Carry: Should We Have Guns In America?

In Beverly Ballaro and Laura Finley’s article Counterpoint: Gun Control Saves Lives, Ballaro and Finley make a convincing argument by use of logic, emotion, and evidence. By using logic, Ballaro and Finley support their argument even further. One of their main points is that there is no need for an AK-47 or similar assault rifle in most house holds. The common uses of guns in houses is usually for protection and sport, both of which there is no need for a military grade weapon, “Designed for the purpose of killing as many people as possible as efficiently as possible” (Ballaro and Finley).

In the article, Americas Deadly Gun Addiction, By the Numbers written by Joanna Pearlstein, data is released regarding the United States having more guns that adults in the country. The mass shootings across the country has led to many civilians wanting more gun control. President Obama spoke to the nation that more background checks will be ran to hopefully reduce this situation, and lower the gun deaths in the United States, however gun lobbyers argue that it is not the guns themselves that are causing the issue and they believe that no matter how many background checks are ran you cannot make sure that a fun will not be placed in the hands of someone who many end someone’s life unexpectedly.

About sixty percent of people in the U.S own guns, the estimated number of guns legally owned by civilians is 270,000,000 to 310,000,000 (FBI), and that’s not counting all the illegally owned firearms. When asked why they need guns, most Americans say that its part of their rights and amendments, to protect themselves and their family. If most people with guns just want to protect themselves, why do so many people die every year from gun violence? The answer is all the illegal firearms that land in the hands of criminals and psychopaths.

“The United States of America has one of the most highest homicide rates than just about any other developed country around the world, and it also has much more civilian ownership.” (Verbruggen). This is a good thing that we have freedom to have our firearms and protect ourselves from danger, however this can also be bad because letting citizens have so much freedom to buy firearms can lead to shootings in which they have. Say a person who has not committed any crimes yet, goes into an ammunition and firearms store, and purchases an automatic assault rifle with a high capacity magazine. If that person happens to have some dark thoughts, people can end up losing their life because we have too much freedom involving the purchasing of these rifles and other premium guns. However, it is important to look into why these mass shootings do occur. “Not only is there no correlation between gun ownership and overall homicide within a state, but there is a strong correlation between gun homicide and non-gun homicide suggesting that they spring from similar causes, and that some states are simply more violent than others.” (Verbruggen) This shows that with some of the cases we have involving deaths, not all of them come with being mass shootings. It is not hard for a person to grab a regular pistol and go out shooting innocent civilians, however, it is less likely that they will kill as many people as they can with an automatic assault rifle. As an overlooker of gun

In 2015, on an average day in America, thirty-six Americans were killed by guns, excluding suicides. How many of those deaths would have been prevented if there were stricter gun laws? How many parents would have lived to see their babies grow up? How many children would have lived to graduate, or get married? Although many Americans believe that gun control takes away their second amendment right it actually increases every citizen’s safety by the use of extensive background checking, checking medical records, and restricting gun distributors.

Guns are major part of living in the United States of America. The U.S alone has 35% to 50% of the world's civilian owned Firearms. More than likely you have at least one in your house. As more and more guns are being produced and sold in the U.S more anti-gun activists are pushing for increased gun control but the facts show that more gun control actually means more gun related violence. There is no doubt that there is a problem with gun related violence in the U.S. but there is a perception that it has suddenly worsened but in all reality things are better that they have been in decades. Once again on the news you will hear that 30,000 people killed last year with guns. What the media does not say is that of those 30,000, 20,000 of those people killed themselves with a gun. Some of these facts are shocking to hear. Even though gun control is the first thing we turn to when gun related violence occurs the negative factors are far greater than the positives.

Through 1999 and 2013, there were approximately 464,033 deaths by guns (ProCon.org). The U.S. should enforce gun control to minimize the amount of deaths by firearms. The debate of whether gun control laws should be enforced or not began in 2002, when at least 20 children were killed in a mass shooting in Connecticut. On average, 96 deaths occur daily and about 13,000 gun homicides strike the U.S. yearly. The origines for America’s extensive ties to guns originates from the Second Amendment, revolutionary roots, and frontier expansion. The U.S. should enforce gun control laws to reduce gun deaths and prevent hazardous situations between two or more enemy parties.

