Gun Control: Is It Right for the US?
Throughout the past few years, disturbing amounts of mass shooting have occurred in the United States. This is paired with the fact that gun ownership in the United States stays significantly higher per capita as compared to any other developed nation. Lastly, statistics from these tragedies evidenced that most of the weapons used are legally obtained, high volume weapons. It remains clear that as a country we cannot stay at the top in gun-ownership, and consequently have mass shootings decrease. We must examine ways that regulating gun ownership can prevent tragedies.
Ever since the second amendment subsist into effect, entitled gun control remains a controversial topic in the United States, especially as mass shooting, homicide rates, and crime rates continue to rise. Statistics clearly reveal that among the fourteen worst shooting massacres that have occurred over the past years, half of them took place in the America. Tragic examples include incidents at the Columbine, Virginia Tech, and an Aurora movie theater. These rising numbers of mass shooting prove that the United States possesses one of the highest rates of gun-related violence among developed countries (Ballaro and Finley, Cook and Ludwig, Dao).
Furthermore, gun violence costs the nation about one hundred billion dollars a year, where eighty percent of that money carry on to treat firearm injuries, which taxpayers pick up the tab for (Cook and Ludwig). Stevenson alluded
Gun control is an extremely controversial issue in the United States, and the debates around this topic has started many decades ago. According to the article “Gun Rights vs. Gun control” by Brianna Gurciullo, these debates are fueled by the people who defend the gun rights and the people who advocate in favor of gun control. It has been difficult to prove that gun ownership is directly related to an increase in violence due to the fact that researches tend to disagree on the impact of gun ownership in the American society. These debates tend to be brought to the spotlight whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States, which according to Abbey Oldham, who is a reporter from the PBS News Hour, happens quite frequently. However, organizations, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), defend that the laws for gun control violate the Second Amendment of the constitution, which states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” stated Gurciullo. Due to the distinct interpretations of the constitution and the difficulty to agree on the best approach to tackle the issue, this controversy seem to be almost unsolvable.
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.
It appears as though the repetitive and unfortunate tragedies of mass shootings have become incorporated into the everyday life of American culture. We are forced to live in a heightened degree of fear, skepticism, and hesitation concerning our public safety. This phenomenon could reasonably occur in response to the vast ineffectiveness of the country’s current gun laws. Time after time similar misfortunes arise, yet few major changes are implemented to prevent them from reoccurring in the future. We cannot let this trend continue any further. Though some claim that increased gun control is useless and infringes upon the Second Amendment, it limits civilians’ weapons grade, obstructs those deemed unfit to wield such lethal weapons, and insures a greater level of security, thus it should be executed.
The United States has 88.8 guns per 100 people, or about 270,000,000 guns, which is the highest total and per capita number across the globe. The current public gun control debate in the United States seems to be placed on standby until it is sparked up by a major mass shooting. There were at least 126 mass shootings between January 2000 and July 2014.(pro). Opponents of more gun laws accuse supporters of using a horrific event to further a lost cause, saying that more laws would not have prevented the shootings. Advocates of more gun control often want more laws to try to prevent the mass shootings and call for smart gun laws and background checks . Pew Research Center did
While Americans were contemplating gun control proposals in the wake of mass shootings at a Colorado School, another gunman massacred 50 people in a club in Orlando. This incident brought heated political exchanges between President Obama and Trump, the Republican presidential candidate. It is estimated that in 2015 alone, there were more than 351 mass shootings in the United States. This is a worrying trend that should be reversed as soon as possible. Surprisingly, the trend has divided Americans into two groups. On one extreme end, there are those Americans who believe that the government should enforce gun control. On the other end, some Americans insist that stricter gun controls will not help in the fight against killings. In this light, this paper will try to provide a detailed analysis of the gun control debate while highlighting the various points made by the proponents and opponents of the gun control. The essay posits that gun control is counterproductive.
