LETTER: Illegal guns are not the answer

Editor,

I, like many Second Amendment activists, whole heartedly agree that there is a problem with violence in this country. It is sad to hear about people committing murders, suicide and other atrocities with guns. However, is the crime rate going to go down if our law makers continue to make more and more gun laws?

According to a survey done in 1992 by Dr. Kleck there are as many as 2.5 million defensive gun uses a year by law-abiding citizens. In a recent Statesman it was assumed that women don’t get attacked much but there was no data to support that assumption. However, 48 percent of that 2.5 million are women. Also according to Burnett, author of “Suing Gun Manufacturers”, a woman is 2.5 times less likely to suffer serious injury if she uses a gun to defend herself rather than a less-effective weapon. Women do use guns to defend themselves in this country and they use them a lot.

It was also mentioned that we should follow Canada’s example (I suppose because Canada has a lower crime rate). However the fact that Switzerland, Finland and New Zealand all have high gun ownership rates and low crime rates shows that there is no correlation between gun ownership and crime rate. Also, Australia banned guns over a year ago and their crime rate went up. There are volumes of academic evidence showing that gun control has not worked, is not working and will not work in the future. Yes, there is a problem with violence in America, but a quick fix like more gun laws is not going to work. However, stricter punishments for criminals have been proven to work. Accidental gun deaths for children under age 10 are extremely small in number, but unlike many other things gun accidents are 100 percent preventable. We need more safety education not gun bans. Also, we need a renewal of traditional family values. What we have is a serious problem with moral degeneration, until that is fixed, crime will continue to be a problem.

Alex Blake