Changes

'''Gun control''' is the limitation by [[government]]s of [[gun]] ownership and the right to carry, conceal, or use [[firearm]]s.

'''Gun control''' is the limitation by [[government]]s of [[gun]] ownership and the right to carry, conceal, or use [[firearm]]s.

== Drawbacks ==

== The Fallacy and Motivation for Gun Control ==

Gun control potentially causes an increase in crime by restricting its main deterrent: self-defense.  In the United States, law-abiding uses of guns outnumber criminal uses by at least a factor of 100 to 1, and the removal of guns from everyone eliminates the lawful use of self-defense and its deterrent effect.  Some [[liberals]] nevertheless favor [[gun control]] as a way of increasing control by government, and disarming the citizenry has the effect of causing voters to rely more on government and [[liberal]] policies.

Gun control potentially causes an increase in crime by restricting its main deterrent: self-defense.  In the United States, law-abiding uses of guns outnumber criminal uses by at least a factor of 100 to 1, and the removal of guns from everyone eliminates the lawful use of self-defense and its deterrent effect.  Some [[liberals]] nevertheless favor [[gun control]] as a way of increasing control by government, and disarming the citizenry has the effect of causing voters to rely more on government and [[liberal]] policies.

Studies by [[John Lott]] and others indicate that gun control causes higher crime rates<ref>http://www.johnrlott.com/</ref>.  [[Washington, D.C.]] has one of the highest crime rates in [[America]] even though it completely bans private handguns <ref>http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm</ref>.  Lott claims that in [[Britain]], [[Australia]] and [[Canada]], increased gun control in the late 1990s led to increased crime, the exact opposite of what the [[liberal]] proponents of the gun control promised.<ref>http://johnrlott.tripod.com/op-eds/IBDGunConFailure.html</ref>

Studies by [[John Lott]] and others indicate that gun control causes higher crime rates<ref>http://www.johnrlott.com/</ref>.  [[Washington, D.C.]] has one of the highest crime rates in [[America]] even though it completely bans private handguns <ref>http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm</ref>.  Lott demonstrates that in [[Britain]], [[Australia]] and [[Canada]], increased gun control in the late 1990s led to increased crime, the exact opposite of what the [[liberal]] proponents of the gun control promised.<ref>http://johnrlott.tripod.com/op-eds/IBDGunConFailure.html</ref>

[[image:Robbery victims.png|thumb|300px|right|Robbery victims in [[Australia]], 1993&mdash;2005<br /><small>(Data source:Australian Bureau of Statistics)</small>]]

[[image:Australia crime.gif|thumb|300px|right]<br /><small>(Data source:http://www.gunsandcrime.org/auresult.html)</small>]]

However, analysis in 2001 of the results of the 1996 introduction of gun control in Australia (which had never had widespread ownership of guns) shows mixed results, and no clear evidence that increased gun control resulted in an increase in crime.<ref>[http://www.gunsandcrime.org/auresult.html Results of the Australian Gun "Buyback" & New Gun Laws], October 2001</ref>

In [[Australia]], where gun ownership was less widespread and the gun control measures were less strict, there was still an unmistakable increase in robbery and armed robbery after the gun control went into effect in 1996. Other data are less clear, but there is no evidence indicated the promised decrease in crime from gun control.<ref>[http://www.gunsandcrime.org/auresult.html Results of the Australian Gun "Buyback" & New Gun Laws], October 2001</ref>  But the gun control did have the predictable long-term political effect: voters became more reliant on the government and by 2007 candidates favoring bigger government won in a landslide.<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/</ref>

But the increased gun control achieved the political effect some [[liberals]] seek: in all three countries voters became more [[liberal]] in the wake of the gun control.{{fact}}

[[Liberals]] obtained the same political effect in enacting gun control in [[Britain]] and [[Canada]]. In [[Britain]], for example, the enactment of strict gun control enabled the [[Labour Party]] to win a landslide 179 seat majority in the 1997 general election, the first time it exceeded 40% of the popular vote in over 25 years.

== Trends ==

== Trends ==