Free «Public Policy » Essay Sample

According to Squires (2000), incidents of robberies, murders, and various hateful crimes have been found highest when citizens own unlicensed handguns because the perpetrators cannot be traced easily after they have committed crimes. Almost every individual in America owns a firearm and for a number of years, this issue has never bothered most of the residents in Texas. Citizens in the state of Texas realized later on that the crimes associated with the unlicensed ownership of firearms had become rampant.

This situation necessitated for hard-and-fast state limitations on where, when, and how an American citizen could own a firearm for personal protection (Gold, 2004). Many citizens are gunned down because they abide by the law and cannot protect themselves. Some people argue that violence and disputes on the streets can settle with gunfights, which is not justified because many innocent citizens die as a result. For American citizens to be at a position of protecting themselves from being attacked on the streets, they should own licensed firearms.

American citizens in Texas can own concealed firearms legally only when they have been thoroughly trained and have qualified. As from 1995, the citizens could be able to obtain thorough training regarding the right to own a concealed firearm in public. As a number of people with concealed carry licenses increases, violent crime rate decreases dramatically. The decreased rates of violent crime have also been attributed to better policing, more prisons, reduced addiction of crack cocaine, and improved economy. The concealed licenses qualify to be the best among the strategies for reducing the violent crime rates in the state of Texas. Those individuals who support the concealed carry law believe that the owners of licensed firearms will protect those who do not have weapons.

Therefore, it is very important for the citizens to obtain thorough knowledge on the use of firearms for protection purposes. Trained individuals are allowed to carry licensed firearms so that in case of any crime, the perpetrator can be traced easily and judged accordingly. Those who are mentally sound are trained and allowed to carry licensed firearms. The concealed carry law has been found to be the most effective among other crime reduction strategies such as better policing, more prisons, reduced addiction of crack cocaine, and improved economy. This can enable citizens to protect have better protection against their perpetrators because they will have a fighting chance.