Gun Free Zones

In America, guns have done great harm to society. Guns have been culprits to many different types of shootings such as Charleston, which was a shooting in a church, Sandy Hook, which was responsible for the deaths of twenty young children and six adult staff members, and the shooting in Aurora, Colorado during a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises which resulted in the deaths of twelve innocent people. These are just three we listed here. How many times have there been news of another shooting? It’s like, everytime we turn on the news, we see another shooting that occurred. It doesn’t take a lot for one to notice that the current gun laws haven’t been working. The evidence which we all see daily in the news

The studies and research on gun control has opened up many ideas on how weak the current laws really are. Crime rates consist of high numbers. “Since 1982, there have been at least 62 mass shootings across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii”

The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun. If gun laws become opposed to the law, then only criminals will have guns. Stricter gun laws will not stop a madman from killing. In fact, 34% of mass shooters were prohibited from owning weapons; although, a surveyed showed 57% of gun owners believe guns are too easy to buy and 35% of people who carry guns would make Americans feel safer. Gun control will only affect the law-biding citizens simultaneously as the demand of illegal weapons on the black-market increases. Background checks will only restrict criminals from legally buying a firearm, but that does not stop a mentally ill person; which are usually the ones to start a shooting massacre. The second amendment literally states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Protected by the second amendment, it will be hard to regulate guns because now every single individual has a right to bear arms. For example, the Texas Baptist church shooter was gun downed by an armed citizen. Had there been stricter gun laws in Texas towards not being able to have a concealed firearm in public, the shooter could have gotten away. People should have the right to exercise the second amendment; therefore, gun control will not work because criminals will always find a way to obtain guns, supply and demand on the black market will increase and there are more existing weapons than people in the U.S.

Imagine being in the family’s shoes when hearing through media reports that their child was killed in a school shooting. If teachers had the option of being equipped with the handguns, then that child (and the rest in the classroom) would have survived. How many more times are we going to learn about a deranged gunman walking into a school loaded and ready to kill? How many more innocent children need to die before we wake up and give our teachers the prospect to fight back? The only resolution is to grant our teachers a fighting chance. No shooter is going to target a school that can protect itself and fight back. Every second counts in a school shooting. Calling 911 and anticipating for police to arrive isn’t good enough. Spartanburg County South Carolina Sheriff Chuck Wright says, “Our form of justice is not making it. Carry a concealed weapon. That’ll fix it” (Miller, Fox News). Then there was Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. who lately created a nationwide uproar for advising citizens to master how to manage firearms so they can protect themselves, because he says, “simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option” (Handelman Fox 6 Wisconsin). What happens when the nearest police unit is 10

The violence in the United States is a big issue, but making more gun laws is not the answer. It is an inevitable fact that making it harder to get access to guns would only lead people to turn to black markets and more underhanded deals. In an article for the Los Angeles Times, James Q. Wilson writes, “It is virtually impossible to use new background check or waiting-period laws to prevent dangerous people from getting guns. Those that they cannot buy, they will steal or borrow” (Wilson). Dramatic changes within gun controls laws would, in itself, make more people mad and possibly lead to riots. In many people's minds, more gun control laws would mean to taking guns away. Gun control laws within themself are not a bad thing, the extent to which they are taken within a nation

Gun control should not exist at all in the United States. Mass shootings have almost become seen as normal event in the United States. What people do not understand is that gun control is not the answer; there are countries with little to no control that have fewer shootings. According to The Washington Post,Finland is ranked number 4 in countries with the most guns despite that they only had 24 homicides by firearm (“Gun homicides and ownership by countries” n.pag.) . In the article Did Gun Control Work In Australia “it is shown that gun control has reduced the problems but it still has not completely got rid of all firearm deaths”(Matthews n.pag.). The number of murders, homicides, or suicides do not go up due to people just owning more guns. Clayton Perry, a staff writer at the University of Maine, even points out “Stricter gun laws were in place during the Assault Weapons Ban between 1994 and 2004, but that didn't stop the shooters at Columbine in 1999 ”(Perry n. pag.). In Iceland, thirty out of a hundred people own a gun and they have zero homicides caused by guns a year(“Gun Homicides and ownership by country” n. pag.). In this day and age, everything is unpredictable, guns are a form of protection for everyone and there should not be restrictions on protection. The U.S. Department of Justice released a data brief that states, “ On average in 1987-92 about 83,000 crime victims per year used a firearm to defend themselves or their property”(Rand BJS Statistician n. pag.). The National Sheriffs Association released that the average police response time is at eighteen minutes while the average school shooting only last twelve minutes (“Embracing Technology To Decrease Response Time” n. pag.). Gun control should not exist because other countries do fine without it , high gun ownership has no link with increasing death rates , and guns are not harmful when instructions are followed.

Today in America we face many controversial problems. With strict gun control, Americans cannot feel safe, and to some the thought of not being able to use a firearm in self-defense is very frightening. We Americans should never have to be in fear of not being able to protect ourselves, especially in the comfort of our own home. How are strict gun control laws and regulations going to reach the estimated 65 million gun owners that own approximately 240 million firearms (Just Facts Gun Control)? The answer is simple, they can’t. There must be an end to gun control, its problems significantly outweigh any good intentions it has, and besides there is no doubt about it, America is a safer place when the citizens are able to own firearms.

