All around America there is a huge and controversial political argument going around. These hot topics are highly debated in the Senate as well as in people’s dinner tables. One of those arguments is about the current situation of gun control. Some believe that we need more, some think we need less. However, to be frank, having more gun control is not going to be an effective way to reduce and control crime.

Nowadays, the Supreme Court is trying to think of the Second Amendment as granting a personal right to bear arms, but rather as a statement that Congress should not do anything to displace state militias and in modern terms, the National Guard (Does Gun Control Reduce Crime?, 2016). When thought about, the National Guard is a really just a part of the army and is advertised that way on the television. Back when the Second Amendment was made, a militia was not a part of the army, but civilians who owned guns and could be called upon to serve. When thought about, as much as the gun may help, it is not the gun that commits the crime, it is the person. If people looked back at all of the mass shootings in recent times, dating all the way back to 1949, most of these crimes are committed by people with mental health disabilities. Howard Unruh, who shot 16 people in 1949, was medically diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Charles Whitman, who killed 16 people via sniper rifle fire from the clock tower at the University of Texas at Austin had a brain tumor that was linked to the violence. Another example is George Hennard, who murdered 24 people including himself in 1991, had a paranoid personality disorder and was on the brink of having a severe mental disability. The final example is of the most recent school shooting, where the perpetrator Nikolas Cruz had ADHD, autism, and depression. What all of this means is that we don’t need to take away guns from every citizen including the law-abiding ones, because most of the shootings occur with people who have mental disabilities.

   A new study from the University of Pittsburgh finds that nearly 8 in 10 gun crimes are committed with illegally-possessed guns (In Case You Missed It: More Gun Control Laws Will Not Reduce Crime, 2016). The 8 out of 10 guns were probably bought on the black market, stolen, parent’s guns found by kids, or even crudely handmade. If the government were to remove guns from manufacturers, make the test for guns even more rigorous, or banned guns altogether, the effect would be outrageous. Take for example what happened with prohibition, where everyone who wanted alcohol got it illegally, making the crime rate actually go up, instead of down, which was what the government wanted. gun control would end the same way, with just more crime because people who are rejected from owning the gun they want to use to do a bad thing with would probably just get it illegally. There might even be a few people who don’t mean harm who would get a gun illegally.

In some cases, people might think that we should get rid of guns because they are rarely used in self-defense (Should More Gun Control Laws be Enacted? ProCon, 2017). The fact that they are rarely used in self-defense does not deny the fact that they are still used in self-defense, and lots of the time save many lives when used that way. If there are 2 people on the same street that own a gun, one good one bad, and the bad one is thinking about mass murder, the good person with a gun could spot the person pulling out their gun and incapacitate them, in turn, saving many lives. Another thought that some people might have is that legally owned guns are often stolen by criminals (Should More Gun Control Laws be Enacted? ProCon, 2017). The only reason that would happen is if someone did not lock up their gun, or did not get a gun safe or put it in a safe place like you’re supposed to do. Even with gun control, people who do not lock up guns will still continue to buy them.

 In conclusion, gun control laws will not end or even dramatically reduce crime and deaths in the United States. As a reminder, the 2nd amendment allows the citizen to bear arms, most gun crimes are committed by mentally ill people, and if guns were banned, people would get them from the black market, making more illegal things happen. If there is any doubt about what should be done, call a state or government representative and tell them to reject gun control laws.