures are a step towards creating an unsafe society (Azrael, et al. 298). For instance, rich business people and the wealthy in society need to protect their wealth. If individuals do not protect their money and property, criminals will take advantage of the situation as the government might not offer enough security. As an initiative, gun control should be avoided to ensure that security among citizens is beefed up. It is difficult for the government to protect everyone at all times, given the different situations that require the attention of security agencies. As such, eliminating gun control measures enhances self-protection among citizens and reduces unnecessary attacks by criminals (Azrael, et al. 296). Law enforcement agencies should consider the need for self-defense and protection in the event of amending or formulating a gun control policy. For instance, when the society has fewer guns with the public hands, criminals might take advantage of the situation, which risks the security state of the community. More guns within the society mean that people fear attacking others since they own guns. To the research, arms on the public hand should be increased in a bid to reduce the high rates of crime within any setting (Lott 60). The study conducted by Lott illustrates the concept of deterrence theory in the use of weapons within the society. If the general public possesses more guns, then there is likelihood that crime rates can be reduced (Lott 50).

Culture and legislation within a society should form enough reason why the authorities are supposed to eliminate gun control measures. An example of a country that has a long history in gun culture and violence is the United States. For instance, the second amendment advocates for the right to protection and defense. The introduction of gun policy measures is seen as an infringement on the rights of an individual (Depetris-Chauvin 66). The contradiction between the law and gun policy has escalated into a heated argument that seems to find no agreement. In the history of the US, many people own guns with a view of protecting themselves as stipulated by the second amendment. The role of security agencies is to enforce the law, which includes the provisions of the second amendment. To some extent, one can argue that the gun culture is a significant contributor to the wave opposing gun control. However, some countries have high crime rates even after banning the use of handguns, which indicates that there is no need for more gun control policies. The second amendment is a provision that the law enforcement agencies must implement in their formulation of gun control measures (Blocher and Miller 295).

An increased number of guns among the public ensures more safety for citizens in a particular place. This is because the weapons serve as collateral that scares off possible criminals from attacking an individual. Besides self-defense, the handguns can help take out guys that are causing social instability (Depetris-Chauvin 66). Many homicide cases are reported daily due to gun violence. Leashing out guns to citizens in the society can help reduces cases of homicide. For instance, over 100 people are killed daily in the United States as a result of shootings. If, in any case, individuals were armed with handguns, then taking the shooters out can be possible. In the event of the formulation of gun control measures, consideration must be made to helpless teachers in schools who should protect their students during shootings. Individuals within the society without guns are at more risk of being attacked than those who are armed (Azrael, et al. 295). Authorities should consider eliminating legislation that restricts gun use in a bid to ensure that the society is safer. Gun control measures risk the safety of the population and, thereby, should be avoided. According to La Valle, policies are not the major problem in increased gun violence and the high rates of crime within society. The research focuses on two groups one that favors gun control policies and those that are against restrictions (La Valle 15). The group that supports the elimination of control policies argues that the weapons are used for self-protection. On the other hand, the group that advocates for licensing and implementation of control policies argues that laws will reduce homicide rates and, consequently, the crime rate in the society. The research asserts that recent mass-spree killings have prompted policymakers and other stakeholders to argue for the formulation of control policies or eliminate them. La Valle notes with concern the impact of no gun policy within the society (La Valle 2). However, he agrees to the fact that an armed society is safer than one that thrives in stringent gun control measures.

Counter Argument

Gun control is being opposed by many in the society who value self-defense and protection. However, it is also vital to examine whether gun control is justified or not. For instance, reduced gun control measures leave dangerous weapons under the control of the public. The result of such a move is increased crime rates and deaths. Many people suffer in the hands of guns, necessitating the need to find a long-lasting solution to the matter (Mahadevan 27). Reduced number of firearms in the public hand might guarantee a reduction in homicide cases and gun violence. Some incidents of shootings happen because the legislation allows people to own guns within the society. In essence, gun control measures can help reduce the cases of homicide and criminal activities. For instance, couples in a quarrel at home can argue to the extent of one shooting the other. Controlling the use of guns proves helpful in avoiding such cases that result in deaths within the community. Increased issuance of firearms to the public for protection ends up causing a situation where people can be attacked at any time (Mahadevan 6). This is because criminals can obtain the weapons from those licensed and use them to advance their malicious agenda.

Gun control is necessary since it reduces deaths as a result of gun violence within a society. The number of people who get killed daily as a result of gun violence is high, and there is a need to reduce mortalities related to guns. The mass shooting on the public claims the lives of many people within the society and leaves some injured. Those injured have to incur health costs, which none of them anticipated (Mahadevan 20). Consideration of such happenings can prompt society to implement laws that restrict the use of handguns within the population. Gun control policies can help maintain peace in third world economies where the weapons can be misused. If such societies are subjected to less legislation on gun use, there is a likelihood that the number of deaths as a result of shootings will increase. Such communities are better off with stringent gun policy as compared to lenient legislation that exposes many to risks. Threats to security as a result of increased issuance of handguns in the society should form a major basis for the introduction of stringent gun control measures (Mahadevan 10). As such, the gun policy should be made stringent in a bid to ensure that citizens have no weapons that risk the lives of others.

To sum it up, gun policy help reduce the number of weapons in the hands of the public. Gun control policies should be eliminated in the society to help promote self-defense and protection among citizens. An armed society is safer than one that has imposed stringent gun policy. When an individual is not armed, they easily get exposed to attacks that they should have avoided by owning a gun. Equally, culture and legislation within some societies have prompted less stringent gun control measures. An example of a society that suffers from increased gun violence is the United States. The imposition of strict rules does not guarantee the society safety as it makes citizens vulnerable to theft and unnecessary attacks that could have been avoided. Reducing gun control policies can help boost safety for the society in general, for criminals will fear attacking ordinary citizens. The research also focuses on possible reasons why people support gun policy. Gun control measures ensure that people are less exposed to dangers or killings. Equally, stringent gun policies lead to a consequential decrease in the number of homicide cases as a result of guns. Having considered both sides of the argument, it is only essential that gun control measures are eliminated.

Works Cited

Azrael, Deborah, et al. “Firearm storage in gun-owning households with children: results of a 2015 national survey.” Journal of urban health 95.3 (2018): 295-304.

Blocher, Joseph, and Darrell AH Miller. “What Is Gun Control: Direct Burdens, Incidental Burdens, and the Boundaries of the Second Amendment.” U. Chi. L. Rev. 83 (2016): 295.

Depetris-Chauvin, Emilio. “Fear of Obama: An empirical study of the demand for guns and the US 2008 presidential election.” Journal of Public Economics 130 (2015): 66-79.

Hsiao, Timothy. “Against Gun Bans and Restrictive Licensing.” Essays in Philosophy 16.2 (2015): 180-203.

