Gun Control and Mass Shootings

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.

The Sandy Hook massacre also, described as one of the deadliest shooting in all U.S history. 20 children and 6 adults were killed on December of 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. (Connecticut) This massacre was the earliest memory I could recall on gun violence, not just learning about it but also watching it unfold and be told on news outlets all over television and social media. The Sandy Hook massacre shaped my generation by creating a more debatable topic on gun control in the United States. Through the Sociological point of view, gun violence can be understood by the functionalism, conflict, and symbolic theoretical approach. While trying to understand such event with such theories, we begin to unfold how society has shifted and changed over time, how we as a society view gun violence today and what we have done to prevent such act to happen again.

Guns have been used throughout history for war, hunting, and protection. Since then, the killing capacity and speed of guns has improved dramatically. Guns have been a part of American culture from its roots. However, as times have changed and guns are no longer a necessity, gun control has become increasingly urgent to prevent unnecessary crime and killings. Guns should be banned for everyone but the law enforcement and military. Guns should be banned to prevent mass shootings and lower crime rates, while being supported by history and the constitution.

“Shooting massacres” in school settings, a new phenomenon within the past 50 years, are extremely rare events. Over 23 years, 1990-2012, 215 fatal school shooting incidents resulted in 363 deaths, equivalent to 0.12% of national firearm homicides during that time period …… Among these, just three shooting rampages – Columbine High School, Virginia Tech University, and Sandy Hook Elementary School – accounted for 72 (53.3%) of these 135 deaths. The frequency of random/ rampage shooting incidents in schools has remained within the narrow range of 0 to 3 episodes per year.” (Shultz, et al., 2013, p. 84)

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.

Thirteen people were killed at Columbine High School in 1999, thirty-three died during the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, and twenty-seven people, twenty of whom were children no older than seven, were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 (Kirk). These name only a few of the larger and most well-known school shooting incidences. In total, 297 people have lost their lives due to school-based shootings since 1980 (Kirk). Although this number may be small in comparison to death by guns overall, these instances are completely unwarranted and it is likely that they could have been avoided or at the very least reduced. These people, college and high school students, teachers, and even children, might still be alive today if our

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 article, “The Truth About Mass Shootings and Gun Control: Crime and killings have fallen as gun ownership has increased”, was written in a manner to target a specific audience by using a current hot topic amongst politicians in the United States on gun control. By discussing recent mass shooting, the author is able to appeal to his audience with Ethos appeal allowing him to maintain the attention of the audience, which, otherwise would be overlooked by people outside his target audience.

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.

There has been an average of one school shooting every week in America since the Sandy Hook shooting. On the fourteenth of December, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, 20-year-old Adam Lanza not only killed his mother in her home, but also twenty children and six members of staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. This was to be the third deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The Huffington Post reports that as of 2014, there have been over 200 school shootings. These have resulted in at least 94 deaths and over 156 serious and minor injuries. And, with an issue as emotive and contentious as the murder of school children, the question has been frequently asked: why do school shootings happen?

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut is an atrocity that rattled the entire nation. 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and six adult staff members with a gun that he obtained because his mother did not lock it up properly. Adam Lanza, without a doubt, is/was a sick and evil human being that preyed on young, helpless children. Their school was a gun free zone and those teachers and young students were defenseless. No other person in the school was armed besides Adam Lanza (CNN.com). Another awful and tragic mass shooting occurred on July 20, 2012, injuring 70 and killing 12 people. The murderer, James Eagan Holmes, had many options to

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

Currently in the United States, there is a large debate going on about what we should do about gun control. This issue played a large role in the recent election of our president Donald Trump. In this issue, there are two sides as well as a middle section that agrees slightly with both sides. On the extreme sides of the issue, some people believe that guns should be completely not allowed in the United States, while some believe there should be no regulation whatsoever due to the second amendment rights given to us by our forefathers. Then there are the people in the middle who believe there should be some regulation, such as background checks when you purchase