Should Handguns be Banned in San Francisco Essay

Should Handguns be Banned in San Francisco - Essay Example In a point by point counter argument Guy Smith quotes a wide range of validated research (based on the theories of Florida criminologist Gary Kleck) to point out that ï‚ § the victims of most gun crimes are known felons, ï‚ § that crimes of passion are statistically rare ï‚ § the New England Journal of Medicine research Supervisor Daly relies upon is known to be seriously flawed ï‚ § there is not necessarily a causal relationship between the availability of handguns and suicide rates ï‚ § there is research evidence to suggest that criminals are less likely to target someone they know to be armed ï‚ § the police force are unable to prevent crime effectively and in any event have no legal duty to protect a specific individual One wonders how useful it is to compare and contrast San Francisco with a country like Japan which has developed very differently in terms of defining a criminal and the status of handguns. For example one is aware that there is nothing like the personal honor code of the Japanese in the US. One cannot simply compare suicide rates in the way that Smith has done without examining why the Japanese commit suicide in the first place. All that can be deduced from the research on suicide that Smith quotes is that successful suicides do not require handguns - - they will find other means. The problem with these figures is that they are taken out of context. It is not clear what percentage of crime involves the use of firearms.