La Valle, James M. “Gun control” vs.“self-protection”: A case against the ideological divide.” Justice Policy Journal 10.1 (2013): 1-26.

Lott, John R. More guns, less crime: Understanding crime and gun control laws . University of Chicago Press, 2013.

Mahadevan, Samyuktha. “A Comparative Analysis of Media and Legislative Rhetoric on Gun Control.” (2019).

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Gun Control — Opinion Against Gun Control: Why Gun Control Doesn’t Work

Opinion Against Gun Control: Why Gun Control Doesn't Work

Categories: American Government Gun Control

About this sample

Words: 971 |

Published: Dec 3, 2020

Words: 971 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited:

Dr. Zakir Naik. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/Dr-Zakir-Naik
Peace Propagation. (n.d.). Quran and Science of Zoology. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://www.peacepropagation.com/quran-and-science-of-zoology/
Moore, K. L. (n.d.). A Scientist's Interpretation of References to Embryology in the Quran.
The Key to Islam. (n.d.). Scientific Explanations from Quran - Oceans. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://www.thekeytoislam.com/en/scientific-explanations-quran-oceans
Peace Propagation. (n.d.). Quran and Science of Geology.

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Democracy at Gunpoint: American Gun Owners and Attitudes Towards Democracy

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Published: 06 September 2024

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Alexandra T. Middlewood ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5234-6511 1 ,
Rachel E. Finnell ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7834-0473 2 &
Abigail Vegter ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7005-8166 3

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In recent years, research on gun ownership has grown substantially but there has been less exploration of variation within gun owners. This study examines the differences in support for democracy between gun owners and non-gun owners, and in doing so makes an important contribution to the political science literature on group behavior and attitudes. We utilize OLS regression to analyze data from the 2020 American National Election Studies and 2016 General Social Survey public opinion surveys and find that there is a stark divide among gun owners on support for measures of democratic norms. Gun owners are more supportive than non-owners on some measures, but on others there was no relationship between owning a firearm and democratic attitudes. We suggest this is because partisanship—specifically support for Donald Trump—pulled gun owners’ attitudes in opposite directions. These results are consistent with previous work on cross-pressured voters and highlight the limits of group influence in a world where citizens have multiple identities. We conclude that gun owners don’t appear meaningfully different from non-owners on measures of democratic support.

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Introduction

While there is a worldwide decline in democracy and erosion of democratic norms, the US has historically exhibited some of the highest levels of support for democracy globally (Almond & Verba, 1963 ; Dahl, 1966 ; Inglehart & Welzel, 2010 ; Norris, 2011 ). There are also subgroups of Americans who may be more or less likely to support democracy. In the midst of a deadly global pandemic, peaceful but armed protests took place at the nation’s capitol and state houses across the country in the summer leading up to the 2020 presidential election, bringing about much discourse regarding support for democratic norms among Americans, as well as discussions about the role of guns in a democracy. Many pro-gun control organizations used this opportunity to discuss the threat firearms pose to American democracy. As a result of this discourse, popular rhetoric began to describe gun owning citizens as anti-democratic. This is a bold and unsubstantiated claim that requires an investigation into the democratic attitudes of gun owners. Owners are a distinctive political group of highly participatory citizens whose attitudes often dominate political discourse (Joslyn, 2020 ; Middlewood, 2021 ; Middlewood et al., 2019 ). Much of this political identity is attributed to gun culture (e.g. Lacombe et al., 2019 ; Mencken & Froese, 2019 ; Schwartz, 2021 ), which holds ownership as an essential pillar of democratic ideals. References to this democratic right consistently appear in firearms related gear like pro-gun t-shirts and bumper stickers, incorporating both patriotic elements and bits of the Constitution. These are simplistic, but convincing, reasons to delve deeper into this question—are gun owners less supportive of democratic norms than non-gun owners?

Considering gun culture’s emphasis on democracy and constitutional rights, we posit that gun owners as a group benefit from democracy and the protection of gun rights and therefore theoretically should be just as supportive of democratic norms as their non-gun owning peers; however there are instances where other identities may be more salient than gun ownership, thus creating attitudinal divisions within the group. We find gun owners are slightly more supportive of some measures of democratic norms than their non-gun owning counterparts, but do not appear to be substantially different in a meaningful way. On the measures where gun ownership has no statistical effect on democratic attitudes, it is because there is a stark division between gun owners who voted for Donald Trump and those who did not. We argue that on these democratic measures, partisan identity is more salient than gun ownership.

Our study is important for political science research on group behavior and attitudes and for researchers of gun owners broadly. We build upon the discipline’s existing literature on gun owners, which treats gun owners as a unique political group distinct in their behaviors and attitudes (see Joslyn, 2020 ). Footnote 1 Like many social groups, gun owners are not monolithic, they are influenced by a mix of drives and inclinations, including attitudes that may be divisive within the group itself. We find that there are noisy subgroups within gun owners that are responsible for the overriding impression of undemocratic values. The attitudes among gun owners that undermine democratic principles undeniably pose a real threat to American democracy, but should not be attributed to gun owners as a whole. By generalizing the attitudes which are portrayed by some subgroups within the larger whole, it can sometimes mask a more complicated truth. Gun owners are a prime example of this selection bias. Our study draws conclusions that not only contribute to research on gun owners, but also for the broader political science research regarding the behavior of political groups.

Importantly, this article approaches these questions from a foundation that America’s gun culture is rooted in widespread, lawful possession of firearms by a large segment of the population (see Yamane, 2017 ). Often, discussions of gun culture devolve into discussions of gun violence, and while gun violence is a serious problem in the US, a vast majority of lawful gun owners do not experience or perpetrate gun violence. Some would argue gun culture is better exemplified by the overarching position that “guns are normal and normal people use guns,” as coined by Yamane ( 2017 ).

Defining Democracy

Democracy is a system where “rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of the elected officials” (Schmitter & Karl 1991 , p. 76). It is in this public realm where “the making of collective norms that are binding on society [and] backed by state coercion” are formed (Schmitter & Karl 1991 , p. 77). Democratic norms and political culture emerge and ultimately make democracy possible . Without buy-in from the populace, democracy is little more than an idea. Thus, public support helps democracy survive (Easton, 1965 ; Lipset, 1959 ). We examine citizens’ values and attitudes towards the political system and towards the role of citizens in a democratic system, informed by what Almond and Verba ( 1963 ) call “political orientations—attitudes toward the political system and its various parts, and attitudes towards the role of self in the system” (13). Thus, support for democratic norms impacts the overall support of democracy and democratic institutions.

