Gun Control And Gun Violence

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.

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.

There are an abundance of causes and effects in the way guns are used, purchased, and sold – legally or illegally. A few causes include how guns are kept (with a safety and locked away or not), and in the way guns are obtained. The effects of these acts are, peoples state of mind, and the criticisms law enforcement may receive. Thought of as technical and firm, the laws about guns can easily be bypassed by criminals and people who are not in the right frame of mind.

Many people around the United States are victims of shootings, whether they be school shootings, mass shootings, or Terrorist Attacks. There seem to be two common ideas either support or oppose gun control. In the United States, many gun control supporters believe that guns are the reason mass shootings happen while gun control opponents believe that people are the cause of mass shootings. But they both want the people in the United States to be safe, whether that is from government tyranny, mass shootings, gun violence, or mental health.

Americans are faced with a big issue of violence in the streets, these streets where elderly people are beaten for their money and women are attacked and raped. Sadly, some people believe that the best way to deal with these violent occurrences is to pass gun control laws that take away legally owned guns from everyone. Not only does gun control end up disarming the innocent but it also violates the Second Amendment. By taking away guns from the American citizens, whom the Second Amendment bestowed onto us this act violates our rights. Unfortunately for those who have legally armed themselves for self-defense, gun control would eventually strip away their ability to fend for themselves. Gun control will also end up causing a rise in crime. By taking away arms from good law abiding citizens and leaving them defenseless, it makes things much easier for criminals by knowing that their victims are not armed. Although the gun ban would take away guns from stores, a criminal will find a way to get their hands on one, imagine that. Gun controls are taking away our rights as citizens. If a law abiding citizen happens to enjoy hunting, they will lose that right. Gun controls are also taking away weapons from citizens. Gun control is not having a positive effect on America because it violates the second amendment, takes away rights and it won’t reduce the crime rate.

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.

The rise in cases of gun violence and related incidences of assault has drawn the public to the issue of guns and gun control. Such has been evident within the spheres of politics especially with the last election period seeing the incumbent president Donald Trump suggesting on stringent gun control laws. However, despite the acknowledgment of the need to have better gun laws, much ground and consensus has never reached. Such, to an extent, contributed to the current lack of political goodwill within the country to have the necessary legislations enacted to facilitate the same on the controls (Grandy 23). Of the guns under question are the assault rifles. Like the military weapons, assault rifles have a destructive potential to causing

The occurence of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman, was 20-year-old Adam Lana, who first shot and killed his mother at their Newtown home. He then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School where he fatally shot 20 children and 6 adult staff members. As first responders arrived, Lana committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The shooting began at approximately 9:30 a.m. Sandy Hook was the deadliest mass shooting at a high school or grade school in U.S. history and the second-deadliest mass shooting by a single person in U.S. history, after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. This shooting yet again assured the nation that gun violence is still as big of a problem as it was back in the late 90’s when 27 teenagers got killed in another mass killing in Columbine, Colorado. We as a nation must stand up and oppose mass murdering because these actions are not only unjust but inhuman as well.  The increase in gun violence can be decreased by, identifying the regions in the country where the most gun violence occurs and restricting their access to limiting or monitoring the availability of guns and ammunition.

America is known as the land of opportunity, freedom, fast food, and raging numbers of gun violence. According to Mass Shooting Tracker there has been about 367 shootings so far since the year started (Mass Shooting Tracker). This is outrageous considering that in other countries, gun shooting numbers don 't even reach a two-digit number. Far too many people have been victims of these unregulated weapons, claiming lives and ripping families apart. There is no safe place from these assault weapons, no movie theater, night club, church, or school. American’s must deal with the fact that any unsuited person is legally allowed to purchase a weapon with the weak regulations we currently have. Assault weapons have been damaging for this country and it 's time to change the laws. Gun regulations and laws need to be stricter to make it harder for individuals to purchase guns to prevent any future tragedies from happening.

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.

“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.

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.

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

Former Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer once said "Yes, people pull the trigger - but guns are the instrument of death. Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror". Spitzer’s words makes one think: should we fear the person behind the gun or the gun itself? The majority of violent crimes that happen in America are not only caused by a criminal, but also the weapon in which the criminal is holding. America’s gun violence problem stems from the increasing accessibility of firearms. Many of the mass shootings in America could have been prevented if access to semi-automatic and automatic weapons were completely banned. Gun violence is an arising issue, and a change needs to be made concerning the gun laws in the U.S. Stricter gun control laws is necessary to prevent high accessibility to firearms and mass shootings, also research shows that Australia’s strict gun control laws are proven to be more efficient in preventing gun violence.