Why Gun Control Is Not Enough - 2103 Words

Throughout this paper I will be challenging the arguments of Jeff McMahan’s paper Why Gun ‘Control Is Not Enough where he concludes that the only effective form of gun ‘control’ would be for The United States to make it illegal to shoot a gun of any type. He begins this argument by citing the â€Å"central pillar† of the argument for those who are anti-gun control is that when more individuals own guns, there is a mindset that the entire population is safer. With this logic, it can be inferred that citizens feeling unsafe in the current environment of their country are those seeking protection, one way being through the purchase and ownership of a firearm. Safety is imperative part of ensuring peace of mind, which then impact the peace of the†¦show more content†¦McMahan states that if gun ownership had the robust deterrent effects that supporters claim, we should expect the United States to have less crime than other developed societies, but he cites that the per capita homicide rates in the United States are higher than homicide rates in other Western countries. McMahan proposes that guns and their regulation will not be comparable to the attempted regulation of alcohol and drugs in the United States. He positions the use or desire to use alcohol and drugs does not depend on others, it is an internal desire. Contrarily, the desire to own a gun was positioned as being dependent on the actions of others. Despite all of this McMahan himself admits that a law prohibiting gun ownership could not be enforced with complete effectiveness, leaving the unarmed at the mercy of criminals who will always be armed. This results in the argument of self-defense and according to McMahan, the right of self-defense is derived from a more fundamental right, which he fails to elaborate on by instead stating that he believes the gun prohibition he proposes would eliminate only one effective means of self-defense. McMahan claims that â€Å"central pillar† of the argument for private gun ownership is that when more individuals own guns, there is a mindset that the entire population is safer, but if gun ownership had deterrent effects on crime then we would expect that the United States would have less crime than other developed societies. Commonly, gunShow MoreRelatedArgumentative Essay On Gun Control1032 Words   |  5 PagesGun control is a vital necessity to the welfare of our nation. Many people out there are supporting the â€Å"anti- gun control cause† with the excuse of â€Å"self-defense†. I believe that not everyone will handle a gun for self-defense. The possession of a gun is a sign of power. 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