Democratic Political Culture

The importance of a democratic political culture in both old and new democracies is demonstrated in numerous studies (e.g. Booth & Richard, 2015 ; Dalton, 2004 ; Diamond, 1993 ; Inglehart, 1997 ; Norris, 2011 ; Rose, 1997 ; Seligson, 1994 ). In an ideal world, the majority of voters in a democracy would embrace a democratic political culture, recognizing that democratic principles extend beyond mere participation in elections. True integration into political processes, according to Azpuru ( 2023 ), is demonstrated by numerous factors: citizens' keen interest in actively engaging, exhibiting high levels of political efficacy, adhering to democratic norms in their behavior, and employing democratic means to express dissent and engage with elected representatives. While this type of participatory political culture is important for a democracy, we know gun owners participate in spades. Prior research shows that gun owners are strongly integrated into the political process; studies show that gun owners are more likely to vote than non-owners (e.g. Joslyn, 2020 ; Middlewood, 2021 ; Middlewood et al., 2019 ; Schwartz, 2021 ). Joslyn ( 2020 ) and Middlewood et al. ( 2019 ) suggest that gun owners are also more likely to pay attention to political news, engage in political discussions, and post about politics on social media. Additionally, Joslyn ( 2020 ), Middlewood ( 2021 ), and Middlewood et al. ( 2019 ) find that gun owners contact public officials, contribute money to political organizations, and sign political petitions more often than non-owners. All signs point to strong integration of gun owners in political processes.

However, as Azpuru ( 2023 ) notes, integration is not the only important dimension of democratic political culture. Integrated citizens must demonstrate allegiance to a democratic system by endorsing the principles, practices, institutions, and leaders of democracy, including the rejection of authoritarian principles (see Bratton & Mattes 2001 ; Mishler & Rose 2002 ). Put simply, upholding democracy as a comprehensive concept is a fundamental characteristic of individuals within a democratic political culture. These norms are instilled through political socialization, which involves ongoing interactions with other individuals or social groups throughout one's life (Azpuru, 2023 ). Prior studies show Americans largely support democracy and democratic norms (McClosky, 1964 ; Prothro & Grigg, 1960 ; Wike & Fetterolf, 2018 ) and elite opinion is generally unified in its support of democratic values (e.g. Chong et al., 1983 ). Thus, democratic values are built into the political culture of the United States at the individual, elite, and societal levels—much like gun culture. Scholars of political culture argue that the values, beliefs, and skills of the mass public have an important impact on democratic institutions and better predict the long-term stability of democracy than society’s level of democracy at any given point in time (Inglehart & Welzel, 2002 ). We suspect that the deep entrenchment of democratic norms in American gun culture influences gun owners’ attitudes towards democratic principles and practices, but that there may also be other motivating factors that may influence their democratic attitudes.

Notably, the meaning of democracy for individual citizens can be subject to motivated reasoning. Citizens who support a regime can claim to explicitly support democracy while simultaneously supporting undemocratic individuals and actions because those actions fit within citizens’ molded understanding of what democracy means (Bryan, 2023 ). For example, the issue of maintaining safety and security (see Adorno et al., 1950 ; Altemeyer, 1981 , 1996; Duckitt, 1989 ; Martin, 1964 ; Rokeach, 1960 ; Stenner, 2005 ), including aggressive responses to external threats (see Huddy et al., 2005 ; Perrin, 2005 ), has long been associated with authoritarian dispositions. To borrow phrasing from Stenner and Haidt ( 2018 ), “democracy does not breed democrats.” Citizens living in a liberal democracy like the United States are not necessarily supportive of democracy in all circumstances. Hyper partisanship and polarization can serve as a force for motivated reasoning and, as we will explore further in the following sections, influence citizens’ support for democracy.

Gun Culture & Democracy

Gun culture runs deep and is as old as the Republic. Its foundations began in the colonial, revolutionary, and early republican eras in the United States (Yamane, 2021 ). The United States is unique in being the “only modern industrial urban nation that persists in maintaining a gun culture” (Hofstadter, 1970 ). While contemporary gun ownership has taken on many symbolic meanings, historically, guns were tools necessary for hunting, self-defense, national defense, and symbols of citizenship (Yamane, 2021 ). As gun historian Clayton Cramer ( 2009 , p. 236) observed, firearms were “symbols of being a citizen with the duty to defend the society.” This earliest iteration of gun culture Footnote 2 espouses the potential need for citizens to take up arms and defend democratic freedoms, hence its enshrinement in the Second Amendment.

While American gun culture has evolved significantly, the contemporary version incorporates all of the earlier iterations of gun cultures in our history—Yamane ( 2019 ) asserts that the United States has gun cultures (plural) rather than culture (singular). Thus, the core of Gun Culture 0.0 still resonates with firearms enthusiasts today. Guns remain a symbol of democracy and freedom for many owners. Many gun rights supporters argue that an armed citizenry is “a final, emergency bulwark against tyranny” (French, 2018 ) and that gun ownership is an essential component of democratic citizenship (Burbick, 2006 ). Ownership allows individuals to consciously commit to what they perceive as the “American way,” which includes strong patriotism and citizenship that values civic engagement (Kohn, 2004 ). For many owners, guns are a tangible expression of patriotic citizenship. Gun culture and American political culture’s foundational values of freedom, self-determination, and civic responsibility overlap (Joslyn, 2020 ). Kristin Goss perfectly sums up this reality in her 2013 Newsweek op-ed “Why We Need to Talk About Guns Goss ( 2013 ):”

Gun politics is not simply about differences on policy proposals. Gun politics is about what it means to be a good American. It’s personal. Even gun owners who don’t belong to the NRA believe, as my dad did, that gun ownership is a civic virtue, a hallmark of American self-reliance and duty… for gun owners, ownership is evidence of their civic spirit.

Ideals of citizenship and civic duty are ingrained in the very foundation of American gun ownership, fundamental to gun owners’ perceived role in society, and upheld through their political behavior. Owners often perceive themselves as model citizens by carrying a firearm and fulfill these claims by consistently engaging in the political process, suggesting that they should care about the health of democracy—or are at least strongly motivated to uphold democratic practices that allow them to pursue their own political interests.

This is not to say all gun owners have the same attitudes on every issue. There is a mix of drives and inclinations within any political group. Meaningful variance has been found across social contexts, even within the same identity group (see Djupe & Lewis, 2015 ). We expect gun owners to elucidate this heterogeneity just as well as other political groups. Individuals hold a wide range of distinct and potentially overlapping identities and these are important drivers of political attitudes and actions. Individuals can identify with multiple groups and thus may be mobilized toward different political ends (Margolis, 2018 ). Lacombe et al. ( 2019 ) find gun ownership to be a social and political identity that influences behavior, though other studies show gun ownership is not the only salient identity that can shape citizens’ political attitudes. Gun owners are multifaceted and there is significant variance among gun owners based on gender (Middlewood, 2019 ; Middlewood et al., 2019 ), partisanship (Yamane et al., 2021 ), race (Bowen et al., 2023 ), age (Vegter & Middlewood, 2023 ), and geographic region (Ellison, 1991 ; Middlewood, 2021 ). We suspect gun ownership shapes citizens’ attitudes on democracy, but that it is not the only salient identity in owners’ opinion formation.

