Comment & Debate
Some groups argue that hand guns have characteristics that make them likely to be used for “illegitimate” purposes. “Legitimate” purposes are considered by some to be shooting, hunting, and self-defense. While hand-guns can be used for these purposes, some maintain that “long guns” can serve these purposes better or just as well. The concern regarding hand guns surrounds the characteristic that they can be easily concealed. The problem here is the ease with which a hand-gun can be concealed. Concealment of a hand-gun is argued to serve non of the above “legitimate” purposes of sporting or self defense. In regards to self-defense, there does not appear to be a legitimate reason why a person would want to conceal their weapon and intent to defend themselves. If the reason for owning a weapon is self-defense, why not make that fact clear by exposing the possession of a gun publicly, instead of concealing it? This is the reason why some laws exist that make it illegal to conceal a hand-gun or certain other weapons. Yet, opponents hand-gun ownership argue that it is impossible to enforce a concealment law, mainly because the very nature of a weapon being concealed makes it virtually impossible for police to detect. As a result of the difficulty of enforcing such concealment laws, some argue that hand-guns should be made illegal all together. This is then further supported by a number of assertions regarding alternatives to hand-guns for “legitimate” purposes. It is argued that long guns, which can’t be easily concealed by nature, have an equal sporting as well as self-protective capacity. Therefore, because alternatives are maintained to exist for all the “legitimate” purposes of gun-ownership, opponents of hand-gunds argue that hand-gun ownership should be banned all-together.[1]