Cordaro Thomas Personal Statement

One of the biggest arguments against gun control is that it does not prevent criminals from committing violent crimes, such as murder. Based on information gathered by Argesti and Smith, this A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) study showed that when a handgun ban was put in effect in Washington D.C. “the murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at the outset of the law” (Argesti and Smith). Another report from the FBI showed that when Florida and Texas implemented a right-to-carry law, their murder rates dropped by 30 and 36 percent (qtd. in Argesti and Smith). It is blatantly obvious that areas with high crime will continue to have the same level of crime, even after the implementation of stricter gun control laws.

If we look at the stats the most of domestic terror attacks are in gun free zones. Why? Well, a lion will chase and kill a deer that’s not a threat. a lion choice to avoid porcupines due to their defense mechanism. Moral of that is a predator thinks twice if the pray is armed. Chicago is one of the largest cities in the U.S. and also some of the most stick gun laws. I bring this up because Chicago is the murder capital of the U.S. currently and I blame it on the harsh gun laws. It is so hard for innocent people there to own fire arms for protect. This means that they need to call the police. Well it takes the

Gun Control Laws have been proven ineffective. Cities like Chicago and Detroit have very strict gun control laws, yet they have some of the highest crime rates, whereas cities with more guns have lower crime rates. Places that have a higher rate of gun ownership, have less murders. Gun control laws do not prevent criminals from breaking the law. Criminals will still obtain firearms, or

Gun violence is a major problem in Chicago. There has been an estimate of nearly six hundred shooting victims in a matter of three months into the New Year. It is very sad how so many innocent people lose their lives due to such violence. Even the safest neighborhoods have become dangerous because of ignorant gang members who settle their problems with rival gangs by shooting each other. It is hard to feel safe in a community where you fear being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

In contrast many of our countries major cities have banned all guns. In 1976 guns were banned in Washington DC. Since then the murder rate has risen 400%. According to a CBS poll, 64% of Americans rightfully understand and don't believe gun control laws reduce crime anyway.

Current Gun Control regulations do not deter violence and crime. It has been shown that places that have relaxed their gun control laws have a higher crime and death rate. Data proves that homicide rates “[...] among the metro areas whose principal city is in a state that requires some form of permit to purchase a gun, is 4.32 per 100,000 residents, compared with 5.74 among cities in no-permit states”(Bailey). This is evidence that there is a correlation between gun control and death rates. It is also proven with statistical evidence that places with the least amount of gun control have the most violence. Statistics show that “‘none of the states with the most gun violence require permits to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Gun owners are also not required to register

Using this definition, a 2016 study published in the journal Violence and Victims reported that 292 mass shooting incidents took place worldwide between 1966 and 2012; nearly one-third of these were in the United States.”(DiLascio, 2017). The statistics are the answer to whether or not limiting firearms in The United States will help in the overall goal of limiting firearm violence. Other Countries such as England and Japan have more regulations on firearms and it limits the firearm related murders in those Countries. “Have some of the tightest gun control measures in the world, also feature some of the world’s lowest gun homicide rates (per 100,000 people, 0.04 killings and 0.03, respectively).The United States, by contrast, has a rate of 3.42 gun murders per 100,000 people-100 times greater than England or Japan” (Ballaro, 2016). Over the years gun crime has decreased a lot. “ Although gun crime declined steadily throughout the 1990s and early 2000s-thanks in part, perhaps, to the assault weapons ban still in force at the time-it increased sharply in 2005 and has been on a steady rise since. In 2008, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan group of 300 US mayors, found that homicides from handguns were highest in states with the most lenient gun laws” (Ballaro,

I am eager to obtain the Illinois Legislative Staff Internship position with your office. I welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs and my qualifications in detail. I look forward to hearing from your office. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me at 773-822-8923 or via email at Cordarot@siu.edu if you have any questions or require any additional information.

The issues following gun control have been very outrageous in my opinion. Let us talk about the city of Chicago, for instance. Chicago is known for its dangers. Being one of the most dangerous cities throughout the entire United States of America, gun violence has been a major issue over the years. As much as people say it will get better, things only get worse. In the Chicago Sun Times article, we take a look at how this issue was attempted to be solved. From the year of 2013 until present day, more than 7,000 weapons were collected each year. Chicago, to most people, is considered to be the murder capital of the U.S. Most of the murders were committed by guns. This is extremely sad, because think about all of the innocent lives that were taken; mothers, children, you name it. One of the main things that contribute to most of the gun violence is the fact that the city of Chicago has many gangs. Gang members will do everything and anything they can to make sure they hurt their rivals, regardless of the outcome.