Identity Effects

Many scholars of gun politics tend to view gun owners as a homogenous group shaped by the values foundational to gun culture, but this could not be further from reality. Approximately 75 million heterogeneous Americans own firearms. In fact, gun ownership is becoming increasingly diverse with distinct subgroups—for example, gun ownership includes a growing population of liberal gun owners (Yamane et al., 2021 ), women gun owners (Kelley, 2022 ; Middlewood, 2019 ; Middlewood et al., 2019 ); Black women gun owners (Bowen et al., 2023 ); young gun owners (Vegter & Middlewood, 2023 ); and rural gun owners (Middlewood, 2021 ). Thus, gun ownership, like other large political groups, is full of competing identities and political divisions that can pull gun owners in various attitudinal directions.

Different types of gun owners may be prone to varying levels of support for democratic norms. One might consider how the Foa et al. ( 2020 ) finds that young people in the United States are increasingly dissatisfied with democracy, while Vegter and Middlewood ( 2023 ) note that gun ownership matters more as an identity to young gun owners in the United States. Therefore, this distinct subgroup—while small compared to gun owners as a whole—may reject some of the democratic ideals embedded in mainstream gun culture in effort to elevate their ownership in their personal hierarchies of values. Additionally, women gun owners experience their gender differently than their non-owning counterparts and participate in politics at higher rates (Middlewood et al., 2019 ). Given their increased participation, they may experience increased political efficacy and greater support for the system within which they participate. Though first researchers must establish the nuanced attitudes among gun owners as a whole in considering their support for democracy, further analysis of these subgroups may lead to interesting insights—especially on how these different gun cultures may lead to varying levels of support for democracy among gun owners in the United States.

Partisan Effects

It is unrealistic to expect gun owners to form political opinions in a social vacuum (see Mutz, 2013 ). Public opinion on government policy has long been group-centric and is strongly influenced by the attitudes citizens possess toward groups that are perceived to benefit from certain policies (Nelson & Kinder, 1996 ). Additionally, every public issue is contested and partisan elites attempt to impose their own meaning on the issue at hand (see Gamson, 1992 ; Gamson & Lasch, 1983 ; Gamson & Modigliani, 1987 , 1989 ).

As with all political attitudes, the saliency of pro-democracy attitudes cultivated by gun culture could potentially be affected by external influences like partisanship and elite framing. As Joslyn ( 2020 ) notes, pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) astutely exploit the belief that gun ownership is an important element of democratic citizenship. While only 4.3 million of the 75 million gun-owning Americans belong to the NRA and its influence in the gun-owning community has been rapidly declining over the past decade (Mak, 2021 ), the organization still has a large influence on gun politics. The NRA’s advocacy frequently activates the public’s distrust of government and celebrates the Second Amendment as the one thing standing against a tyrannical government. In fact, the NRA refers to the right to bear arms as “America’s first freedom,” because it protects all other civil liberties found in the Bill of Rights (Cook & Goss, 2014 , p. 158). This protection against a tyrannical government and the “first freedom” description are prime examples of how, when framed in a particular way, some gun owners may lean into anti-government sentiments if and when it is politically beneficial to do so. The NRA’s tactics to politically mobilize gun owners, while seemingly democratic on the surface, are harmful and weaken democracy because the organization relies on fear-based mobilization (Lacombe, 2021b ). Often, the frames used by elites permeate public discussions of politics, teach supporters how to think about and understand complex political problems, and influence public opinion (Nelson & Kinder, 1996 ). Thus, NRA tactics make compromise less achievable, contribute to polarization and the delegitimization of political opponents, encourage politicians to violate long-standing norms, and ultimately reduce democratic accountability and responsiveness (Lacombe, 2021b ). This approach has increased affective polarization among some gun owners, portraying gun enthusiasts as patriotic defenders of American heritage and its enemies (usually gun-control supporters) as villains. Lacombe ( 2021b ) argues that the NRA’s use of fear-motivated group identity has been magnified by the group’s rising prominence within the Republican Party, especially during Donald Trump’s presidency, expanding from its members to broader swaths of the gun-owning and conservative electorates. For example, the NRA frequently vilifies not only gun-control supporters, but also the Democratic Party and the media (Lacombe, 2021b ). This raises important questions about partisan effects on gun owners’ commitment to democracy.

There is contradicting literature on the relationship between partisanship and citizens’ commitment to democratic norms. Numerous studies show that for many Americans, partisanship can take precedence over a commitment to democratic values (e.g. Albertus & Grossman, 2021 ; Berliner, 2022 ; Carey et al., 2020 ; Graham & Svolik, 2020 ) and some aspects of supporting democracy, notably those that deal with the power and rules of government, are subject to change based on the appeal of partisan gain (Bryan, 2023 ). On the other hand, Holliday et al. ( 2024 ) find that while partisan elites have increasingly eroded democracy, citizens of both parties remain staunchly opposed to violations of democratic norms, even when their own representatives engage in anti-democratic actions, including election denialism. Their analysis found that commitment to democratic norms is not a matter of partisanship, but, importantly, Americans may broadly support the tenets of democracy but they are simultaneously willing to support elected officials who do not.

The relationship between gun ownership and partisanship is complicated. For some gun owners, party ID and gun ownership may be reinforcing identities, but still others face a difficult trade off on which identity is the most salient in a given context. Gun ownership predicts support for Republican candidates in presidential (Joslyn et al., 2017 ), gubernatorial (Gimpel, 1998 ), and congressional (Joslyn, 2020 ) elections. However, gun ownership is distinct from partisanship on a number of behavioral and attitudinal measures (Joslyn, 2020 ). From 2004 to 2016, for example, Joslyn ( 2020 ) found gun owners expressed surprising variation in their feelings towards presidential candidates. In 2016, 61% of gun owners may have cast their ballot for Donald Trump, but he was also the only Republican presidential candidate in two decades to be rated unfavorably by a majority of gun owners in ANES survey data. On a feeling thermometer from 0 to 100, over 20% of gun owners rated him at a 0 (very unfavorable), 4% at a 50 (neither favorable or unfavorable), and only 6% at 100 (very favorable). For comparison, in 2008, 10% of gun owners rated Barack Obama at a very favorable 100.

Citizens’ support for democracy may also be specifically molded by politically salient issues (Bryan, 2023 )—like gun ownership, partisanship, or a particular presidential candidate. Arguments that highlight salient identities may activate group sentiments that then become the dominant lens in which individuals evaluate issues and form attitudes (Nelson & Kinder, 1996 ). This can easily crowd out other identity-based considerations or potentially strongly reinforce one identity-based issue when a second identity is in alignment.

