Gun Suicides

Gun violence in the United States has been a growing anomaly. Everyday 309 people die from guns in America, and this number is growing. These tragedies can be a result of suicide, murder, gang related, racially motivated, accidents etc. In the past, many policy makers in Washington have attempted to create a law to decrease the number of gun related deaths, however, many of these attempts have become unsuccessful. The second amendment, the right to bear arms, is a right given to the citizens of the United States by our founding fathers. This rudimentary right is something that many citizens in this country hold dear and will not see taken away. Because of the struggle to find a common ground between acceptable guns and unnecessary guns is so hard, this has sparked a national

James Eagan Holmes entered a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado carrying an AR-15, Remington 870 shotgun, and a Glock 40. Caliber handgun, with over 200 rounds of ammunition. At a midnight opening of the movie batman, he opened fire killing 12 people and wounding over 70. After being apprehended by

The second amendment states that right to keep and bear arms. This law has been etched in the United States history for centuries thus creating the highly popularized debate whether they should be gun control laws. Members and advocates of the National Rifle Association would argue against gun control. Their aim is to shift the focus away from guns and their destructive potential but instead have people focus on the criminal and shift the argument to them being mentally incapable or suggest that there is a lack of security within schools (Henigan 2009). Voices of the NRA do make valid points, however it prevents them from seeing the bigger picture. We as a society have drifted from the crux of the issue, which is, when put simply, guns are dangerous. In America, guns are extremely dangerous. Anyone who chooses to Google “gun violence statistics” and find the official research study done by the National Institute of Justice it would show you that 15 of the 25 worst mass shootings in the last 50 years took place in America. It also vividly reminds us of how guns are easily obtained. The mass shootings that took place in America over the last

Tougher gun control laws will most certainly lead to less people owning guns. It is argued that if less people own guns, then those who choose to commit suicide using a gun will be saved. However, there is no direct correlation between those who choose to commit suicide and the amount of people who choose to own a gun (Thompson, 2001). Although gun

Gun control and gun rights are crucial topics that have been debated for years. Some people believe that civilians should not have the right to own a gun while others believe it is our god given right to bear arms. The second amendment of the Bill of Rights states “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.”(Shermer). This is a right that society has had for years and is one of the main reasons why no solution has been reached yet. There are two main sides to this debate, Gun control advocates focus on the serious negative effects of gun availability on health and safety, while gun-ownership advocates emphasize the lawful use of guns and

The second amendment of The Constitution of the Unites States rules 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.” In recent years this has become a highlighted and popular discussion topic throughout people and media. Typical with American media the subject of gun control is visited with broad stroked of red and the use of fear tactics while completely ignoring the complicated and underling positives and negatives of public access to firearms and the benefits and risks associated with this freedom. Most people do not carry a weapon at all and may question others who do because of the moderately low risk of being a victim of a crime. Those how carry however like to think “Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.”

Introduction “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.” These are the famous words drafted by the founding fathers into the Bill of Rights. This particular amendment has since then been a major part of American culture. Through the second amendment it has given American citizens freedom to buy firearms of any sort: AR-15s, AK-47s, handguns, and the like for self-defense. However, in light of the most recent mass shootings, people have felt that it is time to change if not regulate the freedom the second amendment grants. That is to say that some believe that there needs to be a solution to reduce if not end the gun violence in America by regulating and restricting the access to weapons meant for the police and military by American civilians. Ultimately, the solution to this social problem of gun violence in America is gun control. What is gun control exactly? From an extreme conservative's perspective, gun control is a means of disarming the public and infringing the right the second amendment grants Americans. What this point of view fails to take into account is that gun control is not about infringing on any right or disarming American civilians. It is about restricting the access and sales of deadly firearms to potential felons who have the capability of using them to commit mass murder. Furthermore, what some do not realize is that the second amendment was written in

The second amendment to the Constitution of the United States is one that many people familiar with the gun control debate know by rote. As of this writing, the Gun Violence Archive reports that there have been over 53,000 incidents of gun violence in the United States this year alone, and with a little over a month to go in the year, that number continues to rise. In just the last two weeks there have been 2 mass shootings involving school-aged children, one in Sutherland Springs, Texas that claimed the lives of 27 people, and another in Corning, California that killed 6 people.(Gun Violence Archive 2017) I am as familiar as anyone else with the dialogue that always seems to repeat itself every time we are visited with the fresh horror of the unspeakable violence that can be unleashed on unsuspecting people, with relative ease thanks to advances in modern weaponry. The admonition that this is the time for mourning and not the time for politicking, has done nothing but halt progress in the face of a disturbing epidemic of gun violence in our country.

Gun law advocates argue that gun control laws diminish the amount of weaponry in the streets, and, by extension, in the hands of criminals. Likewise, gun control will diminish suicide. There were 464,033 total gun deaths between 1999 and 2013: 270,237 suicides (58.2% of total deaths); 174,773 homicides (37.7%); and 9,983 unintentional deaths (2.2%) (CDC, 2014). If perhaps, one of these families had a surviving brother or sister, mother or father, due to the current policies, it is worth enacting change. It is inhuman to allow people to die by firearms when they could simply be banned. In light of the recent mass shootings, families are left with the lingering wonder as to whether these national tragedies could be prevented. Criminals can easily

In the United States results in thousands of deaths and thousands more injuries annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2013, firearms (excluding BB and pellet guns) were used in 84,258 nonfatal injuries (26.65 per 100,000 U.S. citizens) and 11,208 deaths by homicide (3.5 per 100,000), 21,175 by suicide with a firearm, 505 deaths due to accidental discharge of a firearm, and 281 deaths due to firearms-use with "undetermined intent" for a total of 33,169 deaths related to firearms (excluding firearm deaths due to legal intervention). 1.3% of all deaths in the country were related to firearms.

A shocking 11% of teenagers suffer from depression in the US, with 14% having suicidal thoughts and 7% attempting it. By having easy to access guns, teenagers have a much higher chance of finding and using a gun on themselves. When asked, the majority of people who were about to commit suicide had second thoughts after being unable to find an easy access method that didn’t require much thought or lengthy pain, for example hanging themselves. Comparing the percentage of suicide by guns to Australia, a country that changed their regulations on guns in the last twenty years and now has a 35% decrease in gun suicide since this law change presents the clear evidence that restricting guns will reduce the number of suicides

Imagine heartbreak, loved ones dying, and losing hope. This has transpired for many in America today, all because of gun violence. It has become a great problem for our society in recent years. Data from Every Town Research has shown In their article Gun Violence by the Numbers “...that on

The excruciating and horrific pain of getting shot is felt by many people in the U.S. On July 8, 2001, thirteen year old Elizabeth Tomas experienced the agony as a stray bullet from a gang fight flew through her window hitting her in the eyebrow (Atkin 52). In the United

What most people don’t know is that suicide can happen in a split second. If a weapon isn’t available at the given moment, it could save a life. One of the most used weapons in suicide is licensed handguns.”(M., Morris). According to the Boston Globe, “States with high levels of gun ownership have a suicide rate twice as high as those with low ownership levels.” By reducing the number of guns legally available to civilians, suicide can be less likely for some. Therefore, lives can be saved due to the fact that one of the most used weapons for suicide is harder to get and use. If America really wants to lower the suicide rates, this is one clear way to do so.