Eighty-nine people depart from this earth due to gun violence in the US every day. From school children, to victims of domestic violence, to people going about their daily lives, this status quo is unacceptable. On Tuesday January 5th, 2016 President Obama announced that he would send proposals on reducing gun violence in America to Congress. His spokesman, Jay Carney, mentioned that this is “a complex problem that will require a complex solution.” The ability to own a gun is considered by some a birthright of Americans. However, with crime rates involving handguns rising each day it has become quite clear. Handgun laws must become stricter in order to reduce homicide and crime. The question is, “which solution in most effective in decreasing gun violence?” Gun control is a major conflict that is constantly reoccurring and the US is seemingly divided over it. "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." These are the words of the second amendment. Many Americans believe that the second amendment needs to be ratified as some people are taking advantage of this right. For example, former member of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens, published his latest book, Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution. Stevens believes that the authors of the second amendment were concerned about the threat that a national army posed to the power of the states, as
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.
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?
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.
In 2015, 13,367 people lost their lives due to gun violence according to Gun Violence Archive. The Archive also states that out of that number, 693 were children from ages 0-11. We can all agree that there is indeed a problem that we have to address. The solution to that problem, however, has been debated by many. I believe the solution to this problem exists in three parts: Mandatory training and licensing along with more heavily secure gun storage, stricter regulations on the purchasing of a firearm—disabilities and criminal records should be more deeply looked into before transaction—and finally, equipping teachers at highs schools with the right kind of weaponry to prevent mass shootings.
Gun control has been a debated, revisited and revised issue for more than a century in the United States. Recently, after several mass shootings in the United States, gun violence issues are; yet again, renewed and in the forefront for the United States. This paper will consist of insight on gun violence in the United States and the newly imposed gun control policies by President Obama; along with, the arguments for and against the new policies and what roles both the formal and informal actors have played in the resolve of this; once again, disturbing issue.
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
Even if we changed any laws, studies have shown that those who partake in violent gun crimes more often than not get their weapons on some sort of black market. People who do horrible
“We are effectively destroying ourselves by violence masquerading as love.” This quote by Dave Laing relates to this topic due to the fact that it relates to how society is falling apart due to choosing violence over peace. In some cases violence may be so bad that it may lead to the death of someone whether it may be by their own hands or by someone else's. A large part in deaths relating to violence is due to the possession of firearms which is why we need a more enforced level of gun control because with tighter gun control we can stop the increasing amount of violence in society, we can decrease the amount of people purchasing guns and using them to bring death to themselves and others whether it may be in public or in private, and overall
Two thousand, four hundred fifty-eight: the number of gun-related deaths in 2017 in the United States as of February 28, the 59th day of the year (“Number of Gun Deaths,” n.d.). Twenty of these occurred on the 27th alone. Just hearing the words “gun control” puts many people on edge; the explosive and divisive nature of the issue leads them to tread cautiously whenever the topic arises. Gun violence is a national dilemma that no one wants to exist. This is where the consensus seems to end: few people agree on how to end it. Gun violence has gotten an ever-increasing amount of press over the past few years, leaving it in the forefront of American attention, and many are frustrated that nothing is changing. In order for any progress to be made,
Artifice; the chicanery committed everywhere yet perceived by so few. Unfortunately, easily deceived Americans have engendered a reality replete with this phony yet prevalent skill pinpointed in numerous aspects of today’s society. In his book Empire of Illusions, Chris Hedges argues that “the most essential skill . . . is artifice,” ranging from political theater to consumer culture. In Hedges’ quote, essentiality is best defined as unfortunate but necessary, as artifice causes undesirable effects on a person's conscience. Although the idea of artifice is exceptionally useful and even imperative in many political, economical, and cultural spheres, gun control politics are a prime exception. In present day America, the controversial topic
The gun violence and gun control in america needs help but should we add more guns laws. Do you think we should add gun laws to make it more difficult to purchase a weapon. I think that their should be more gun laws to make it harder to purchase a gun any every state.
Gun laws have become the hot topic over recent months because permits to carry a concealed weapon are in most states no longer needed. Criminal uprisings and terrorist attacks in the past two decades have had a extreme influence on the people of America. And many have realized that local, state, and federal government is unable to protect the masses when disaster strikes. People are now more aware of the crime in their own communities than in past because of our new technologies. So, many millions of Americans have taken their own security measures.
With all of the recent tragic events involving gun violence the debate between gun control and gun rights has been at an all-time high. The most recent and deadliest example of gun violence in Las Vegas, Nevada being still fresh in peoples’ minds, the San Bernardino attacks in which deadly fully automatic weapons were used, and all of the recent school shootings are all making Americans wonder and debate about the proper response to these events. The majority of Americans are responding by asking the question on how these events can be prevented. Many Americans believe stricter gun control, background checks, or even complete bans on firearms are the solutions to gun violence. Many others believe gun control is not the answer, or the issue is not with guns at all, that maybe the issue lies with our overall mental health of our society, or even putting resources into other means of prevention is the answer.
One of the largest issues being discussed today is how can we effectively control guns and limit, or eliminate, gun violence. There is a very large amount of solutions out there, some that are good and some that are not so good. The solutions I have found and will discuss in this paper have been proposed by Todd Miller of Huffington Post, Evan DeFilipps of Washington Post, and Matthew DesChamps of Stamford Advocate. The solutions these authors have proposed just do not solve this issue in the right way, or without creating another issue. After discussing why their proposals will not get the job done, I will offer my solution. I believe that my solution to gun control is the most effective way to control and limit gun related violence while still protecting the rights given by the 2nd Amendment.