When social and partisan identities are made salient in a political environment, complicating how individuals form opinions (see McCabe, 2022 ), citizens have to confront multiple, often competing, frames for interpreting political issues and events. Klar ( 2013 ) finds that when one identity is salient, it has undue influence over preferences, even in the presence of a competing identity. In competitive information environments, citizens tend to align their positions with the stronger identity (Chong & Druckman, 2007 ). Thus, they are forced to make a trade off in deciding which identity or group alliance is more important in a given context. For example, gun ownership may be crowded out by partisan identity when measuring support for democracy, if partisanship is the individual’s more salient identity. Alternatively, gun ownership and partisanship may be reinforcing identities in some contexts. In practice, this means that gun owners—like members of all identity groups—may take an à la carte approach to democracy, picking and choosing which elements of democracy to support based on the particular identity that is salient at the moment. The goal of this study is not to determine the causal mechanism of gun owners’ support for democracy. Instead, we analyze support for democratic norms by a powerful political group while acknowledging the complexity of the individual calculi of gun owners in particular.

Data and Methods

To test the relationship between gun ownership and democratic support using OLS regression analysis, we utilize the 2020 wave of the American National Election Studies (ANES; N = 5441) and the 2016 wave of the General Social Survey (GSS; N = 5901) public opinion surveys. Both surveys were conducted before the years’ respective presidential elections from nationally representative samples of American adults.

Measuring Democracy

Our dependent variables test support for diverse measures of democracy. The literature surrounding support for democracy is broad and robust; measuring democratic attitudes has been shown to predict prospects for democracy (Claassen, 2020a ; Inglehart & Welzel, 2005 ; Qi & Shin, 2011 ), as well as impact individual voting behavior (Booth & Seligson, 2009 ; Gunther et al., 2007 ) and other forms of political participation (Bakule, 2021 ). In this study, we will measure diffuse support for democracy (see Easton, 1975 ), which focuses on citizen support for the political community and democratic regime. By focusing on diffuse support, we attempt to highlight support for principles of democratic governance while avoiding measuring specific support for or satisfaction with the government of the day, its leaders, and its policies. As Linde and Ekman ( 2003 ) find, questions that pertain to satisfaction with democracy Footnote 3 do not accurately capture support for the basic political arrangements of democracy, we therefore utilize measures of two key elements of democracy (and democratic survival) outlined by Mainwaring ( 2022 ): first, normative preference and commitment to democracy by political actors, which can help sustain democracy even in difficult circumstances. Second, the existence of institutions that serve as constraints on executive power—for example, checks and balances between the legislative branch and executive branch is fundamental in presidential systems. Both normative preferences and institutions are essential to understanding democratic support (Mainwaring, 2022 ; Norris, 1999 ). Our primary focus is on the support of democratic norms and their application in a democracy. Numerous studies conceptualize democratic norms and support for democracy in this way (e.g. Anderson et al., 2021 ; Welzel, 2007 ). While the measures in this study are bound to publicly available data and thus pose some limitations, utilizing a battery of questions allows us to account for multiple elements in respondents’ support for democracy without them needing to make tradeoffs (see Norris, 2011 ; Welzel, 2011 ). In choosing our measures, we use two of Norris’ ( 1999 ) three dimensions of democracy Footnote 4 : support for the principles of democratic regimes and support for the institutions of representative democracy. These operationalizations are typical of studies that assess democratic support using survey questions (see Claassen, 2020a ) and with the literature on perceptions on democracy by the populace (see Anderson et al., 2021 ; Welzel, 2007 ). Though, we acknowledge that there are some limitations to our conclusions based on the measures we chose. Namely, we measure support for democracy in the abstract while it is entirely possible that individuals may support these abstract sentiments while holding conflicting views about threats to democracy in practice, especially in a country with growing affective polarization (see Bryan, 2023 ; Schedler & Sarsfield, 2007 ). Our focus on threats to democracy relies on respondents connecting concrete threats to examples of these threats, but we acknowledge that these connections may not always be at the forefront of a respondent’s mind when answering these questions. Even so, we believe our findings accurately capture perceptions of democratic norms broadly. These limitations and our findings reinforce the need for continued research on political groups and their overall perceptions of democratic norms.

The first set of ANES variables concern support for democratic norms. We use survey questions to assess support for checks and balances, consequences for elected officials that engage in misconduct, agreement on verifiable facts, the harmfulness of a strong presidency that isn’t constrained by Congress and the courts, and the appropriateness of a president investigating political rivals. Footnote 5 All dependent variables are coded so that higher values indicate higher levels of support for democratic norms. We consider all five questions to be distinct and therefore consider them separately.

We also analyze two dependent variables from the 2016 GSS survey that measure support for democratic norms in the form of civil liberties—organizing public meetings and organizing public demonstrations against the government. Footnote 6 While we find the inclusion of GSS useful, it does have some limitations compared to ANES. Most prominently, it is a much smaller sample and also does not contain a measure of who respondents voted for in the 2016 presidential election. As such, the GSS data is excluded entirely from the second half of this analysis.

The second set of ANES dependent variables pertains to a free press, which is an essential institution in democracies. We measure support for restricting journalists’ access to information about government decision-making, concern for undermining the news media’s ability to serve as a check on government power and a general trust in the media variable. This last variable does not measure a free press, but does provide important insights into the results of the first two measures. As with our previous dependent variables, higher values indicate higher support for a free press and we consider both questions to be distinct and therefore consider them separately.

Independent Variables and Controls

Our main independent variable captures gun ownership as a dummy variable, comparing gun owners with non-owners. Gun owners make up 40.65% of the ANES sample. As noted, gun owners are a diverse group and these datasets account for this variance. In the ANES data, 46% of gun owners identified as women, over a third as Democrats, and 43% did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. In GSS, gun owners make up 22% of the sample; the partisan breakdown was about the same, with 35% of gun owners identifying as Democrats. However, the GSS sample had significantly less gender diversity; only 30% of gun owners in the sample were women.

There are a myriad of factors that may influence attitudes toward democratic norms and therefore, we control for: age, race, gender, education level, partisanship, evangelical identification, partisan strength, community type, and geographic region. All control variables were measured the same, regardless of whether they were from ANES or GSS, and are detailed in the Appendix.

Our theory hinges on the relationship between gun ownership and support for democratic norms and institutions. We hypothesize that gun owners will be more supportive of democratic norms than their non-owning counterparts. To test this, we first look at support for democratic norms. Table 1 shows that gun owners are more likely to support checks and balances than non-gun owners, believe that elected officials are deserving of consequences for misconduct, and believe it is important for Americans to agree on basic facts even when they disagree politically. These relationships have weak coefficients, but are statistically significant.

