GUN CONTROL:
WOULD IT REALLY HELP?
Concealed Carry Prevents Violent Crimes
By Sarah Thompson
Thesis: People who carry concealed handguns protect not only themselves and their families, but
also the public in general, even that part of the public that protests most loudly against guns.
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Guns used to be a tool for various purposes.
To enforce laws, the government needed to get the people to give up Second Amendment
rights and right to self-defense
Media gave stories of live ruined by inanimate guns, not by criminals, carelessness, or their
own stupidity.
There are 230 million guns in the U.S., more than enough for every adult and teen, yet only
a miniscule number of people commit homicide.
When reading statistics people assume that the victim of the crime was the one killed,
ignoring the possibility that it was a criminal, not the victim, who was killed.
Risk of allowing civilians to arm themselves for self-defense pales in comparison to the
huge numbers of lives saved.
In comparing two or more different areas, to see how many murders occur under gun-control
or without it, all other factors must be the same
People who carry concealed handguns not only protect themselves and their families, but
also the public in general. *Intimidation.
The murder rate in very large cities drops by 12% when CCW is passed, while it drops by
only about 1.6% in an average city.
Concealed carry provides a very large benefit to society in terms of lives saved, violent
assaults and rapes prevented, and economic savings.
Police cannot be everywhere simultaneously, and have no duty to protect individuals.
Why Handguns Must Be Outlawed
By Nan Desuka
Thesis: It seems indisputable that large numbers of people, not just criminals, kill, with a handgun,
other people.
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“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Not just criminals kill.
Strict control means outlawing handguns for everyone except police and related units.
Only about 30% of murders are committed by robbers or rapists
90% of American burglaries occur when nobody is home. The homeowner’s gun is in a
drawer next to their bed, and the gun gets stolen along with everything else. That means
another illegal gun on the streets.
For every burglar halted by the sight of a handgun, four innocent people are killed by
handgun accidents
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Handgun control is costly and ineffective. Criminals will still find a way to get handguns.
The efforts of private citizens to protect themselves with handguns have chiefly taken the
lives not of criminals but of innocent people.
SAMPLE
Thesis: Stiff handgun control legislation should be passed at the federal level because it will
decrease accidental deaths among children, cut down the number of armed robberies and reduce the
murder rate in the United States.
I.
Decrease in the number of accident deaths among children
a. Statistics
b. Evidence
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Reduction in armed robbery rates
a. Supporting argument
b. Statistics
III.
Curtailment of the murder rate
a. Supporting evidence
b. Supporting evidence
ESSAY REQUIREMENTS
2-3 page essay
5-7 paragraphs
Outline & Thesis
Topic sentences
Introduction and conclusion
Sources (optional)
Transitions
Accurate grammar & punctuation
Thesis: The possession and ownership of handguns should be illegal for all other than police and
government officials, to prevent the possession of guns by the youth, vigilante homeowners and
storekeepers, and keep the number of unauthorized handguns to a minimum in general.
I.
The possession of guns by the youth.
a. Otherwise minor brutality leads to murder
i. Youth’s ability to obtain handguns
ii. Immaturity and anger
b. Accidental death
i. Lack of experience and knowledge about guns
II.
Vigilante homeowners & storekeepers
III.
a. Unarmed robbers are murdered
i. Sometime have reasons they don’t deserve to die for. Drug addicts, starving
people, mentally deranged
b. Guns can be turned against them
i. Directly, taken and used
ii. Stolen, and gun used for violence or intimidation elsewhere
iii. Children can find them and hurt themselves or others
Decreasing the number of guns on the streets
a. Control isn’t making sure only trained people have guns
i. Decreasing total number of guns available
ii. Making it more difficult for criminals to obtain them
b. Outlawing everyone except police and government
i. The most rigorously checked, and worthy of trust.
ii. Eliminating confusion as to whether the civilian’s gun is legal