Dear members of the General Assembly, and whomever else it may concern,
I am writing you today in an effort to resolve an issue I am sure you are fully aware of. This issue is gun control, and I believe that the violence involving gun is getting out of hand. Whether it be one person or numerous people being shot, I think it all starts with the availability of guns in our nation. From 1966 to 2017, more than two-hundred eighty million guns have been manufactured in the U.S. In contrast, no other country has more than ninety-six million guns. This is befuddling because the United States makes up about 4.4 percent of the world population, but holds 42 percent of the firearms in the world. I understand that you want to be a powerhouse on
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As many as 14520 people have died from homicide this year, and 9934 of those deaths involve a gun. Whether these are by accident or on purpose, these numbers speak for themselves. And I know what you are saying to yourselves, “ it’s not the firearm that is the problem, it is the person.” Although this may be true, and factors like mental illness, depression, and the naturally violent nature of America play a part in these incidents. Most people, myself included, believe obtaining the gun is the first step of the problem as a whole. But like all other problems our nation has encountered, I think we as a whole could do more to do away with said issue. The first step, in my opinion, is establishing more regulations on guns. This is a good start since these incidents are so hard to manage, predict, and prevent.
I have a few recommendations that I hope you all consider in the near future. I believe these rules and regulations will not only limit crime but keep all legal gun owners content. First, fix the F.B.I’s background check system. By doing this you can prevent criminals and mentally ill people from purchasing weapons. Another step you all could take is evaluating all returning soldiers for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If they show signs of said disorder, then they should be put into the system that would prevent them from owning or buying weapons. Third, the F.B.I should implement a department independently focused on preventing the importing and purchasing of
Another solution is to redesign the background checks on every individual wanting to purchase a gun. Each state has their own law on this one and many are not very strict. By creating a national background checking system for everyone trying to purchase guns which would include a national mental health check; guns entering the hands of an individual mentally unstable could be prevented better. Thirdly, designing tougher sentencing laws could aid in lowering crimes involving guns. Totally removing guns would not be beneficial because the criminals are still going to find a way to have a gun in order to continue their criminal lifestyle. The key to finding the perfect solution is tough due to many loopholes and the effects it could have on everyone’s second amendment right. In looking at the three potential ways to control guns and violence; the perfect way to aid in controlling guns and the violence is to put in place a law that contains tougher sentences, more in depth background checks, a large database to account for every gun purchased or sold and require every gun owner to go through a course to teach gun safety and the laws that are in place.
The Atlantic asked its readers about their first memories with guns, and one reader responded with "We lived in southwestern Colorado my first six years of life (1949-1955). My father had a double-barrel shotgun, and a single-barrel one, a .22 rifle, and a “deer rifle.” We ate more venison than beef and almost as much pheasant as chicken.... I never knew where he kept those guns; I never touched one that he didn’t offer. We only saw them when he cleaned them or packed them to go hunting. He let my older sister and me shoot one of them to feel the kick and power and hear the loudness.... When he passed away in 1981, a year after my mother had passed away, we took inventory of their estate, but we never found those guns. Perhaps he sold them or gave them away or simply kept them hidden somewhere so that no one would be able to find them and shoot someone accidentally" (Green). The issue of gun control has been an increasing cynosure in society, growing in its controversy. The polar opposite sides seem to grow further different from one another, with one side supporting and the other opposing gun control laws/actions. Those who support it tend to believe there should either be no place for the firearms in society at all or that there should be very strict restrictions on who may obtain a given firearm. Those who oppose the laws believe there should either be little to no change in current restrictions or, as the National Rifle Association (NRA) advocates, there ought to be
As studies show, every day Americans are injured or killed by guns. However, to stop this ongoing issue our country needs to go to source of the problem and change the laws.
Gun control has become an increasingly controversial topic in the nation due to the continuous debates relating to gun control and whether or not laws should be passed to make it harder for guns to be obtained. Guns serve for a variety of purposes that range from good to bad. Guns are not for everyone. Some individuals cannot handle guns properly, and some choose to use guns inappropriately. Lately, guns have become more of a problem in our society. There has been an increasing amount of shootings that have taken many lives and have wounded people emotionally, not just physically. Although guns are used for protection, firearms are reportedly used more in crimes. More and more shootings are breaking out across the nation. As a result, the
This country has a mental health issue. We don't want to talk about it because it makes us look vulnerable. There is no law that can fix this, you could literally go door to door and take every single firearm in this country and we would still see tragedies like this occurring. We have a shit ton of people in this country and people like to kill each other, it's just the way this works for some reason. The reality of it is this; these public shooters are more or less a statistical anomaly. They're comparatively rare in a country where people constantly use illegally-acquired firearms to commit murders every day.
Gun violence is very prominent in the United States. It has been for quite some time. There are several problems with how people are accessing firearms, and the type of firearms they are buying. People are accessing firearms way to easy nowadays. Some of these firearms are stolen or illegal. We need to somehow crack down on firearms and how these men and women are accessing them so easily. According to BBC, “Some 13,286 people were killed in the US by firearms in 2015, and 26,819 people were injured. These figure exclude suicides.” They also stated “There were 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015, killing 475 people and wounding 1,870, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker, which catalogues such incidents. A mass shooting is defined as a single shooting incident which kills or injures four or more people, including the assailant.” These numbers are outrageous and something needs to be done.
