But it is necessary for there to be certain limits on the way that firearms are handled in this country because of the homicide rate involving guns and because of the violence created by criminals using guns. If gun control legislation were to go through there would be a significant decline in gun related crimes and .
Fatalities. .
AGAINST GUN CONTROL .
The National Crime Survey estimates that 83 percent of Americans will be victims of violent crime at some time in their lives. (?) Parties with diametrically opposed views on gun control seize on this estimate to support their positions. Those favoring gun control laws claim that such laws would keep more guns off the streets and out of the hands of criminals in an increasingly violent world. There is no evidence that supports that gun control would reduce crime. By taking a look at evidence gathered form domestic studies, international evidence, and crimes involving guns we can better understand this. Several sophisticated statistical models have attempted to measure the net effect of firearms on criminal violence. On balance, they show that there is nothing to be gained from reducing the general level of gun ownership. (3) A thorough review of 18 studies of the effects of gun availability among potential victims and criminals found that the overall effect on criminal violence was zero. (4) In one study, researchers found no significant differences in total robbery rates between cities where guns were widely available and cities where they were not; in cities with fewer firearms, armed robbers simply used other weapons. (5) The best available evidence, based on at least eight national surveys of the general adult population, indicates that guns are used about as often for defensive as for criminal .
Purposes.6 The experience of other nations also provides little support for the notion that guns cause crime. (7) Switzerland has one of the lowest murder rates in the world, and it requires all able-bodied males between the ages of 20 and 50 to have a military-issued automatic weapon, ammunition and other equipment in their dwellings.
