The two articles that I have read were “Connecticut School Shooting ‘An Attack on America’” by Ted Anthony and “The Price of Gun Control by Dan Baum. All around I believe these articles were both very interesting and both took different perspectives on the issues of guns in America. Both Anthony and Baum illustrated the different problems that we have in America and our communities with gun control and gun violence. But, they both brought the text together to relate it on a personal level. I enjoyed reading both texts and connecting to each one on a different level.
Guns have been is society for centuries. They have been used for hunting, war, and even safety. However, in the past several years they have begun to take the lives of many innocent victims, often young children. In response to the killings in Newtown, Conn., it has been noted, “If this were a country, the number of children killed by gun violence would violate international law.” (Browne-Marshall) F.B.I. data shows in 2011, 1,668 African American children were killed due to guns. Day by day gun violence is rising and it is not only in ghetto neighborhoods.
Throughout the years, gun violence is increasing dramatically. Mass Shootings are becoming more frequent, suicides are now mostly caused by a gun to the head, and crimes are being involved with guns. Somehow minors and criminals are gaining firearms. The government isn’t telling us the real story. They claim that they have very strict laws, well it turns out they don’t. There are so many things that the government hides from the public’s eye. Criminals get their way (hiding from the government) and they gain access to guns of their choosing. From pistols to machine guns, to rocket launchers. In this essay, I will explain to you how criminals are getting their way, causing so much gun violence across the United States, and how the government is doing nothing about this.
Gun control has been a continued issue amongst politicians and civilians in the United States. The U.S. has a homicide rate twenty-five times the average of any other developed country in the world. Specifically, mass shootings have been in the limelight as of late due to the deadliest Las Vegas, Nevada shooting, along with Orlando, Florida, and Newtown, Connecticut being in the recent past. Aim has been set on the mentally ill for these mass shooting, and our gun control laws because of this. America agrees gun laws need to be strengthened, but how to do so is the problem ahead. The target should not be on the mentally ill due to their miniscule effect on gun violence.
The United States is home to approximately 5% of the world’s population and 31% of all mass shootings. Through these mass shootings and various other methods of gun violence, tens of thousands of people die every year. These gun-related deaths primarily originate from murder and children accidentally shooting themselves. Although those in favor of gun control tend to believe that guns should be terminated completely, the second amendment prevents lawmakers from being able to do so. Therefore, in order to combat these causes, alternative gun control solutions must be made for each one. Gun-related murders can be decreased through the use of universal background checks. Additionally, accidental shootings can be minimized through the
According to CDC, "One person is killed by a firearms every 17 minutes, 87 people are killed during an average day, and 609 are killed every week”(CDC). That means gun violence is out of control, and you can be next. In fact, there 's been an increase of mass murders occurring everywhere due to guns. Which has brought our attention to the gun violence in our nation. They say guns are for protection, but in reality there seems to be more murder associated with it. There 's a controversy that it 's the people 's right to bear arms, but others argue that there needs to be greater gun control. As author Pascal Emmanuel Gobry stated in Both sides are wrong on the gun debate. Here 's why,“ Liberals declare that if only we regulated and banned guns like Europe does, there wouldn 't be any more gun violence. Conservatives insist that the solution to gun violence is more guns, and just more guns” (Gobry). I am writing to you, because I believe gun violence needs to come to an end. So, I propose that the right to bear arms needs to be taken away, and the U.S needs to ban gun ownership. Since guns does no good for our nation other than kill the innocence.
Gun violence is the sign of a far greater universal problem in America today. Violence and gun violence specifically, is surrounded within, and spread all through every part of our society. All the reasons remain intimately related to the actual solution, which can only be a general solution one by treating it as one issue. The region that I live in is considered a peaceful part of Harvest, which I am particularly grateful about. I do not have to worry about gunfights in the roads of my community, nor maybe being helpless confronted by students with a gun at school. That, nevertheless, does not mean that my community is impermeable to gun violence. Huntsville has seen its share of gun violence from the incident at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), where three people were murdered and three others injured on February 12, 2010. Throughout the course of a routine gathering of the biology department attended by about 12 people, professor Amy Bishop stood up and began shooting those next to her with a 9-millimeter handgun (Hall 2010)
Many students in America, might consider school almost like a home because they spend about half a day in. We need students to be safe at school, so why not have an officer patrolling the hallways. To make the school much safer, the officers should have guns in case there is a threat towards the students. In the eyes of many United State citizens a gun can symbolize death; however, a gun can save several people’s lives. As U.S citizens, we have the right to keep and bear arms, so why do we not have police officers with guns patrolling schools. “Gun violence is a major social issue in America and American schools and university campuses have become targets of gun violence” (Bond). In the U.S we had several severe situations when someone comes to the school and starts to kill not only students, but teachers and staff, this could have been prevented if we were prepared and secured. Although the opposition may suggest it could be more dangerous to have an officer or guard be allowed with a gun; however, having an officer with a gun would decrease the number of shootings and other minor problems at schools.
