De’an, China, 1132 A.D. The city is under siege from attackers wielding a strange new weapon. Dubbed the “fire spear”, the weapons consist of a hollow bamboo shaft where the solider places a small metal ball along with a strange new mix of saltpeter and a plant called birthwort and a fuse. The solider lights the fuse, points the fire spear at his enemy, and the fuse ignites the powder, sending the metal plunging through the enemy. What the besieged did not know about the fire spear was its destiny to become the most commonly used weapon in the world. The besieged did not think that the fire spear would revolutionized armed conflict on a scale that the bow and arrow did. The besieged, like us, could not foresee the tragedy the fire spear would reign down upon innocents at place such as Columbine and Aurora, Colorado; Newport Connecticut; and Blacksburg Virginia. No one at the time could have imagined the devastation that would evolve from this fire spear, from the brutalities on the streets of urban America to cartel attacks on innocents in Central America, as wicked men were granted the power to choose who lives and dies with the twitch of a finger. From the brother-on-brother bloodshed at Gettysburg to slaughter by machine guns in the Somme, as (like inDe’an) weapons outgrew tactics. From the death of Kennedy to the death of Gandhi, as great leaders fell victim to gun-wielding assassins. Guns have historically wrought much devastation while bearing little to no benefit to society. Today the trend yet continues, as is evident in the news. It is far passed time that we restrict our allowance of firearms in order to benefit all of society.

A survey by the Bureau of Justice statistics states that not only are handguns the most common murder weapon in homicides, but multiple victim homicides are also more likely to be gun based than just single. The survey also states that guns amount for over 50% of homicides among all presented motives (gang related, felony, argument, or other). Given this high usage of fire arms, it would seem that it is only logical to cut out guns. So why do some support guns? First of all, they address the second amendment, which gives us the right to bear arms. However, bearing arms does not necessarily entail firearms. On top of that, there already exist weapons in which civilians are not allowed to possess, so the further restriction of guns is not as large of an infringement of rights as the opposition would like us to believe. It is also illegal to carry concealed firearms without a license or into certain areas, so even if the purchasing and possession goes unrestricted there still are other means of gun control that can be instituted. Licensing and restricted use laws already in place also aid in nullifying the aptitude of guns as a deterrent, things many gun owners attempt to make them out to be. Guns cannot be used by civilians in our schools and in other public areas where we see the rising trend of gun violence, meaning they are neither defensive nor a deterrent. Gun related homicides are more prevalent in gang motivated homicides than those of argument and felony incited homicides as shown by the BJS. Typically, both gangs have guns, and they ultimately led not to self-defense or deterrence but more destruction.

Gun activists will say, however, that the criminals who use guns will break these gun control laws anyway, and they will fail to achieve anything but the weakening of the general populace. But there will be at least some reduction for sure in gun violence, and the more strict the regulation the more severe the reduction. This reduction, additionally, can allow law enforcement to turn their attention to arms trafficking, further reducing gun violence. Criminals can also face more severe punishment with the additional charge of illicit arms bearing, and stay of the street longer.

In the end gun control policies are a necessary solution to the entropy and terror plaguing today’s society with only potential to benefit the world. But still advancement of gun control is slow and lacking in potency. It is up to all of us as both citizens of this country and this world and as human beings to act now before the next tragedy. All of us must do our part to act expediently to promote a btter, gun free world.
Works Cited
United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Homicide Trends in the United States. By James A. Fox and Marianne W. Zawitz. N.p., 1 July 2007. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
I do not own any of the statistics provided by the BJS. All information is taken for non-profit purposes only.