Statistics show and reveal that Illinois is one of the largest states when it comes to crime. Harvy, Illinois is ranked #13 and Newburgh, New York is ranked #15 (“Top 100 most dangerous…”). This shows that even though the gun laws in Illinois may be harder, guns can’t really change crime rates. look at Indiana for example, Indiana is one of the most relaxed states when it comes to gun laws. On the list of most crimeful cities the first city from Indiana is ranked #39, that’s high. Compared to Illinois’ #13 rank Indiana seems to know what to do when it comes to gun laws.

One of the main topics of debate is whether or not gun laws actually correspond with lower murder rates. “The average annual gun death rate ranged from almost 3 per 100,000 in Hawaii to 18 per 100,000 in Louisiana. Hawaii had 16 gun laws, and along with New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts was among states with the most laws and fewest deaths. States with the fewest laws and most deaths included Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma.” (CBSnews.com). These statistics can lead one to believe that more gun laws equate to lower death rates. What these numbers prove is that some gun regulations help lower death rates. However, what gun control activists would have you believe that a full on gun ban would lower these numbers more. This is not the case as evident in the following, “During the years in which the D.C. handgun ban and trigger lock law was in effect, the Washington, D.C. murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at the outset of the law, while the U.S. murder rate averaged 11% lower” (James D.

The majority of anti-gun advocates voice their opinion that more guns would produce more crimes unfortunately for them there is little to no truth in that claim. In reality, when gun ownership increased the amount of murders diminished as well. When states passed concealed weapons laws there was significant drops in the number of multiple victim shootings occurring, the number of deaths, and the number of injuries at these shootings. In 1997 both Wales and England banned handguns and the instantaneous effect was a 50% increase according to crime research. They never saw a day lower than after the year they decided to ban handguns. It has been proven by many surveys that the banning of guns increases crime rate which in turn proves that gun control is not the answer.

In essence, attempting to figure what can diminish and prevent fatal shootings all through the states is a challenging achievement. Efforts like applying armed guards in public places, metal detectors at schools, and fire arm licenses with extensive background check has done some bit in decreasing gun violence. All of these policies that are mentioned are debated back and forth between citizens that it violates our rights or that guns should be banned in general. An advocate for trying a tougher policy was Barack Obama in his term, he tried to make stricter background check, but he was outvoted because people felt violated of their rights. There is many debates that keep reoccurring and not much of a common ground found to prevent fatalities.

The amount of crimes happening today will only increase with stricter gun control laws because there is a higher temptation to steal guns. An American citizen claims, “Ever since I first learned how to shoot, the issue with gun violence around the nation became clear: Guns are not the problem; people are” (Sherfenski). Police need to lock up these people committing the disastrous crimes that affect so many innocent lives. These blameless people are not prepared when they are being attacked, and that is because most shootings tend to happen in areas where guns are controlled. The former United States Secretary of Education, William Bennett, explains the reason that criminals decide to go to places that have controlled gun laws is because: “These murderers, while deranged and deeply disturbed, are not dumb. They show up to schools, universities, malls and public places where their victims cannot shoot back” (Bennett). Even if guns are controlled in public places including malls and schools, where there are uncontrolled shootings, why would it make a difference if they were controlled everywhere? It would not make a difference whatsoever because these crimes are done out of pure, revolting pleasure. Committing a crime is one thing, but taking away a right that was given to Americans in the 1790s is a whole different story.

The Orlando nightclub shooting in Florida on June 12, 2016 was the single largest massacre in U.S history, taking the lives of 50 individuals, including the shooter himself, and injuring 53 others. This is one extreme example of the gun violence that has been occurring in this country, but mass shootings like this and the one at Newton in 2012 are only a small part of our gun violence issue. The everyday gun violence that takes place in cities all across the United States claims the lives of thousands every single year. According to The Guardian, 33,500 civilians die each year because of gun brutality- “that’s about 1 life every 15 minutes” (Beckett). Between the years of 1999 and 2013, there were 464,003 gun deaths in the U.S, about 58% of them were suicides 37% were homicides. (ProCon.org) Gun violence and the consequences of that violence, have become a real and dangerous problem in the U.S , why else would the CDC list the United States as having the highest rate of gun violence out of all developed countries today? (Gale Opposing Viewpoints) This issue is not just attributable to a single factor, there are several that play an important part in why gun violence is such an issue in the U.S, namely laws and poverty; and in these causes we can also find solutions.