Gun violence is a very controversial topic because everyone has their own perspectives on this particular topic. There are so many crimes caused by fire arms that it’s just plain out ridiculous. Many people have lost their lives due to gun violence and other crimes due to the use of a gun. Although guns are used for protection in certain cases, but most of the time they are not. There aren’t too many cases where someone used a gun for self-defense but there are many news stories and etcetera about a crime committed with the use of a firearm. A long time ago weapon violence had its issues however in no way like what is going on it current society. While there are occasions that have happened that appear to be stunning, tragic and pointless, comparable activities have happened decades prior; with the exception of they didn 't appear to happen as regularly as they do today. Weapon savagery has developed into a worldwide emergency. A few individuals feel we ought to boycott weapons inside and out, while others feel this would be unthinkable. Disposing of firearms may cure the issue however it may not be sufficient to make the issue go away.
Just imagine sitting in class one day and hearing a loud bang and the next moment there is a confusing, abrupt, commotion. Imagine walking into a movie theater and not walking out. It is hard to imagine things like this happening because we have never experienced these moments ourselves, but to victims of gun violence, these moments are familiar and very real. Gun violence is becoming too common in this country. So common, that when there is a shooting, people are unaffected by such news. There has been desire from the people of America to change gun policy, but there are also people that argue against this because it goes against our Second Amendment rights. Although there are reasonable arguments on behalf of and against more regulations on guns, more regulations and background checks would reduce crime and death due to guns.
On January 17, 2017, “Surge in the Violence” was released by the Crime lab at the University of Chicago, which had combined a report on the statistics of homicides taken place in the year 2015 and 2016. The number of homicides taken place in the year of 2016 has soared by record high of 67 percent than the previous year. Chicago is one of the busiest and advanced cities in the world and getting such high numbers in the field of crime is a shame and leaves a bad impression on the rest of the world. The violence related to guns has also increased enormously and according to “Chicago Tribune”, 2,958 people have been shot dead by now this year. Though the data shows that the homicides by gun has decreased significantly but the number is still a problem. The gun violence now is a serious problem and the current situation demands strict gun laws.
Gun violence in America is a huge topic of discussion. Many people have heard about this topic on the news or in the newspaper, but have very little knowledge on this ongoing topic. Those who have a lack of information on gun control tend to not feel strongly towards guns or people owning or carrying guns. People that have never been around guns are often scared of them, but the truth is a gun is nothing more than a hunk of metal. For a gun to go off the gun needs a shooter, so should the real topic of discussion be “Should there be stricter gun laws for the owner?” However, in the United States it isn’t very difficult to obtain or own a gun. Guns are very common in America and anybody could simply sell their firearm to another person with the ending result of now anybody can own a gun. (Degrazia 2) “The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act mandates background checks of gun buyers, but only if the seller is a licensed dealer; private sales, including those at gun shows and those conducted online, are exempt.” Degrazia states that anyone can get a gun without having a background check, this including anyone over 18. Being able to purchase firearms easily in America can be a serious topic of discussion because many people are getting killed with firearms, school shootings are on a rise, however in zones where guns by law have to be in every household the crime rate is significantly lower than surrounding areas.
The United States of America has been described by many people as the Land of the Free; a Land of Opportunities. There has always been a gun culture in America; however it has also been a gun-control culture. Whenever a devastating mass shooting occurs, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, a deliberation about gun violence follows suit. Depending on whom you discuss this with, that case is not always true. There are those that are for gun control and those that are against. There are also conspiracy theories that claim that the events that occurred on that day were, in fact, staged with “crisis actors” playing the part of the deceased, yet they kept “popping” up in all the news photographs? Did it really occur or was this a way to bring to attention the fact that the Government want to stop honest Gun Owners in having weapons to protect themselves? Was there a complete lack of documentation of the school shooting and did it really occur? There certainly has been a lack of, or perhaps, a complete absence of any photographic proof of dead bodies, or what is noticeably staged, emotionless actors walking around in circles looking lost! Was the purpose to move the anti-gun movement forward?
A recurring complication throughout the United States and different countries are mass shootings. Mass shootings are a dilemma that has been occurring for a tremendous amount of years. Shootings in the U.S. cause terror in peoples everyday lives and cause people to question the government. Shootings have been happening since before anyone can remember. As time passes through, these mass shootings continue to worsen. Mass shootings have been an effect for an enduring amount of time.
Data is difficult to gather when researching gun-related violence within gangs. However, it is obvious that gang members have guns and they retrieve their guns from the illegal gun market. According to the National Institute of Justice (2013), “Gun-related homicide is most prevalent among gangs and during the commission of felony crimes.” Dating back to 1980, 70 percent of all homicides within gangs involved a gun. In 1993, the percentage rose to 95 percent (National Institute of Justice 2013).