Argumentative Essay On Mass Shootings

This world seems to be falling apart, going crazy, or even taking people away out of the blew. One of the main reasons behind that is school shootings. It tends to happen when people think they are taking their kids into a safe environment. School is supposed to be safe, full of kids talking to their friends, teachers, and maybe petting the psychologist’s dog just saying “hi” to the dog. For the longest time school shootings have been climbing, occuring more and more. Everyday, bad things happen which show how humanity is cruel. (table1, Mass Shootings Per Year) this graph is showing how the numbers every year change. Since the year 1982 and 2016, the numbers really do change drastically.

Recently there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas. A gunman opened fire on a concert from his hotel room leaving 58 people dead and over 500 injured. This incident has reintroduced the issue of mass shootings to our societal conversations. The topic of mass shootings is an emotional one. It triggers the most basic human fear, fear of the unknown. Most people have an emotional bias one way or another on this subject, making it a very sensitive topic of conversation. I will do my best not to offend anyone, if I do offend you please understand that it was not my intention. I will do my best to not let any bias I may have affect examination of this topic. My intention is to examine the topic in a logical manner to better understand the issue. This is a problem that is not going to fix itself. We as a society need to come up with a solution.

I have been a student in the Thomas County School System ever since I started pre-school. During my time here, I have loved every minute of it, learning and having great experiences with friends and teachers here. Over the last four years of my high school experience, I have noticed that there have been more threats of bombings and shootings around the nation. Even though we do have a safe school and take precautions, there is still room for error. I am proposing that we make school a safer place for kids to learn by installing bulletproof glass as well as door-stoppers in each class.

There has been an average of one school shooting every week in America since the Sandy Hook shooting. On the fourteenth of December, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, 20-year-old Adam Lanza not only killed his mother in her home, but also twenty children and six members of staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. This was to be the third deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The Huffington Post reports that as of 2014, there have been over 200 school shootings. These have resulted in at least 94 deaths and over 156 serious and minor injuries. And, with an issue as emotive and contentious as the murder of school children, the question has been frequently asked: why do school shootings happen?

There are many problems in this world today. One main problem in the United States and all over the world is mass shootings. This problem is a huge one because it involves people killing other people and that is just unacceptable. In the last ten years there have been over 53 mass shootings in the United States, not including the rest of the world (Chris Wilson). In the last thirty-five years there have been seven-hundred and twenty-two and then one thousand one-hundred seventy-seven (Chris Wilson). If you look at the number of people that are killed or being wounded, you will notice that with new devices being introduced. One of the devices that have been introduced is a bump stock. This device is a stock for a semi-automatic rifle that can basically turn your semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic rifle. They are considering making this attachment to a rifle illegal to the public.

The story of the Columbine shooters, particularly Eric Harris, illustrates how public schooling can serve as an example in which allowing an excessive amount of freedom can have ill effects on others around them. He was fond of writing disturbing stores in his creative writing classes, and these writings were products of his malicious, but unique, character. Had the school system enforced conformity more strongly, there may have been an opportunity to alter Harris’ course of action.

297 that’s the amount of people that are shot every day in the United States in some sort of gun violence, 89 of those people are killed while 208 are shot and survive.

Columbine. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook. Pulse Nightclub. Last Vegas. Parkland, Florida. These are just a few of the 150 mass shootings that have taken place in the last 50 years. That’s an average of three shootings per year. If you ask me even one mass shooting is too many, but this is the tragic reality we live in. When something like this occurs, it sparks two arguments that seem to foolishly rival each other. Many demand that people take mental health more seriously. Others call for stricter gun control. My concern is why does it have to be one or the other? Why are these considered mutually exclusive? Mental health and gun violence are huge issues that the media seems to pit against each other as if we can only fix

The United States is not lacking in notable mass shootings over the years, and it is difficult to narrow it down. The LA Times posted an article on December 2, 2015 entitled Deadliest U.S. Mass Shootings 1984-2015. This article lists 46 “notable mass shootings” over the past 31 years. These are shootings that have become household names, they are shootings that the majority of people have heard of, and have at least some knowledge of. Of the 46 shootings that they consider to be notable mass shootings, for the purposes of this paper I would only consider 40 of them to be notable mass shootings. I have eliminated 6 of the incidences seeing that I do not believe they fit the criteria of a mass shooting. The six that I have eliminated do not fit the definition

Don't use your anger on the people who least deserves it. It is one thing to do something to someone who pissed you off, but it is a whole new thing when you take twenty-six life that had nothing to do with it. Mass shootings are terrible and unfortunately happen way more often than they did. The worst thing is how these events impact the family's of who were killed. The most asked question is would this happen if there was gun control.

Many believe that as the year progresses, our lives become more dangerous for us to be a part of. However, Zachary Crockett states that the beginning is bad, and “In the first 24 hours of the new year, 264 separate incidents of gun violence happened across the United States” (Crockett 1). He is helping us to illustrate we struggle throughout the entire year, and we get attacked at the times which we least expect them to happen. In the infographic that is being shown, Chicago was reported to have “24 shootings, leaving 3 dead and 28 injured”, leading us to the idea that some towns are at more risk than others (Crockett 1). He is leading us to believe that some cities, like Chicago, face a better likliness of shootings occurring, then in some other cities. There needs to be a better handle of guns in this area, and take caution so that many do not get hurt. When trying to depict other important details, Crockett helps explain that “every day, and average of 112 people are killed or injured by gun violence in America” (Crockett 1). There needs to be a tighter grip on not only the actions of the people in the country, but the weapon. Guns cause a lot of stress and havoc across the country, and if we could allow ourselves to overcome this, then we would be helping ourselves out.

According to Dan Gross’s presentation, his dream for a better future is to cut down the number of gun deaths by a half in the USA by 2025. In 1997, Gross’s little brother was shot in the head at the observation deck at the empire state building and has to suffer brain damage for life. This tragedy is not only for his family but also to the many families that keep losing their loved ones each day. 90 Americans are killed everyday by guns and some of these killings go unnoticed. Gross says that there are over 300 million guns out in homes of Americans to keep their families safe. But everyday, 9 kids are shot unintentionally in homes and 2/3 of school shootings that occur are from guns taken from home. This is because a lot of technology that

Nikolas Cruz, the expelled student suspected of killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 12 others at his former high school in Parkland, Florida. He was described by his former classmates as a loner with a temper. On Thursday, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said “Cruz confessed to being the shooter”. The 19-year-old was charged Thursday with 17 counts of premeditated murder, after he started firing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday afternoon. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting is the 6th school shooting resulting in injuries this year. There have been 17 cases of gunfire in schools this year, according to gun control group Everytown USA.

There is an assumption that if you understand the minds of serial killers, or persons who commit mass shootings, that it may help prevent mass shootings. “Mass shootings are not on the rise, but have held steady over three decades, randomly clustering in time to trick our brains into finding a pattern of increase where none actually exists” (Shermer 3). Mass shootings happen at varying times without rhyme or reason. Some think that a psychological disorder or some genetic defect could be the reason people commit these crimes. Although we cannot prevent mass shootings, we can educate on how mental health issues can be a precursor to such a tragedy, and how better laws can create a safer environment.

Pictures can be powerful tools. With being universal, it allows many to interpret and be able to understand what is going on. Many pictures can speak so loudly without any words. Each and every one will interpret pictures different, but will be able to find the same underline cause. Some of the stronger images come from ones that are taken during or after a horrific event. Unfortunately, on June 12, 2016 there was a shooting in a nightclub that took a number of lives and change many more. The photos taken from that night spoke of horror and heartbreak.