Comments by "josh fritz" (@joshfritz5345) on "Top 5 Gun Myths That Hollywood Taught Us" video.
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okay, there appears to be a LOT of misinformation among people whose only knowledge about guns comes from the media. whether you are pro or anti gun, here are some general facts that are free from intentional bias.
guns do not cause crime. crime rates shows significant correlation to poverty levels, removing guns from a specific region would have very little effect on crime rates. there is the argument that banning guns could reduce the likeliness of a violent crime being lethal, however, in my next fact, this possibility is explored further.
the majority of criminal activity involving the use of firearms is done using illegally gotten weapons, so imposing stricter regulation on legal gun ownership would have little effect on gun related crime unless the ban is present all across the region. even banning all firearms in a specific city would accomplish little as criminals are already acquiring their weapons through illegal and therefore unregulated methods. there IS one way to reduce shootings however...
banning all guns in an entire country and making sure that ban is effectively enforced can greatly reduce the number of shootings in that country. it does NOT eliminate violent crime from that country, and in some cases may cause an inflation in other types of violent crimes due to the combination of the criminals who would be committing crimes with guns simply using other means of violence, as well as the lack of legally owned guns making the region a safer place for criminals. how effective the threat of potentially armed prey is at dissuading criminals is unknown exactly, but many towns and cities with high rates of gun ownership also have very low rates of crime, though this may be partially attributed to other factors. still, the fact remains that banning all guns in a region and actually ensuring that they are difficult to acquire through illicit means does tend to reduce the number of shootings in that region.
guns do make suicide easier. since many people who are considering suicide are indecisive about whether or not they are willing to follow through with it, not having a gun easily available may give someone enough time to reconsider their choice. still, many places where guns are scarce or illegal have inflated rates of suicide via hanging or jumping from tall places, so banning guns does not necessarily prevent a significant number of suicides.
many "assault weapons" are really no more dangerous than weapons not classified as such. weapons that are classified as illegal assault weapons often are classified as such due to components such as pistol grips, folding stocks, and tactical rails. these objects have no effect whatsoever on how dangerous the gun is, but since it resembles something that may be present on an actual military weapon, these weapons are illegal regardless. regulating weapons based on factors such as caliber, capacity and firing capability (whether or not a weapon is capable of fully automatic fire) would be more sensible.
acquiring a gun legally is NOT easy in the united states. even getting the license to own one is a long and complicated process that involves background checks and fees of various sorts. the most likely place a criminal would acquire a gun is through the black market, and cracking down on illegal gun purchases would be more effective at disarming criminals than stricter legal regulations would be.
the second amendment does state that citizens of the united states are aloud to own firearms, however, this does not necessarily give citizens the right to own their own personal artillery. like other parts of the constitution, it is meant to be regulated in certain ways, the specifics of such regulations are down to courts to decide. however, it is NOT constitutional for guns to be banned altogether as this directly goes against the second amendment. still, having the right to bear arms doesn't give you the right to go hunting with a grenade launcher.
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