There was no significant relationship between gun ownership and the belief that it would be helpful if the president was not restricted by Congress and the courts or the assessment of appropriateness for a president to investigate a political rival. Unlike the other democratic measures, we suspect that these particular scenarios trigger partisan saliency. Both of these variables are strongly connected to specific actions of former-president Donald Trump. Throughout his presidency, Trump routinely made large-scale unilateral decisions that further eroded the US system of checks and balances (Goldgeier & Saunders, 2018 ) and positioned himself as an authoritarian leader (Kellner, 2018 ). Footnote 7 Furthermore, attitudes toward the appropriateness of investigating political rivals could be interpreted as a preference for Trump’s actions when he called upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Trump’s political rival Joe Biden. While gun owners are quickly becoming more diverse in their political views, they have historically been more likely to support Donald Trump (Joslyn, 2020 ), Republicans in general (Gimpel, 1998 ; Joslyn, 2020 ; Joslyn et al., 2017 ), and to be responsive to presidential partisanship (Ratcliff, 2022 ). Thus, gun owners may be divided on these measures, pulled in opposite directions based on support for the former president and his actions. Trump-supporting gun owners may be unwilling to condemn anti-democratic actions given their particular affinity for the former president, while those who didn’t support Trump may find these actions unacceptable. We explore this further in the second part of this analysis.

Older Americans, whites, men, the college educated, Democrats, liberals, strong partisans, urban and suburban dwellers, and non-Southerners are also more supportive of these democratic measures, as shown in Table 1 . The compelling findings from Table 1 are that gun owners don’t appear to be all that meaningfully different from non-owners in their support for democratic norms. While some measures do show statistical significance, the coefficients are fairly weak.

Table 2 displays the GSS models analyzing gun owners’ support for civil liberties via protest rights. In both models, gun ownership predicts support for democratic protests against the government. These relationships, though consistent with the pro-democracy elements of gun culture, have fairly small coefficients suggesting gun ownership has a weak effect. Thus, gun owners once again do not appear all that meaningfully different from non-owners.

Furthermore, unlike the models in Table 1 , younger people are significantly more favorable of meetings and demonstrations that protest the government. This is perhaps because young people are significantly more likely to protest than take part in other political activities (e.g. Campbell, 2013 ; Moeller et al., 2014 ).

When it comes to the media, gun owners are far less consistent in their support of a free press. As displayed in Table 3 , there is no significant relationship between gun ownership and the belief that media should be free to criticize the government without restriction nor the belief that media should not be undermined in its service as a check on government power. Gun owners do, however, display lower levels of trust in the media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly compared to non-owners, though there is once again a small coefficient. This significance may be a result of a perceived anti-gun bias in reporting and editorializing from many mainstream media outlets. Democrats, liberals, whites, the highly educated, and urban and suburban residents consistently support a free press, while older Americans, men, and strong partisans show various levels of support for media freedoms.

The media’s importance in a democracy is undeniable; providing citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2021 ; Strömbäck, 2005 ). However, as these results demonstrate, opinions of and trust in the media has become extremely polarized in recent years, indicating that not all Americans continue to see the media—or at least the media in its current form—as a key democratic institution. We suspect these measures, similar to the two in Table 1 , pull gun owners in opposite directions because of the partisan divides made salient by former-president Trump’s vocal and ongoing criticism of the news media (see Meeks, 2020 ). For example, during his speech at the NRA’s annual meeting in 2019, Trump drew loud applause when he attacked the media as “fake” and Lacombe ( 2021b ) finds that NRA members are significantly more likely to say that the media prevents political leaders from doing their job.

A free press is of little democratic use if citizens do not trust the news, which the third model in Table 3 suggests gun owners do not, though once again with a small coefficient. Modern media criticism is often spurred by political ideologies (Gunther, 1988 ) and certain worldviews (Fawzi, 2019 ) and it's undeniable that public trust in the media has rapidly declined over the past four decades. Gallup reports that in the period between 1972 and 2016, public trust in the media declined from 72% at its height, to just 32%. Lewis ( 2020 ) suggests that broad distrust of journalism today is due to the institutional weakness of the press, which was arguably weakened further during the Trump administration. Some research suggests lack of trust in news media is correlated to less use of mainstream media and greater use of non-traditional information sources (see Kalogeropoulos et al., 2019 ; Mourão et al., 2018 ). We believe this explanation makes the most sense in the context of gun owners. Further research along this avenue is warranted, but is beyond the scope of this article.

As evidenced in Tables 1 and 3 , there are a variety of democratic measures for which gun ownership broadly does not predict support. These survey questions measure different democratic norms upon which gun owners seem to hold contradictory views. We suspect this is because, for some gun owners, these survey questions make partisan Footnote 8 identity salient. Citizens often become more supportive of anti-democratic actions when their preferred political side can benefit. Individual interpretations of democracy can mold to fit one’s partisan self-interest. For example, citizens may emphasize the need for a strong president, and obey such authority, when their preferred party is in power. This results in an à la carte approach to democracy where gun owners may piecemeal an understanding of democracy that fits their partisan self-interest.

We believe partisanship was likely made salient because these survey questions pertain to aspects of democratic norms that had been regularly politicized and attacked by Donald Trump throughout his presidency. Thus, results reflect a partisan division beyond standard party identification, ideology, and partisan strength, which are all controlled for in the models. The NRA also became deeply intertwined with the GOP and conservative politics during the Trump presidency, including in the vilification of political rivals. For example, at the 2018 meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Wayne LaPierre, the former long-time CEO and vice president of the NRA, stated that the Democratic Party is “now infested with saboteurs who don’t believe in capitalism, don’t believe in the Constitution, don’t believe in our freedom, and don’t believe in America as we know it.” (Goodwin 2018 )

To test the impact of partisanship on gun owners’ support for democratic norms, we broke down the subset of gun owners further and compared gun owners who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 to gun owners who did not—i.e. those who voted for Joe Biden or a third party or independent candidate. 57% of gun owners in the ANES sample voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, while 43% did not. Of the gun owners who did vote for Trump, around 75% are over forty years old, nearly 90% are white, 55% identify as men, 40% have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 90% identify as a Republican. Though, it is notable that 10% of Republican gun owners did not vote for Trump, which is higher than the typical partisan defection. Concerning gun owners who did not vote for Trump, 30% are under forty, 73% are white, 40% identify as male, 54% have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and only around 14% are Republican—a much more diverse group.

Table 4 displays the results of the analysis assessing democratic norm support among Trump-voting gun owners. On these measures, where gun owners did not differ from non-owners in previous models, Trump-voting gun owners were significantly less likely to express support for democratic norms than gun owners who voted for an alternative candidate. The models in Table 4 show Trump-voting gun owners are less concerned about institutional checks on presidential power and think it’s appropriate for a president to ask foreign leaders to investigate political rivals. In measures of a free press, gun owners were only united in their shared distrust of media, but when we look at subgroups, Trump-voting gun owners are far less supportive of a free press than their non-Trump-voting counterparts. The models in Tables 4 and 5 all have fairly large coefficients, suggesting strong relationships between Trump-voting gun owners and anti-democratic sentiments. These results provide some necessary nuance to the results in Tables 1 and 3 . Gun owners as a group are not united in their support for all measures of democratic norms. They, like members of other political groups, face cross pressures that can be mobilized to different political ends.

