What evidence is there that owning a gun deters crime?

Question

I believe in my heart that owning a gun is wrong.I believe that guns are made only to kill.I have had a debate with an American.He backs his argument re owning a gun with stats from the USA government.I can find no stats to back up my belief it is morally wrong .Any help??

Answer 1

since this is a discussion on morals, could i point out that crime is morally wrong, no crime, no need for individual gun ownership

now, to be more specific, when three scroats tried to break into our isolated country pub one afternoon they looked through into the kitchen window and saw me standing at the foot of the stairs pointing my 12 bore in their general direction- it certainly deterred them from committing any further crime in my pub

Answer 2

You can't find any facts to back up your side because there are none. It has been proven by multiple studies that more guns in the hands of legal gun owners = less crime.

Criminals are lazy and unintelligent. They don't want to attack people that may fight back, they would rather attack and victimize those that cannot fight back. Therefore, criminals will move to areas where guns are less prevalent in order to reduce their risk.

This is not rocket science, it is basic common sense. Unfortunately, those that would try and make us believe that it is the gun that is evil, not the human, cannot grasp this basic human principle.

Marie

Answer 3

Ok I've owned guns of all kind most of my life.  I've had any where from 10 to 25 guns in my possession at any given time for the past 30+ years.  I've fired countless rounds of ammunition from these guns.  I've owned handguns of all description, shotguns and rifles including so called assault rifles and full auto rifles.  I've bought, sold and traded guns with a federal firearms license a means of income.  In all those years and all those guns and all those rounds of ammunition fired I've yet to kill anyone.......not even close.  Strange isn't it seeing as how you say that "guns are made only to kill".  Further more I don't even hunt (just never had the time).  You said it yourself.....he backs his argument and you can't find stats to back yours.  I do own guns for protection and it is a proven fact that this works.

Answer 4

i agree with you that owning a gun is morally wrong and i'm an american. the big issue in our country is that we don't have enough gun control. we have too many people getting their hands on guns that are criminals and it's still extremely hard to track.

Answer 5

A pile of dead burglars outside your house!

Answer 6

If the criminals are armed then owning a gun makes sense.

It is no more immoral that owing an iron bar in the house for self defense, they can both kill. It is all death and wounding.  There are a lot of responsible gun clubs around that are in it for the sporting aspect of shooting, just as there are skeet shoots. Is owning a .22 target rifle to compete in the 2012 Olympics immoral? Farmers have shotguns, is that immoral?

Having said that, the most heavily armed country on Earth is Switzerland, they don't have a big army but everyone has heavy calibre automatic weapons in their basement.

As you are talking about the US, they seem to fetishise guns and swagger about a lot with them, no wonder they have a high murder rate, capital punishment has not stopped it. As for morality, what would you say about capital punishment?  Canada has just as many guns, why don't they have the same proportion of murders?

But I digress. As to whether  the lack of guns deters crime, it does not. There are lots of ways of killing people without guns.  

Answer 7

Well the two that broke in on my wife awhile back want be doing it again

Answer 8

I live in Wales,and would love to legally own a handgun.

I wouldn't care if it deters crime or not, as long as it meant I had a chance to stop someone robbing my property.

Answer 9

More liberal nonsense. Want proof? NYC has laws banning gun ownership as does Washington DC. These two cities are riddled with crime. Rural america has much gun ownership for hunting and defense. There isn't much crime at all. That's proof for anyone intelligent.  

Answer 10

There is a city in Ontario (can't remember the name) that half of it belongs to the US and the other half to Canada. The half belonging to the US records hundreds of shooting incidents a year...the one belonging to Canada reports under 3.

Draw your own conclusions.  

Answer 11

lol it would deter crime in my house if someone was trying to do me or my family harm .It is not morally wrong  

Answer 12

There's less gun crime in the Uk than in the States.  Your no 1 stat is to check both figures.

Also, my father owned numerous guns - he never used one in self defence.  But he was robbed of his guns - people who keep guns are targets by those who want a gun, adding to gun crime.

One other point - if you don't own a gun, you know that no one in your family will ever be in the position of accidentally shooting another member of your family.

Answer 13

Well, I don't know of any stats, but I did hear a couple of months ago about someone whose house was being robbed on the South side of Chicago.  The homeowner had a gun, and shot the robber in the leg right after he called the cops.

If there is anything to a law abiding citizen owning a gun to deter crime, this is one reason.

Like you, I feel that there should be no reason to own a gun.  However, as crime rates rise, I am starting to wonder if I should get one to keep my house and property safe from those that would take from me, or threaten me on my own property or in my own home.

Morally - it's not wrong to own a gun.  Morally - it is wrong to kill someone, or force someone to do something they don't want to do while you have the gun pointed at them.  But it's not morally wrong to own a gun.  That's like saying it's morally wrong to own a car because of the people who drive even if their license is revoked and end up killing someone with the car.

Hope this helps you sort this out.

Answer 14

WE DON'T NEED A GUN TO LIVE WHEN WE ALL ARE MATURED EQUALLY TO LIVE AS HONEST CITIZENS OF OUR COUNTRY WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAKE OR DEVELOP DUE TO THE SOCIAL SYSTEM WE KEEP AND THAT MAKES THE EXISTENCE OF VIOLENCE AND THE MEASURE TO COUNTER IT, SO THE NEED OF GUN TO SAVE YOU AND ME!

Answer 15

The fact that cities where handguns are banned and violent crimes skyrocket should be proof enough.  Countries where guns are required in the home have minimal crimes.

Also, gun ownership is not morally wrong.

Answer 16

If owning a gun protected me, my family and my home from scumbag thieves from breaking in, then I'm all for it. There is no deterrent when thieves know they can get away with it. If they thought they may get shot and land up dead they may think twice about breaking the law. That goes for businesses too, small shops that are targeted by these kind of people also need to protect themselves.

But do I think you should be allowed to carry one on your person or in your car.....no I don't.

You should be able to protect what is yours without any comeback. If someone enters my domain when he is uninvited then he can suffer the consequences! btw morals don't come into it either, did the criminal think of morality when he is carrying out the crime?

Answer 17

I live in the countryside, I need a gun to control vermin and protect my livelihood, Morals don't come into it. A gun is a tool, the same as a spade or a tractor. I could kill a lot more people with combine than I ever could with a shotgun, but people have no moral objections to a combine.

Answer 18

Just watch Bowling for Columbine with your friend.

Logic dictates that if people own guns people will get shot!

Answer 19

There are studies that show owning a gun deters crime, unfortunately they are all funded by gun companies and they do not stand up to rigorous inspection. The methodology used is not compatible with true scientific studies.

The ownership of any weapon is not a moral issue.

Answer 20

Since morals are subjective, it's hard to back them up with facts.

In countries with legalised gun ownership, burglary tends to be less common since people know they will be likely to get shot if they break in somewhere. Though outside of that, murder rates increase.