[null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/46242107_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/46242107_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun death", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/47639333_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/47639333_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun control article", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/45427566_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/45427566_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun control article", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/34216535_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/34216535_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun control essay", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/33664921_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/33664921_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun death statistics", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/19247383_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/19247383_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun death", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/47724080_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/47724080_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun control articles", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/48045502_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/48045502_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun control debate", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/47418952_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/47418952_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun control debate", "rendered_width": 300}, null, {"document_url": "http://guncontrolfacts.org/author/gun-control/page/2/", "unformatted_src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/47639333_Subscription_S.jpg", "src": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/systemimage/47639333_Subscription_S.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Subscription S", "alt_text": "Gun control pros and cons", "rendered_width": 300}, null, null, null]
The gun control debate is not new. It has been there for the past four decades and more. Yet the gun control debate is being carried on everyday in the newspapers and the electronic media as if it is something new! Gun control pros and cons are repeatedly presented making the audience lose interest in the gun control debate itself.

I suggest that we all join the gun control debate. Though the debate has been going on, there is an imperative need to strengthen the case for gun control. I would suggest that people who are in favor of strong gun control legislation should participate in the debate and strengthen the cause of gun control. Some of the gun crime statistics that should be presented in the gun control debate are as below.

The ratio of guns to population of a country is the highest for the US with a figure of 89 guns for 1000 people. This is undoubtedly a high figure. The effect of this abnormal gun ownership is reflected in the gun death statistics showing that over 60 percent of the homicides occurring in the US involve the use of guns. The message is clear. When you allow people to own guns indiscriminately, the chances of guns being used in crimes will be high.

People who are opposed to any kind of control on the use of guns take shelter under the second amendment. what they ignore is the fact that a major part of this amendment constituting about 99 percent was the creation of people who had no college education. While this fact will cause no reflection on their competence, it shows that amending the law is not something sacrilegious.

The National Rifles Association (NRA) which spearheads the opposition to meaning gun control measures is not interested in a healthy gun control debate. Since it follows a policy of not compromising on its obstinate opposition to gun control, it resorts to untenable arguments to support its position. It says that in a democracy, there should be no gun control guns. Democracy does not mean the absence of controls. In fact, democracy has to fight tyranny of any kind. Gun control measures are one way of fighting lawlessness. Looked from this perspective, the points raised by the NRA have no place in a gun control debate.
 Gun control articles are written with a view to bring the issue of gun control into public focus. One who writes a gun control essay need not be an expert. Anyone can find an abundance of gun crime statistics at various places. You can find them in the current editions of periodicals as well as in the archives. You can also find them in various websites that are dedicated to presenting gun control facts.

In other words, gun control articles are not new. They only contain recycled information by way of gun death statistics and familiar arguments used in a gun control debate. So, you may wonder why gun control articles are written. What is the need to present the same information in new form again and again?

The answer to this question lies in the fact that despite hundreds of gun control articles having been written dwelling on gun control pros and cons, the gun control issue still remains unresolved. A gun control article may highlight the fact that every year there are close to 30,000 deaths in America attributed to guns. But there are some people who are unmoved by these gun control facts. There is a powerful lobby called the National Rifles Association (NRA) whose sole agenda is to scuttle any move towards making gun control laws stronger.

The NRA is known for its familiar argument that any change in the gun control laws will be in violation of the 2nd amendment which has sanctioned the possession of guns by Americans. Some gun control articles take the pain of answering this objection by clarifying that this law, barring about 1 percent , was the work of people with no legal background. The NRA, however, will not listen to reason. Otherwise it would have been convinced by the fact that countries that have made the gun control laws tighter have succeeded in containing crime. The specific case of Australia having registered a steep decline in gun violence by 60 percent after it enacted a strong anti gun law is also not considered worth taking note of by the anti gun control groups.
 I get disturbed whenever I read the gun death statistics. In general, statistics will make dull reading. After all, it is boring to go through the figures and understand them. But some kinds of statistics like gun crime statistics should be read by all even if it needs some effort to do that. The picture presented by gun death statistics will support the case for a strong gun control law.

Let us look at some of these gun death statistics. A study made on homicides in the United States shows that in 60 percent of the cases, the murders were committed by using guns. In fact, whenever we hear about a murder, before we know the details, we are likely to think that the murder was committed using a gun! Such is the association of gun with death. You may be shocked to know that every year 30,000 people are shot dead in the US. Gun control facts like this are only to be expected given the state of high gun ownership in our country.

You can find a lot more gun death statistics if you go through gun control articles. But none of these figures seem to have any effect on organizations like the National Rifles Association (NRA) who have made it a point to blindly oppose any gun control measure. The only way these people respond to gun death statistics is by claiming that in a democracy, there should be no control on guns. What they fail to understand is that democracy means rule of law and to ensure that the rule of law is properly implemented, tyranny has to be curbed. Tyranny resulting from guns should also be controlled in the interest of democracy.

The intransigence displayed by the NRA in spite of the grim realities presented by gun death statistics makes one perceive this body not as any kind of club but only as a paid lobby. This perception is confirmed by the policy of the NRA to not accept any compromise. It will not consider the gun control pros and cons and will not even look at the gun death statistics.