Furthermore, we ran additional models with interaction variables to test the relationships, shown in Tables 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 and 9 . We first tested the effect of the interaction between Republican attachment and gun ownership Footnote 9 on support for democratic norms and found no significant relationship. The results show that being a gun-owning Republican has no significant effect on an individual’s support for any of the democratic norm measures used in this study. The single model that does show a significant effect of this interaction is trust in the media. Unsurprisingly based on the literature and previous models, gun-owning Republicans are significantly less likely to trust the media (p > 0.035, b = − 0.126). To continue testing the relationship between partisanship and gun ownership, we ran additional models to determine if the interaction between Trump-voting and gun ownership yielded similar results. Footnote 10 There was no significant effect across all measures save one. On the appropriateness of investigating political rivals, Trump-voting gun ownership approaches significance (p > 0.083) but has a small negative coefficient (b = − 0.072). In this model, gun ownership alone is not significant, while Trump vote is and has a fairly large negative coefficient (p > 0.000; b = − 0.449). In every model, Trump vote on its own is significant with fairly large negative coefficients.

We ran additional robustness checks to investigate collinearity in these models and included them in the Appendix. By including partisanship, ideology, and partisan strength as controls in the Trump-Gun Owner models, collinearity was possible. In these robustness checks we re-ran all of the Trump-Gun Owner models three times: using only party ID as a control, only ideology as a control, and both ideology and partisan strength as a control. No significant differences were found in the results.

These findings suggest that gun-owning Trump voters are not unique compared to the rest of the population on any democratic measures. While support for Donald Trump leads gun owners towards less democratic sentiments than other gun owners, that un-democraticness seems to be largely drowned out when compared to the population as a whole. This is a positive discovery for American democracy, suggesting that while a subset of gun owners may be inclined to support democratic backsliding, they are a fairly small part of the greater population.

However, it also of concern that when the issue of gun rights is made salient by the Republican Party and/or its candidates—a group which has engaged in practices of questionable democratic nature in recent years Footnote 11 —it could potentially activate owners’ undemocratic sentiments in response. We cannot test this directly, but using an additional ANES variable on ease of access to firearms, we find that there does not seem to be a connection between support for gun rights among the gun owning sample and anti-democratic sentiments. Tables 10 and 11 examine the democratic sentiments of gun owners that favor gun rights (i.e. those that want to make it easier to access firearms) and we find that there is no significant relationship. Gun owners who support stronger gun rights are not more or less democratic than the rest of the population, suggesting that strong support for gun rights—like that found in the NRA and Republican Party—does not necessarily lead gun owners to support undemocratic actions. In fact, gun owners (independent from the interaction with gun rights) remain more likely to support more than half of our democracy measures. On investigating rivals and both measures of a free press, gun owners are not significant, so they do not differ from the non-owning population. Whereas, on five of the seven measures, supporters of stronger gun rights (regardless of ownership) are less likely to support the democratic norm. It seems, then, that gun rights and gun ownership are not mutually exclusive in their effect on support for democratic norms. We cannot make causal statements from these findings, but they do pose questions about gun owners’ potential for undemocratic sentiments if they may perceive gun rights as being under threat. Further research along this avenue is warranted.

Discussion & Conclusion

We believe these findings will surprise many. Our analysis contributes to the growing research on gun owners by showing that this group is not monolithic. Owners face a mix of drives and inclinations, like any other political group. Some gun owners may be more authoritarian—and perhaps even more forceful, and less civil—while others may go about their advocacy in ways that are fully consistent with standard democratic norms. While gun owners as a subgroup of citizens may be important to the durability of American democracy in some aspects, they are also a diverse group whose support for democracy may at times be undermined by other political factors. As Goodman ( 2022 ) highlights, recognizing and responding to democratic threats can be confusing and potentially conflicting for individuals who want to be both good partisans and good citizens. It seems as if some gun owners experienced this internal conflict in 2020, and political preference rather than democratic citizenship was more salient for some owners.

Our findings support Lacombe’s ( 2021a , 2021b ) argument that these negative impacts on democracy are magnified by the NRA’s increased influence in the Republican Party during the Trump presidency. Akin to this finding, recent research by Wintemute et al. ( 2024 ) found “MAGA Republicans” are more likely to endorse political violence. Considering Wintemute et al.’s ( 2024 ) results and discourse around gun owners and the January 6th insurrection, we believe measuring gun owners’ attitudes on measures of political violence would be a fruitful avenue for future research. We do not include these measures in this article because conceptions of democracy do not typically include measures of political violence (see Coppedge et al., 2011 ), most academic studies on support for democracy do not include political violence measures (e.g. Anderson et al., 2021 ; Bloom & Arikan, 2012 ; Claassen, 2020a , 2020b ; Graham & Svolik, 2020 ; Magalhães, 2007 ; Svolik, 2019 ; Welzel, 2007 ). When studies have included measures of violence, it is typically violent crime, not political violence (e.g. Claassen & Magalhães, 2022 ).

The findings in this article make an important contribution to the political science literature on group behavior and attitudes. We find that neither popular narrative—that gun owners are a pillar of American democracy nor that gun owners are inherently anti-democratic—is supported. In most instances, gun owners and non-owners are not meaningfully different from each other in their democratic support. Gun owners, like other political identity groups, are not homogenous and with that diversity comes variance in attitudes towards important democratic norms. These results are consistent with previous work and highlight the limits of group influence in a world where citizens have multiple identities. As our results suggest, partisan cues that threaten a particular identity may be strong enough to change opinions. It is also possible these cues may encourage group members to act on such opinions. Future research should dig deeper into these nuances.

As gun owners become increasingly diverse, future studies like ours will allow scholars to better understand gun owners’ varying preferences for how our democratic system should operate. Especially considering the ways in which citizens understand democracy can impact their political participation (see Canache, 2012 ; Oser & Hooghe, 2018 ). Those with high support for democracy are more likely to be active in politics, which in this case could mean that pro-democracy gun owners are those that are the most participatory of an already highly participatory group. However, as more diverse citizens purchase firearms, it could also impact the group’s levels of political participation. Individuals who have conflicting pressures—coming from competing identities such as partisanship, religion, class, and social status—vote at lower rates, delay making decisions about which candidates to support, and are generally less politically involved (Berelson et al., 1954 ; Campbell et al., 1960 ), and are less knowledgeable (Hutchings, 2001 ) relative to those without such cross pressures.

