Guns

Guns have dictated the playing field of every conflict since their conception. The mere idea of a gun strikes fear into the hearts of both victim and prey. Without this tool, man would still be tossing rocks and slashing swords, and since this weapon, any man, woman, and child can weild a killing force.

In America we love our guns. The largest contributor to every campaign is the NRA, a highly conservative gun rights organisation that petitions for the right to bear arms, as the constitution well states in the second amendment.

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Well stated, I must say. Lately politicians, like politicians tend to do every election, are rallying the NRA for their support. They say things like, "I'll work to make sure that if somebody commits a crime, they go to prison. If somebody commits a crime with a gun, they'll go to prison for even more time and for mandatory sentences. No plea bargains, no exceptions; you go to jail. That's the way to reduce crime," -Giuliani. But what is it that really causes these crimes? Maybe it is best to not punish harder, but reduce the reason to shoot.

What causes crime? Well according to William A. Niskanen's report "Crime, Police, and Root Causes", crime hasn't really changed all that much in the past 20 years, the amount of time the report's statistics span out to. The root cause of crime, it seems, is the condition of the economy. The poorer a person is, the more he likely he will steal, kill, rape, so on. The opposite goes for the rich. Therfore, higher jail sentences will not reduce crime, it will merely take people off the streets for a while, postponing the wrongdoers wrongdoing.

A heightening of gun laws may even increase crime. In todays society, every business is like another political figure. If the business has a criminal working for them, that looks bad, whether or not the ex-criminal really is a bad guy or not. Therefore, a criminal, released from jail, has little to no real chance at making it in the world, and the only way he can survive is to go back to what he knows, crime. So yes, at first crime will fall after a new law is passed and more and more criminals go to jail, but after all those criminals are released, they go back into that feedback cycle of crime, and that's bad.

Also, if you want to lower crime, give lower income people a chance. By giving gobs of money to large corporations, you are only restricting the amount of money that can be used by those who need it, the poor. I know, I know, liberal propoganda bullshit written by John, but it's true. If you want lower crime, take away the reasons crimes are commited. If people are stealing because they have no money, give them a job. If people are mugging to feed their family, give them a food stamp. When someone leaves jail, give them a job. Give people a chance, that's all I'm saying.

I'm not saying they shouldn't go to jail, no, by all means, if someone commits a crime, they should be punished. But we should also think about the ways at which we can get rid of crime so that there is absolutely no excuse for people to be criminals.

How would this help? Well for starters, we would reduce the crime rate, that's good. We reduce violent crimes, we get more room in prisons, we look better on an international scale, we feed hungry, we have a better economy because people are at work, we get more true violent people because police aren't as overstretched, we feel better when we go to sleep.

Then why is it that we aren't already doing this? Our government has always been built around the principle, "you work hard, you get your dues," and rightfully so. Those who work hard in America get wealthier then in other countries. Within that statement is the statement of, "You don't work hard, you don't get your dues," and that too is rightfully so. I am not asking for a handout for the poor who aren't trying, I am asking for a helping hand to the poor who have a job, work their asses off everyday, and still cannot support their families.

Give them a hand, or at least something canned.