Over the last years gun control has become a very widely debated topic. The city, county and state lawmakers seem to be having different stands about the public having easy access to guns. Adam Small states, “After centuries of relative obscurity, the Second Amendment has become the center of an intense academic and legal battle during the last twenty years” (1213). The supporters of gun control and its opponents both claim to have the best interest of this country’s citizens .However, there are private citizens who believe that there should be laws to limit the number of people who own a gun. Even though the United States has enacted laws for regulating firearms, the recent shootings at Aurora movie theatre and Sandy
With the popular culture providing positive images of guns, the United States has a gun prevalence that is very rare in the modern world. While many people appreciate the “gun culture”, guns are heavily involved in violence in the United States. According to U.S. Department of Justice, since 1960, more than 750,000 Americans have died under firearms, including homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries. The figure 1 provides a comprehensive survey of U.S. violent crimes for the period from 1993 to 2011.This figure illustrates that from 1993 to 2011, about 60% to 70% of homicides were associated with a firearm. Over the same period, between 6% and 9% of all nonfatal violence, with about 20% to 30% of robberies and 22% to 32% of aggravated assaults involving a firearm.
A gun is a magnet to devastating consequences. The consequences can vary from injuries which result in expensive medical bills, to death. Without a doubt, guns do not provide safety. Reason is because having a gun increases the risk of injury or death, provokes massacres, and medical bills involving guns are plunging the government's funds. Therefore, various authors present facts and statistics about cases with gun violence revealing the high number of casualties and the amount the government is spending in treating patients with gun related injuries in order to invalidate the idea that guns are safe.
According to a recent ABC News report, as of October 9th, there have been 47 school shootings so far this year. The numbers keep rising. Of those shootings, 29 of them have resulted in death or injury (2015). This is unacceptable! We need to stop this before it happens in our school. Most of the time, active shooter drills make up a large part of our national discussion on school shooting prevention, but these scenarios truly only help prepare people for when after such a tragic event has already begun. That being said, they are an important part of defense, but can never actually prevent a school shooting from happening. By definition, special police forces are brought in to train school staff, bystanders, and students to be prepared when the tragedy is already happening. Now it is time to ask, before the next fatal school shooting happens, will the
The third and last article I've chosen is, Tips to Survive a Mass Shooting. This article explained a number of things such as; understanding different types of shooting. The example they shared was if shootings have been happening in a grocery store and that only a few people have been killed than it's probably because they were being robbed not just killed for the purpose of killing them. However, if it's an "active" shooting zone, than you need to react differently than you would in the first example. You would leave, but if you can't leave you hide, and lastly, if the last aren't options you fight.
It is impossible not to open a newspaper, watch the television, or listen to the radio with out hearing about some type of gun violence. Perhaps the main reason for such high gun violence is that guns are so plentiful in the Unites States. In fact, there are sixty five million handguns in America ("The `facts' about Guns"). These guns contribute to an annual medical cost of fourteen billion dollars, which is spent solely on treating gun victims ("Handguns in America"). Not surprisingly, handguns are the cause of eighty percent of homicides, seventy percent of suicides, and almost every accidental shooting ("Youth and Violence"). Handgun violence is a problem that is easy for everyone to see. How to solve this predicament is another
Gunshot wounds go beyond mass shootings. In a The New York Times article, “Compare These Gun Death Rates: The U.S. Is in a Different World” gunshot homicide totals are publicized by authors Kevin Quealy and Margot Sanger-Katz. The duo reveals that in 2014 “gunshot homicides
Firearm-Related Injury and Death in the United States: A Call to Action From 8 Health Professional Organizations and the American Bar Association.
As the population increases its stocks on firearms, a significant number of citizens are at risk of being harmed. According to statistics, “In 2000, almost 30,000 persons died from firearm injuries in the United States more than the number of deaths from, alcohol abuse, or drug abuse… [in spite of] almost 20,000 laws and regulations regulating gun usage to some degree” (Kwon and Baack). Though several individuals are in fear of losing guns as weapons for protection, a greater number of laws will continue to be useful in maintaining the security of citizens upon significant new laws addressing gun control. Although the existence of guns is necessary to protect bear arms, gun control laws help reduce violence, decrease the homicide rate, and help prevent accidents from around the globe. New gun control laws should be enforced to ensure the safety of the entire population, and most importantly to prevent any gun violence as necessary to help save the lives of the innocent.
Healthcare professionals see the aftermath of gun violence. Many healthcare professionals support gun control (Healthcare professionals speak out on guns: “Definitely changed my opinion on the 2nd amendment…”, n.d.). These professionals see patients with gunshot wounds (GSW) who are bystander victims, children who accidentally obtain a GSW through play with guns, results of gang violence, and the list goes on (Healthcare professionals speak out on guns: “Definitely changed my opinion on the 2nd amendment…”, n.d.). Blood banks are drained by these events (Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis, 2017). Nurses and paramedics admit to being afraid of treating a GSW patient because a shooter may come to “finish the job” (Healthcare professionals speak
The excruciating and horrific pain of getting shot is felt by many people in the U.S. On July 8, 2001, thirteen year old Elizabeth Tomas experienced the agony as a stray bullet from a gang fight flew through her window hitting her in the eyebrow (Atkin 52). In the United States, people factor their lives around guns, whether it is a gun kept in the home for protection, a weapon a gang member flashes in the streets, or one the family uses for sport. The debate over gun usage is getting more complicated as multiple people become victims of gun violence. Gun violence has been a recent topic on the news that progresses greatly. There are about 100,000 victims of gun violence every year in the United States and every day there are more than 89 people
There is a lot of controversy surrounding the gun right debate. Everyone chooses their side depending on their own personal views, but no-one can deny the facts. When it comes to personal protection, owning a firearm is the safest option when it compares to response time, accessibility, security, and reliance. Would you rather be prepared with a firearm to protect your family, or beg for mercy because you thought guns were to
A shooting here; a shooting there; an every day occurrence heard in the newspapers and on the news channels on television. New media are reporting a shooting somewhere. Whether the shootings are accidental or intentional; they are happening across the United States. Nevertheless, in today’s society, gun violence is sparking debate and controversy on how to control gun violence. Throughout the country, thousands of laws and regulations have been created to aid in the control of guns. Through much study, the gun laws and regulations in place have very little effect on the number of gun related injuries and deaths. More needs to be done to establish an effective way to control gun violence.
2. It protects families and their property from intruders. You cannot defend your loved ones from an armed intruder if you are unarmed. Guns are used as self-defense and are needed whenever the police fail to provide the services of protection to the general public.