Advanced democracies generally do not experience rapid democratic backsliding, instead they undergo a gradual erosion of democracy through small, layered changes that add up over time (Goodman, 2022 ). Our findings highlight the variance within political groups that can have important implications for this reality. Multifaceted groups can contain subgroups that support democracy and those that are more inclined toward authoritarianism. Gun owners are a prime example of the tensions that can exist within political groups. Researchers should remain cognisant of these assorted attitudes within broader groups as they can contribute to the spread of anti-democratic sentiments and may expedite this gradual erosion. Though simultaneously, gun owners’ slight inclination towards pro-democracy attitudes and high levels of political participation may have the potential to help brace American liberal democracy through the current period of erosion—lending credence to the popular idea that “guns are a ‘small d’ democratic weapon”. Footnote 12

This article further supports the need for researchers to take a normality approach to studying gun owners. Gun owners are extraordinarily ordinary within the sphere of political groups. Gun owners, like other political identity groups, are diverse in their values, ambitions, and advocacy practices, and are remarkably similar to non-owners in their democratic attitudes.

Data Replication

Data for replication purposes are stored on Harvard’s Dataverse. ANES: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/DDOIOW . GSS: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/L3B79K .

We purposefully avoid labeling gun owners as an issue public or issue advocacy group as not all gun owners strongly identify as such socially and politically, and therefore do not meet Converse ( 1964 ) and Ryan and Ehlinger’s ( 2023 ) criteria for such labels. A pro-gun issue public or advocacy group would consist of gun owners who strongly favor gun rights and care deeply about the issue, which is not the case for all gun owners.

Sometimes known as Gun Culture 0.0.

For example, the 2020 ANES survey asks the question “On the whole, are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied, or not at all satisfied with the way democracy works in the United States?” but we do not include this question in our analysis.

We do not utilize Norris’ ( 1999 ) second dimension, assessing the performance of the regime in practice because questions that directly ask about satisfaction with democracy are closely associated with presidential approval ratings (see Azpuru 2024 ).

See Appendix for all survey question wording and variable coding.

We include analysis of the GSS data for three primary reasons: First, the ANES survey does not ask questions about protest, which is an important civil liberty in democratic regimes. Second, GSS provides separate measures of personal gun ownership and home gun ownership, while ANES only provides home gun ownership. Third, including the GSS data allows us to validate our ANES findings with those from another dataset in the same general time period—though, admittedly, the state of democracy in the United States was slightly better in 2016 than it was in 2020; FreedomHouse gave the United States a score of 86 out of 100 in 2020, 90 in 2016, and 83 in 2024.

The phenomenon of elected leaders claiming to support democracy while simultaneously attacking the very democratic institutions that brought them to power is not unique to the United States and it has broadly characterized the global “third wave of autocratization” (Lührmann and Lindberg 2019 ).

While we use the term “partisan” here, we specifically mean support for Donald Trump and acknowledge that there were Republicans who did not vote for Trump in both 2016 and 2020.

Comparing gun-owning Republicans to all non-owners and gun owners who are not Republican.

The 2016 GSS data does not include a presidential vote variable and therefore we do not test this interaction for the organizing meetings and demonstrations variables.

In 2018 (the most recent year available), the V-Dem Institute labeled the Republican Party as high on the anti-pluralism index, giving the party a score of 0.719 on the scale from 0-1, with 1 being the highest possible score.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Brian Hanson (Wayne State College) for the insightful feedback on an earlier project that sparked the idea for this article. We also thank Mark Joslyn (University of Kansas) and Dinorah Azpuru (Wichita State University) for providing advice and guidance throughout the writing and publishing process.

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Jennifer Lockman. Writing against gun control essay follows the basic steps of an argumentative essay. The paper begins with an introduction which highlights what the entire essay will be about. Then, three body paragraphs follow: the second paragraph presents the first supporting reason; the third gives the second supporting argument, whereas ...
Gun Control Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas
Beyond the immediate arguments for and against gun control, your essay should delve into the broader implications of the topic. This includes examining how gun control policies affect different communities, the relationship between gun rights and public safety, and the cultural and political factors that influence the gun control debate.
Gun Control
History of Gun Control Laws. Gun control laws are just as old or older than the Second Amendment (ratified in 1791). Some examples of gun control throughout colonial America included criminalizing the transfer of guns to Catholics, enslaved people, indentured servants, and Native Americans; regulating the storage of gun powder in homes; banning loaded guns in Boston houses; and mandating ...
Arguments Against Gun Control Laws: [Essay Example], 1104 words
The argument of self-defense is the oppositions leading argument against gun control. They even believe that teachers and students should be armed in schools. The National Firearms Act of 1934 was the first gun control law that was passed in the United States. The NFA was created because of the increase in mafia crimes in the early 20th century ...
Gun Control Essay Writing Guide with Examples
Learn how to write a gun control essay with this guide that covers definitions, goals, topics, structure, and tips. Find examples of titles and arguments for both pro and con positions on gun control.
PDF Argumentative Essay On Gun Control
In one side of the debate, there are individuals. who favor having restrictions placed over guns. On the other hand, there are individuals who are. opposed to regulating and controlling guns. The individuals against gun control mainly consider. controlling guns will not solve the existing challenges created by guns such as crimes or mass.
Persuasive Essay About Gun Control
The time for action is now, and we must work together to advocate for and support stricter gun control laws. Here is another example of a persuasive essay on pro-gun control: The Urgent Need for Stricter Gun Control. Gun violence is a pressing issue that demands immediate action. Implementing stricter gun control laws is essential to reduce the ...
Gun Control Argumentative Essay: Points For and Against
Gun control is among the most popular topics. In fact, some instructors are against writing an argumentative or persuasive essay on the topic of gun control.. In the wake of mass shooting, there have been debates and controversies, with people in one camp supporting stricter gun control laws, while those in the other camp fighting against the enforcement of these laws with everything they own.
Gun Control Thesis Statement: [Essay Example], 1300 words
The Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. To truly understand the debate on gun control, we must first look at the historical context of the Second Amendment. Enshrined in the United States Constitution, the Second Amendment was originally intended to ensure the right of citizens to bear arms as a means of self-defense and protection ...
Gun Control, Explained
By The New York Times. Published Jan. 26, 2023 Updated Jan. 26, 2023. As the number of mass shootings in America continues to rise, gun control — a term used to describe a wide range of ...
Essay on Against Gun Control
Essay on Against Gun Control. Introduction. Gun violence is on the rise in many societies, as contributed by control policies and licensing rules. Guns can be used for protective reasons in the community, and there is a need always to vet individuals who apply for the same before issuing them with handguns.
Opinion Against Gun Control: Why Gun Control Doesn't Work
So from that we can conclude that the topic of gun control affects a lot of people. One of gun control's major flaws is the fact that criminals will always find a way to get guns. "Homicide results suggest that where guns are scarce, other weapons are substituted in killings" cites a study from Harvard. If a person is motivated enough ...
Democracy at Gunpoint: American Gun Owners and Attitudes Towards
In recent years, research on gun ownership has grown substantially but there has been less exploration of variation within gun owners. This study examines the differences in support for democracy between gun owners and non-gun owners, and in doing so makes an important contribution to the political science literature on group behavior and attitudes. We utilize OLS regression to analyze data ...