It is impossible to fully stop and prevent tragedies related to gun use or misuse. In the United States, it has been a series of tragedies in recent times that have left everyone perplex to the level of violence. Since the times of the protests in the 1960’s, to the Columbine massacre of 1999, to the very recent massacre at a rural Texas church. This recent incident, several others in past few years, has spark the debate over gun control in the United States. More and more are calling for a complete ban for assault type of weapons, that to include fully automatic and semi –automatic weapons with military attachments and features. In the light of the recent surge of incident
The gun rights and gun control debate start in 2013, after a lone gunman killed around 27 people, including 20 children, six adults and himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. In gun violence and ownership, the US leads the world that is directly correlated to the made in the gun control debate-guns kill people. On the base of study, the American Journal of Public Health stated that people those were homicide victims in the US were around 68% killed with handguns between 1988 and 1997 (Laws.com, 2015).
Guns are clearly a major problem in the United States today. In an article on whitehouse.gov, the author, Tanya Somander, remarks that gun violence today has killed almost 4 million people in the last decade alone (Somander).
Gun control is a topic that has created many discussions in the story to those who can carry them or not since the US is one of the countries where access to all individuals is allowed without the due restrictions. Because of this, every day is more devastating when we hear about a massacre. Unfortunately, America has become in a little time in the country that leads the list of countries where more violent success occurred due to what is happening to our society. America 's gun problem is completely unique. First place in gun violence worldwide. It occupies the sixth place in gun homicide. The US by far the highest number of privately-owned guns in the world despite being a minority. Guns grow in an incredible way that goes from domestic
“From the 1999 school shooting at Columbine that left 13 dead, to the recent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 dead, many people have been shocked by these horrific events and have searched for ways to end them. The answer is simple: more regulations regarding gun control” (Clypian). The stakes are rising in the policy debate on gun control due to the many mass shootings which have occurred throughout the country. While some people believe that more laws regarding gun control will not help because criminals ignore laws, this is incorrect. Gun control is not directed toward innocent gun holders but is intended to take action against the idea of gun violence. Steps should be taken to reduce access to weapons by the
There is a tremendous cost that is placed upon citizens with the burden and the issue of gun control. It is stated that American taxpayers are paying roughly $12.8 million every day to cover the costs of gun-related deaths and injuries. The true cost, however, is not fully known, partly because of what is spent by the NRA and other gun rights who have impeded some research related to this issue and partly because of the sheer number of expenses incurred when someone is shot. Taxpayers cover roughly 87% of these costs, which include, but are not limited to the following.
Gun violence has been an issue in the United States for a long time. To address the topic of gun violence, one must understand the statistical data and why gun violence is a big issue. From the Columbine shooting to the recent Las Vegas shooting, this violence is in desperate need of being addressed. In the year 2013, there were 33,636 deaths from a firearm in the U.S., meaning on an average day 95 Americans were killed. Also on average, there are nearly 12,000-gun homicides a year (Gun, 2017). This type of violence leave’s people physically and psychologically impacted for the rest of their lives. This topic is very controversial over gun control or pro-gun rights and the best strategic action to take, but overall nearly everyone in the United States can agree that they want less gun violence. The “CNN” and “New York Times” articles below give solutions on how to resolve gun violence, but both also have types of bias and heuristics.
On December 15, 1791, the Second Amendment was adopted as part of the first ten amendments contained in the Bill of Rights. It gives American citizens the right to bear arms. As an effect, the United States is the country that owns the most guns worldwide at an outstanding proportion of 88.8 guns per 100 people in the United States (Shaw n.p.). However, the ease of access to firearms in America comes at a great cost. This cost has been manifested through the millions of deaths caused by guns. In the light of recent mass shootings, one comes to think of ways they could have been prevented and ways that guns can be controlled efficiently. To ensure that guns are in the right hands and as an initiative to prevent mass shootings stricter gun control laws need to be implemented in the form of a more rigorous background check.
Statistics show compared to other nations, the United States has the highest gun ownership rate—112 firearms per 100 civilians. 1 These numbers make it seem that there is an overabundance of firearms in the U.S. To protect the citizens it might make sense, as some proponents advocate, to restrict gun ownership to a few. This hasn’t worked
The first reason that stricter gun laws should be put in place in America is because more gun control would decrease gun deaths (Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?). Between 1999 and 2003, there were 464,044 gun deaths in America (Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?). David Hemenway, the Injury Control Research Center’s director, said, “Within the