The United States is one of the few countries were the right to bear arms is protected by the constitution. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most violent with incidents involving guns this year reaching an estimated 36,212 and an approximate 9,050 deaths (“Gun Violence Archive”). There are an estimated 310 million firearms in households across American, these are only estimates because current gun laws do not require them to be registered or tracked. A more staggering estimate is that most of the guns owned by private citizens are semi-automatic guns, the same type of gun used in almost all mass shootings. While these privately owned guns are legally purchased, many times, they land in the hands of criminals, and owners never report them stolen. Mass shootings and gun crimes are not the only issues with gun violence the one never talked about is suicide, more guns available equals more suicides. The United States is one of the easiest countries to own a gun legally or illegally, stricter gun control laws are necessary.

“Interview the survivors of mass shootings and you hear these phrases a lot: Gunfire, they explain, rarely sounds like what it is… Many who have lived through the terror recall thinking it was a joke. A drill. Anything except the awful truth: that they might have only a few seconds to live” (“Stop the Violence” -Brody 220). Some people say guns make us feel safer, but in reality, they cause more harm than good. Arthur Kellermann and his colleagues concluded that, “Sadly, buying a gun does not make you safer. To the contrary, the evidence suggests that bringing a gun into your home increases the chances you will be killed” (“Feeling safe” -Vyse 27). Gun violence poses a very big threat to the U.S. “The U.S. has many more guns--and gun deaths--than any other developed country. In 2014, there were more than 33,000 such deaths in this country” (“Fight Over” 12). Guns are extremely dangerous and many deaths occur due to them, including murder, suicide, and accidental deaths, so stricter gun laws and technology should be used to decrease the number of gun deaths in the U.S.

Firstly, a gun is just a tool. It’s the same thing as an axe or a shovel, but I have never heard anyone talk about banning shovels. Guns are useful for hunting and shooting for fun, and we cannot take this leisure activity away from our citizens. Secondly, guns are only as corrupt as the people using them. Someone has to shoot the gun; it does not just shoot itself. Therefore, why should gun owners have to pass background checks? If someone was convicted of armed robbery and now they want to own a gun, they should be able to acquire one easily. Even convicted felons need guns to go hunting and to protect themselves, and we cannot take their

The death rate in America is extremely high and is rising rapidly as time goes on and the youth of the country get older. With this amount of guns in America, someone with the passion to kill someone or themselves, the most convenient way to commit suicide or kill someone would be to obtain one of the million guns across America. There needs to be laws and regulations put forth in order to stop all of this violence due to the easy access of firearms in the United States. Although background checks will not completely end gun related violence in the United States of America; it will reduce

Thousands of deaths and injuries are caused by guns annually. Guns are getting very out of hand at this moment. Many people like to abuse the power of carrying firearms, which basically causes numerous arguments on why some people shouldn’t have the capability to own a gun. Gun control is essential in order for peace to take place. Without gun control, tons of people wouldn’t be here today. However, at this point in time, this is where we need to take a stand and be stricter on gun laws, due to the deaths placed by violent people. Guns tend to make crime rates higher, by leading to many homicides, suicides, and murders. It is time for action to start taking place on these firearms.

Did you know that, according to the article “Statistics,” one hundred and seventeen thousand people are shot every year (“Statistics” 2)? The amount of people who are affected by gun usage is alarming, and it could easily be lowered tremendously. Is the harm caused by guns worth the twisted pleasure and “protection” that they give to certain people? Should each and every American’s life be put at constant risk of being shot just so that some Americans can keep their beloved and unnecessary guns? On the anti-gun side of this controversy, many people would argue that guns do more harm than good, and that there are other means of protection that do not put the lives of others at risk. If no “bad guys” has guns, then it is not necessary for people to need guns for protection. Some people use guns for hunting, but this again causes harm to living creatures and endangers innocent

Firstly, some of the history of gun control in the United States. In 1791 the 2nd Amendment was added and in 1871 the National Rifle Association was formed. In 1934 the National Firearms act was passed and on passes the Gun Control Act. These laws restricted some automatic weapons and shotguns, as well as keeping a better eye on interstate traffic of firearms. In 1986 the Firearm Owner’s Protection Act was passed and in 1993 The Brady Handgun Violence Act was passed. These acts which are still in effect today established

There are many issues when entering the world of buying a gun. When purchasing a gun, citizen should be required to take class to learn more about how to handle and operate the gun they choose. Many accidents happen when guns are purchased and people don’t know how to handle them or how to properly store their weapons. Not only should citizens have to have training class to obtain a gun, Law enforcement does too. Law enforcement officer are required to take several hours of training classes so that they are well trained on operating a gun (Johnson). Adults who own guns and support gun control don’t have an issue with things such as background checks (“Gun Control).