Firearms are a historic part of American culture.  When handled responsibly, a gun is no more than a tool.  In the wrong hands, they can destroy public order, as well as human life.  American criminals have always misused firearms and they will continue to do so.  This necessitates that law-abiding citizens not only be armed, but never be out-gunned.  While gun tragedies frequently occur, the constant use of firearms for self-defense and crime prevention far outweighs the harm they inflict.

Self-defense is a fundamental civil right.  The ability to protect oneself keeps all other liberties free.  The freedom of speech, sovereignty of religion, and the right to assemble are feeble, unless citizens can ward off those who would silence them.  English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) reasoned that "human beings were ’born free’ and possessed certain natural rights when they lived in a state of nature before governments were formed" (Cummings & Wise 37).  Self-defense is certainly one of those natural rights.  The drafters of the United States Constitution also viewed individual rights as unalienable.  They wisely understood the necessity of an armed public.  Amendment II to the United States Constitution established that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" (Bill of Rights).  The past 210 years have revealed the foresight of America’s founders and confirmed the role of firearms in deterring crime. 

Incidentally, the successful outcome of most self-defense situations makes defensive firearm use difficult to track.  The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology reported that in over 92% of defensive firearm uses the attacker is not shot (Gertz & Kleck).  During these incidents, gun owners force the retreat of their would-be assailants by merely brandishing a firearm.  Because these encounters usually end without violence or arrest, citizens often do not report these incidents to police. 

Journalists, scriptwriters, and politicians all too often blame society’s violence on an inanimate object: the gun.  Predictably, the available facts do not support their hasty claims.  The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research and development branch of the United States Department of Justice.  In 1997, the NIJ published their findings from the National Survey of Private Ownership of Firearms.  According to this survey, there are "1.5 million defensive users" of firearms each year (Cook & Ludwig).  Conversely, the National Safety Council reports that firearms accounted for less than 36,000 deaths in 1997.  This figure includes suicides, homicides, and accidental deaths.  The preceding facts demonstrate that each year, firearms are used 42 times more often for self-defense, than to take innocent life. Guns save lives. 

Firearms also reduce crime, especially when law-abiding citizens carry them concealed.  The success of concealed handgun carry is evident in North Carolina.  North Carolina began issuing Concealed Handgun Permits to state residents on December 1, 1995 (NC Concealed…).  Permit applicants must first complete a N.C. Department of Justice training course.  State law requires participants to pass both a written and a live-fire examination.  Then, the state’s Department of Justice and local sheriff departments carefully screen each applicant over 90 days.  Applicants are fingerprinted and then checked at both the state and federal levels for any criminal background.  Finally, the local sheriff issues a four-year permit (G. S. 14- 415.11).  North Carolina has issued over 42,000 Concealed Handgun Permits as of July 5, 2000 (NC Concealed…).  The privilege of concealed carry is rarely abused.  For every 235 permits the state issues, only one is revoked (NC Concealed…). 

Concealed handgun carry lowers crime rates, because the program protects non-gun owners as well.  Because would-be assailants can not distinguish those who are armed from those who are not, criminals are forced to assume that any citizen may be armed.  This blanket deterrence has helped lower North Carolina’s violent crime rate by 9.7%, since the state began issuing Concealed Handgun Permits (Index Offenses).  In addition, rape is down by 8.5% and murder has dropped by 20.4% (Index Offenses).  While many factors contribute to crime reduction, the contribution of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens can not be ignored. 

Works Cited

Bill of Rights.  15 Dec. 1791.  National Archives and Records Administration.  http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/bill_of_rights.html. 

Cook, Philip J., and Jens Ludwig.  "Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms."  NIJ Research in Brief.  May 1997.  National Institute of Justice.  http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/165476.txt. 

Cummings, Milton C., Jr., and David Wise.  Democracy Under Pressure: An Introduction to the American Political System.  8^th ed.  brief ed.  Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Coll. Pub., 1997. 

General Statutes: Chapter 14.  North Carolina General Assembly.  http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByChapter/Chapter_14.html. 

Gertz, Marc, and Gary Kleck.  "Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense With a Gun."  The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (Fall 1995): 173-185.  

Index Offenses, Statewide Trends.  7 June 2000.  North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.  http://sbi2.jus.state.nc.us/crp/public/1999/1999.htm. 

National Safety Council.  Injury Facts.  2000 ed. 

North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit Statistics by County.  6 July 2000.  North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.  http://sbi2.jus.state.nc.us/crp/public/other/conceal/chp072000.pdf.