Kindly assess. General Essay 2
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:58 pm
Question: “Do you think that people should have the right to have a gun in their home?”
The world we live in is becoming more and more unsafe. Violence is on the increase everywhere and armed robbery is widespread. Should people be allowed to keep a gun at home? Absolutely! They should, for a number of reasons.
To start with, a loaded gun is a more effective weapon against an intruder, than one’s bare hands. In fact, being armed with a gun increases the chances of keeping robbers at bay and preventing a break-in in the first instance. A neighbour of mine was fortunate to have his gun within reach when men of the underworld came calling at his residence. Even though he was well outnumbered, the boom of his gun did a good job of scaring the robbers away. This is a good example of attack being the best form of defence.
A further benefit of legalised gun possession is a reduction in crime rate. This would be possible because the fact that attempted burglaries would likely be met with some resistance would do a lot to discourage many robbers (except the die-hard ones) from even trying. This may explain why houses of military personnel (active and retired) are rarely targeted by criminals.
On the other hand, the presence of guns in the home may raise the risk and fatality of domestic shooting incidents. It is not unusual to read of husbands shooting their wives or five-year olds accidentally shooting their own selves or other family members while playing with their father’s (accidentally discovered) gun. Oscar Pistorius’ manslaughter of his girlfriend is a case in point.
In spite of the risk to house occupants, allowing people to keep guns in their houses would at least improve their feelings of safety and security. More than that, however, it holds the potential of moving us toward a crime-free society.
The world we live in is becoming more and more unsafe. Violence is on the increase everywhere and armed robbery is widespread. Should people be allowed to keep a gun at home? Absolutely! They should, for a number of reasons.
To start with, a loaded gun is a more effective weapon against an intruder, than one’s bare hands. In fact, being armed with a gun increases the chances of keeping robbers at bay and preventing a break-in in the first instance. A neighbour of mine was fortunate to have his gun within reach when men of the underworld came calling at his residence. Even though he was well outnumbered, the boom of his gun did a good job of scaring the robbers away. This is a good example of attack being the best form of defence.
A further benefit of legalised gun possession is a reduction in crime rate. This would be possible because the fact that attempted burglaries would likely be met with some resistance would do a lot to discourage many robbers (except the die-hard ones) from even trying. This may explain why houses of military personnel (active and retired) are rarely targeted by criminals.
On the other hand, the presence of guns in the home may raise the risk and fatality of domestic shooting incidents. It is not unusual to read of husbands shooting their wives or five-year olds accidentally shooting their own selves or other family members while playing with their father’s (accidentally discovered) gun. Oscar Pistorius’ manslaughter of his girlfriend is a case in point.
In spite of the risk to house occupants, allowing people to keep guns in their houses would at least improve their feelings of safety and security. More than that, however, it holds the potential of moving us toward a crime-free society.