Compose a 500 words assignment on possession of a gun in the united states. Why should it be legal to poSeSs a gun in the United s Introduction This paper takes you through the requirements and procedures for obtaining a gun permit for the citizens of the United States. Furthermore, this paper aims to give an analysis of the benefits of having the possession of a gun legalized for civilians.License to own a gunBackground checkIn the United States, the act of “Carrying Concealed Weapon” (CCW) is becoming common practice. Twenty-nine states are licensed with this permit of giving responsible citizens the authority of owning a gun.The Brady Handgun Violence Act of 1993, however mandates a criminal history background check on anybody who purchases a gun and forbids, fugitives, mentally defected, people who have been convicted of serious crimes, under-aged and non-citizens of receiving gun permits. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, March 2008)License procedure and keeping track of ownershipThe procedures for licensing differ from state to state. 9 states have “may issue” laws that unlike the “shall issue” laws can deny applications. There are also “never issue” laws such as in Hawaii where the issuance of permits is seized completely by the officials. Two states, Vermont and Alaska actually permit a non-felon aged 16 or 21 respectively access to hand guns without even a permit. Some states conduct training classes for the applicants, prior to issuing permits, to instruct them about the mechanics, terminology and safety measures related to weapon ownership. Through the licenses issued, records of all gun owners are kept. (Kopel, 1999)Sense of SecurityPeople in favor of it believe it to provide them with a sense of security from any form of harm and those who are physically weaker or beaten believe in gun ownership as giving them equal power compared to the other citizens. It makes them feel safe and secure and nothing is more important than safety and security of life.DeterrentStatistical data has proven that people with handgun permits are the most law-abiding citizens. John Lott, a professor in the University of Chicago studied 18 years worth of data regarding this. From the data, he drew the conclusion that a state that follows “shall issue” laws, murder falls by 10%, rape by 3% and aggravated assault by 6%. Killers naturally resist committing crime where they know people own guns. (Kopel, 1999)If only a possession of gun dissuades criminals and decreases crime rates, any and every individual should own one, because it is not about owning a gun, it’s about owning security.