Owning a gun is a right, whether for sport, collection, recreation or protection. It was important enough, in the founding of this country, to guarantee the right to bear arms, which people can find in the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Conceal and carry provisions allow people to carry firearms in a concealed manner in a public place. Opponents try to make it more controversial than it has to be, but this is a worthwhile right.
Guns save lives every day. People who own guns can use them to protect themselves and their loved ones from harm. These incidents receive less coverage by the media because it is easier to report crimes that actually happened than those that almost happened. People that carry a gun feel more comfortable and secure.
A common belief among anti-gun circles is that guns are simply too dangerous to have in our society. The assumption is they kill children in accidents and having them around will simply lead to more shootings. This is not the case. Every year, more children drown in five gallon buckets than are killed by guns.
When gun control laws go into effect, crime actually increases. For example, Washington D.C. banned handguns in 1976. Between 1976 and 1991, the city's homicide rate rose 200 percent, while the national rate rose 12 percent. The reason for this is likely that when laws forbid people to own firearms, they are not able to defend themselves.
Conceal and carry laws actually decrease crime. Economists John Lott and William Landes found that these laws are responsible for significant reductions in multiple victim shootings and are drastically more effective at reducing crime than any gun control law. Common sense public advocate John Stossel claims that despite many peoples' initial skepticism, not one state that passed conceal and carry laws reported an increase in gun crime.
Advocates of gun control often claim that guns are a part of the past when weapons were used only to kill during wars and other armed conflicts. They may think of the Second Amendment as an outdated provision that was once necessary for a young United States to prevent another tyrannical government from abusing its power. But really, this is an ageless concern.
An armed public is able to defend itself from injustice, protect itself from foreign invaders and overthrow the government, should it become tyrannical. Firearms in the hands of many ensures that the government fears the people, and not vice versa.
Criminals already go around gun control restrictions to get weapons. They are going to be readily armed no matter what laws are passed. To counter them, the public should be armed so they can deter violent crimes.
Criminals prefer an unarmed public. It makes their job easier when there is no opposition. Citizens who carry firearms equalize the situation, and are an obstacle to those who want to commit a crime.
The government regulates conceal and carry laws so that they cause more benefits than harm to society. Carrying a weapon requires a permit. Citizens who wish to obtain a permit to own a gun must meet certain criteria or have a county sheriff, or other local authorities, grant them one. This insures that they go to law-abiding, deserving people with an interest in self-protection.
In the last 20 years, there has been a trend of passing concealed carry legislation across the country. In fact, Wisconsin is now one of only two states that do not allow people to carry concealed weapons. Passing this law here would restore peoples' full right to bear firearms, and would save lives. There is no reason that Wisconsin residents should not be able to have this right.
Brian Bisek is a sophomore with an undecided major. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
