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== The Fallacy and Motivation for Gun Control ==

== 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,<ref>(Fill in cite here about percentage of guns used for unlawful purposes.)</ref> and the removal of guns from everyone eliminates the lawful use of self-defense and its deterrent effect.  "[[Americans]] use firearms to defend themselves from criminals at least 764,000 times a year."<ref>"This figure is the lowest among a group of 9 nationwide surveys done by organizations including Gallup and the Los Angeles Times." [http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp]</ref>  "In 1982, a survey of imprisoned criminals found that 34% of them had been "scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim."<ref>''Ibid.''</ref> When [[Florida]] began allowing its citizens to carry a concealed weapon, [[Florida]]'s firearm homicide rate fell by 37% when the national average ''increased'' by 15%.<ref>''Ibid.''</ref>

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,<ref>(Fill in cite here about percentage of guns used for unlawful purposes.)</ref> and the removal of guns from everyone eliminates the lawful use of self-defense and its deterrent effect.  "[[Americans]] use firearms to defend themselves from criminals at least 764,000 times a year."<ref name="Gallup_LAT">"This figure is the lowest among a group of 9 nationwide surveys done by organizations including Gallup and the Los Angeles Times." ([http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp Just Facts - Gun Control])</ref>  "In 1982, a survey of imprisoned criminals found that 34% of them had been "scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim."<ref name="Gallup_LAT"/> When [[Florida]] began allowing its citizens to carry a concealed weapon, [[Florida]]'s firearm homicide rate fell by 37% when the national average ''increased'' by 15%.<ref name="Gallup_LAT"/>

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.  In [[Australia]], the passage of gun control in 1996 and its expansion in 2002 has led to a complete takeover of all nine federal, state and territory legislatures by the socialistic Labor Party, the first time a single party has ever achieved this in Australian history.<ref>http://www.smh.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/either-way-its-history-in-the-making/2007/11/23/1195753310949.html</ref>  In [[Britain]], the enactment of gun control led to complete and prolonged political control of the nation by the Labour Party there.

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.  In [[Australia]], the passage of gun control in 1996 and its expansion in 2002 has led to a complete takeover of all nine federal, state and territory legislatures by the socialistic Labor Party, the first time a single party has ever achieved this in Australian history.<ref>http://www.smh.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/either-way-its-history-in-the-making/2007/11/23/1195753310949.html</ref>  In [[Britain]], the enactment of gun control led to complete and prolonged political control of the nation by the Labour Party there.