The issue of wether or not people have the right to bear arms is a long debated issue in the US. Some argue that guns are only used for crime and that the best solution to gun violence is to restrict gun ownership all together, while others argue that most of the guns used in crime are acquired illegally and that the only thing that is accomplished by restricting gun ownership is to keep law abiding citizens from purchasing guns. I agree with the latter of the two arguments. I think that it is important that law abiding citizens have the right to keep and bear arms.

In 2008 it was estimated that there were 2,222,196 burgularies in the US (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html). Many of them took place in residential homes just like this.

In 2008 there were an estimated 454.5 violent crimes per 100,000 people (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html). These violent crimes occur every day all around the country.

According to the FBI firearms were the most commonly used weapon in home invasions(http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html). If they have a gun shouldn’t you have the right to own a gun too. Gun restrictions can keep people from buying guns to protect their homes.

“According to the National Self Defense Survey conducted by Florida State University criminologists in 1994, the rate of Defensive Gun Uses can be projected nationwide to approximately 2.5 million per year -- one Defensive Gun Use every 13 seconds (http://www.pulpless.com/gunclock/stats.html).”

There were 308,479 arrests for burglary in 2008 (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html). There was an estimated 2,222,196 burglaries in the US that same year (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html). That means that over %50 of these criminals were never caught or brought to justice.

The Department of Justice states that 1 in 10 people are injured during robberies (ages 12-34) (http://bjs .ojp.usdoj.gov/). You have the right to protect yourself and your family from criminals. You have the right to own a gun for self defense. Don’t be another statistic!

Bibliography

• All photos were found through google images. • Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Web. 26 Apr.

2010. <http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/>."Crime in the • United States 2008." FBI — Federal Bureau of

Investigation Homepage. Web. 26 Apr. 2010. <http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html>.

• "The Defensive Gun Use Statistics." Pulpless.Com, Inc. Central Vortex. Web. 26 Apr. 2010. <http://www.pulpless.com/gunclock/stats.html>.