The amount of crimes happening today will only increase with stricter gun control laws because there is a higher temptation to steal guns. An American citizen claims, “Ever since I first learned how to shoot, the issue with gun violence around the nation became clear: Guns are not the problem; people are” (Sherfenski). Police need to lock up these people committing the disastrous crimes that affect so many innocent lives. These blameless people are not prepared when they are being attacked, and that is because most shootings tend to happen in areas where guns are controlled. The former United States Secretary of Education, William Bennett, explains the reason that criminals decide to go to places that have controlled gun laws is because: “These murderers, while deranged and deeply disturbed, are not dumb. They show up to schools, universities, malls and public places where their victims cannot shoot back” (Bennett). Even if guns are controlled in public places including malls and schools, where there are uncontrolled shootings, why would it make a difference if they were controlled everywhere? It would not make a difference whatsoever because these crimes are done out of pure, revolting pleasure. Committing a crime is one thing, but taking away a right that was given to Americans in the 1790s is a whole different story.

Next, it is important to ask who are the people that really kill? Is it the gun or the person? People who defend the right to bear arms often state that it is not the gun that kills it is the individual that kills. Some feel the answer lies in that we need to introduce stricter laws on who is able to apply for license to carry guns. Gun laws vary from state to state with California being the most restrictive state to Arizona with the most lenient laws. These laws include background checks, waiting periods, and registration requirements to who can purchase and sells guns. Even with these laws in place we have still witnessed an increase in the number of mass shootings over the past few years. Implementing stricter gun control laws will ultimately not eliminate individuals from acquiring access to guns if they truly desire. State governments may require licenses to purchase guns but there remains an underground and online market to purchase guns, which does not monitor whether a person truly has a license or not. Rather than focusing on implementing stricter laws for control and ways to make the purchase

Areas we enter are sources of Security Theater that is not address and that contributes to the increase of shootings: in specific I am referring to “Gun free zones.” Over 98% percent of mass shootings and gun violence occurs in areas where guns are restricted or completely banned (Crime Prevention Research, 2018). Out of a hundred fifty shootings only three would not occur in a “gun free zone.” Signs are often posted outside buildings, movie theaters, and parks to supposedly prevent those that may be carrying a gun, concealed or otherwise, from bringing it on to the premises. However, the only protection that a “gun free zones” provides is helping people feel that they are safe without doing anything to ensure their safety. Only law abiding citizens will follow the rules put into place to make an area a “gun free zone.” This causes a disarming of the people who could

What if an individual could acquire a gun like you buy a pair of shoes whatever size or color you want? Could you imagine what it would be like? The mere thought of every person in the city walking around with guns is frightening. That will be the United States if Congress does not put stricter policies in place to control the situation. When looking at the news, or reading the paper or even surfing the web you will see overwhelming statistics. According to the USA Gun Violence Statistics, More than 30,000 people are killed by firearms each year in this country and More than 30 people are shot and murdered each day, 1/2 of them are between the ages of 18 and 35 and 1/3 of them are under the age of 20. Gun violence has caused terror and fear across the country due to the attacks on innocent people like Sandy Hook Elementary, where a 20 year old killed 20 children and 6 adults, a Shooting Frenzy at Fort Hood in 2009, or the movie goer who was shot and killed for texting in the movie theater, and Jordan Davis who was shot while in his car at a gas station in Jacksonville Florida, and we will never forget the massacres at Columbine and Virginia Tech. How many more people will have to die or become injured in these senseless acts of violence before changes are made to this problematic situation? Innocent individuals are being gun down for no apparent reasons. Enough is enough; I’m not saying that we should completely do away with the right to “Bear arms”; but the policies

“A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined. ” -George Washington. School shootings have come to the forefront of our thought, especially in recent years, and people across the country are seeking the best way prevent future incidents. On one side you have those that believe more strict gun control laws and a higher presence of gun free zones is the optimum solution. This argument can be supported by the article "More Guns on Campuses Won’t Make People Safer, Researchers Say" By Jon Schuppe, where he quotes researchers from John Hopkins university stating that "Increasing gun availability in campus environments could make far more common acts of aggression, recklessness or self-harm more deadly and, thus, have a deleterious impact

The Second Amendment says that "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." History has shown that it is necessary to keep this Amendment. There are now places where this right is infringed upon. They are called “gun-free zones.” In these gun-free zones, people’s safety is constantly compromised, because shooters know that they can come to these places and attack, without fear of their own lives. There is simply no one to resist the shooters. This has been seen in schools across America. The existence of gun-free zones makes these facilities easy targets for those wanting to commit violent crimes; therefore, people should never be stripped of their right to bear arms, regardless of the place. It 's noteworthy that every mass shooting in the U.S. since 1977, with the exception of the 2011 Tucson shooting that killed six people and severely injured Rep. Gabby Giffords, has happened in a gun-free zone, according to John Lott, Jr., former chief economist for the U.S. Sentencing Commission (Gun-Free Zones).

Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado, 1999; Trolley Square Mall, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2007; Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 2007; Westroads Mall, Omaha, Nebraska, 2007; New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2007; Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi, 1997. All of these, except Colorado Springs were in areas designated as gun-free zones, places where state, federal, and/or private property laws and regulations forbid people from carrying a firearm, except law enforcement or security personnel. The only difference between the first four incidents and the last two is the gunman was confronted by someone else with a gun before law enforcement could arrive. Do you feel

Some people believe that extremely tight gun control laws will eliminate crime, but gun control laws only prevent the 'good guys' from obtaining firearms. Criminals will always have ways of getting weapons, whether it be from the black market, cross borders, or illegal street sales. New gun control laws will not stop them. Since the shootings of Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook, the frequency of mass shootings has increased greatly. Gun control is not effective as it has not been shown to actually reduce the number of gun-related crimes. Instead of considering a ban of private firearm possession, and violating individual ownership rights, it may be more practical to consider the option of partially restricting firearm