Over the recents years, there have been many arguments about the issue of gun control at the state and national level. In California, there have been a variety of enacted laws within recent years to address the issue of growing gun violence around the country and ways to prevent terrorist attacks. California 's new enacted laws about gun control in the state range from abolishing certain features on weapons to restricting certain handguns or other firearms a person might buy. The legislative branch within California wrote bills including a ban on large capacity ammunition magazines and were approved by Governor Jerry Brown and the Legislature in response to a 2015 terrorist shooting in San Bernardino. The hysteria developed when
From 1988 to 2001, the usage of anti-depressant drugs in the general public increased by four-hundred percent (Swanson). The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary took place in December of 2012, and during 2014, firearms were used in 88 percent of teen homicides, and 41 percent of teen suicides (“Suicidal Teens”). On February 28th, 2017, the Trump administration repealed a firearms regulation that prevented mentally disabled persons from owning guns. At the same time, teenage mental illness is on the rise, specifically in cases of depression and anxiety. A report from the Surgeon General shows that over 90 percent of adolescents that committed either suicide or homicide have or had a mental disability. Mental disabilities such as depression and anxiety put teenagers at a high risk for homicides and suicides. Teenagers who are stressed due to school, lack of parenting, puberty, bullying, and other factors can develop depression, anxiety or another mental illness. Allowing these teens easy access to firearms proves time and time again to be very dangerous. In some cases, the families of these teens have never been assessed to see if they can responsibly store firearms. The only background check performed is on the owner of the firearm, meaning that a person may own the weapon even if another family member living with them legally cannot. Loose gun control laws allow families with physiologically ill children to have access to firearms, without first checking to see if the disabled children in the home are responsible enough to be around said firearms. Repealing gun control laws instated by the Obama administration will cause an increase in adolescent firearm-related homicides, suicides, and tragedies similar to the one at Sandy Hook Elementary.
People all across the world are debating about whether to require the start of reducing gun violence. Guns have always been a part of American culture, even before we became the America we know today. In colonial times and the days of the Wild West, guns were an essential part of survival. They were needed to kill animals for food and to protect against unwanted trespassers and predators. However, in these modern times, because we have conveniences such as Hannaford and organized police systems, guns have gone from tools of necessity to novelty toys. For the most part, people own guns in this century for sporting reasons or to protect their families and home from intrusion. The simplicity of a gun and the lack of effort it requires owning
In today’s world, there are many things going on at once from the world melting to someone getting a police ticket. There also many things that go by and sometimes we don’t see what’s going on in front of our noses or aware of the laws in some areas of the U.S. In the “lovely” state of Arizona the laws to carrying a weapon are very slim because there are no special permissions associated with carrying firearms, licensing of ownership, registration of weapon and permits to purchase virtually anyone can carry a firearm("NRA-ILA | Arizona State Profile.") In a publically open area, however, guns are not the concern or the issue, nor the people that own weapons it’s the negative pervasive influences associated with them. Most people can be persuaded into virtually anything someone could say that all white tall rabbits destroy cars electrical systems, and that’s why everyone should shoot them. Should people buying a weapon have permits to carrying/handling, have more than one valid reason to buy a gun, and, at least, two screening test to check for any mental illnesses.
Imagine somebody breaking into your home with the intentions of hurting you and your family and trying to take all your valuables that you own in your house, and not having anything to protect your loved ones. Without the protection of a firearm, the intruder could injure or kill all members within the household easily. In the United States, according to the Bill of Rights, a citizen has the right to bear arms, however, recently people have started to believe that guns only incite violence and therefore gun laws need to be more strict. Although, If you own the firearm for the right reasons and go through the process of having a carrying license, then that is within your rights to protect yourself and be able to own the gun. Therefore,
Stiffer sentences for gun crimes would be effective in using fear of reprimand as a crime deterrent. National as well as community funded gun education courses would increase gun awareness and safety. These programs could even be extended to public schools. Many guns are involved in accidents that could easily have been prevented by a little care or forethought. Also gun purchasers could be required to take lessons in gun safety, at the purchaser's expense. Again, the NRA has long been a proponent of gun education.
The United States of America is facing a very important problem with guns. This problem has been brought to light recently by mass killings. Weak gun laws allow criminals to get their hands on deadly weapons capable of ending many innocent lives. There are many automatic weapons being sold in the U.S. that don't belong in civilian hands. While the U.S. government is pouring money into military spending, innocent lives are being lost due to mass killings across the U.S. In just 2015 alone, 22 mass shootings where more than four people were killed have taken place. Most of the shooters were either mentally unstable, connected with militant organizations, or had extremist views on race, religion, or nationality. There were also hundreds of smaller
These are the reasons it has been a such struggle to eliminate gun violence. The suggestions I have previously listed of could possibly reduce gun violence in the United State and around the World; without taking away or restricting citizens legal rights of possession . It is important that gun laws don’t differentiate in other states so that everyone will have a good understanding about the expectations. That being said, hopefully the World won’t have to struggle with gun violence very much longer; and everyone owning a firearm will use it in the correct
On average, there are nearly 13,000 gun homicides each year in the United States. Homicide is not an accident, it is the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another. These murders had access to guns in order to commit the awful act. They usually get access by purchasing guns at a store without the sales people knowing that they would commit these horrific crimes. Background checks should be made on the gun purchaser to ensure that they will use the weapon safely. This helps prevent gun violence from the owner of the gun. Many things can be done to help prevent these crimes from happening. The issue of gun violence can be solved by stricter laws when purchasing guns and establishing steps to take during an attack.