Mass Shootings and Assault Weapons
In the United States of America, a country that we consider united and free. A country where we fought for independence and today fight for the rights of other countries. We always seem to be the “super hero” for the world. A job that seems so easy but so hard to do in our own country. In a country with a neglected system of power and the unnecessary deaths of thousands due to gun violence. In the wake of recent mass shootings, a question that has been running through the minds of millions of Americans is who is our super hero? In the 20th century mass shootings have become a normal news headline. With many families mourning and people living in fear of it will be their hometown next. With a problem this big it seems like there are more people supporting the ban of guns rather than fighting to keep them. There has been loads of pressure on the United States government to change laws and help control gun violence. In recent years the debate of banning assault weapons in the nation of the United States continues to change. “Since the beginning of 2017 the United States has endured over 397 mass shootings with one being the deadliest one in United States history the Las Vegas massacre” (“Mass Shooting Tracker”). The media and news headlines are constantly reporting mass shootings that they only now report shootings with the most deaths and injuries. Since the Las Vegas shooting the support for automatic assault weapon bans
However such bans are ineffective at preventing mass shootings as “Adam Lanza had plenty of time to reload his guns, as did the shooters at Texas Tech in 2007 and Columbine in 1999” (Domenech n.p.) and “assault weapons…applied to guns used or carried by criminals in at most 2 percent of all gun crimes” (Domenech n.p.). Because of the ineffectiveness of gun control, background checks, and assault weapon bans, the best way to prevent mass shootings is to ban gun use altogether.
Seventeen people are dead in the state of Florida because of gun control. In the article, “Famous Speeches: "We call BS," Emma Gonzalez's speech to gun advocates”, by Emma Gonzalez gives a perspective of one mass shooting situation. Also in article, “Issue Overview: Guns in America”, by Bloomberg gives a perspective of many mass shooting situations. These two serious articles equate in many ways, although they differentiate in numerous ways as well.
The mounting deaths and associated trauma from mass shootings should motivate us to take action to make needed reforms to our gun laws, focus law enforcement resources on combating illegal gun possession and invest in prevention initiatives proven to reduce gun violence. Assault weapons cause more harm than good when they are able to purchased and owned by private citizens. And while most who do own and use these powerful weapons for harmless, recreational activities or a sense of protection, the fact is that when they fall into the hands of individuals who are not mentally sound enough to possess something of such force, the result is one of horrific tragedy. The government must take into consideration the hundreds of innocent people who have lost their lives as a result of these dangerous weapons, and work on ways to prevent
Two of the most hot-button issues faced in the 2016 election included abortion rights and gun control. Since President Trump’s election these issues have remained at the forefront of political discussion. With several months still remaining, 2017 had already claimed the reputation for the deadliest year for mass shootings in America’s history (Wilson, 2017). We began 2017 with six killed in the Ft. Lauderdale airport and progressed, to 58 killed in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, to the most recent incident that left 26 dead in a Texas church. In addition to these three most notable events, there have been many other shootings that have brought the causality total to 112 with 531 wounded from mass shootings alone (Wilson, 2017). These senseless deaths left the American public emotionally drained and searching for a solution to a problem that the government is hesitant to proactively address, but rather leaves to the individual state’s discretion.
Since 1982, at least sixty-two mass shootings have occurred, thirty-two of them since 2006. (Aronsen). Jared Loughner was sentenced to life in prison after shooting nineteen people in January of 2011. Last July, fifty-eight people were shot and twelve killed while watching the new Batman movie in a theater in Colorado. In December, twenty-six people were murdered, including twenty first-graders, in a Connecticut elementary school (Follman). The issue of gun violence only becomes relevant after a horrific event such as these, then fades from public concern after about two weeks. The number of injuries and murders using guns in the United States is a large number, which can hopefully be
Mass shootings have been at the top of the headlines recently in the United States. These shootings are causing a major impact on those who reside in America. Something must be done immediately to bring down the frequency of these shootings so that one can be safe anywhere. There are many ways to stop this devastation that is bringing America to tears, but the most effective is to have stricter gun laws in the country. Control laws must be more harsh in order for there to be a decrease in mass shootings across the country.
“Since at least 1950, all but two public mass shootings in America have taken place where general citizens are banned from carrying guns.” Now, envision being in a mall and you hear a horrible scream immediately after you hear a massive CRACK! You look behind you and you see a man running at you with a gun, you grab for your gun but you remember you have just gave your gun to the government. You would be defenseless because of gun control. Gun control should not be reinforced for the reasons that most mass shootings are in gun free zones. most gun related death are suicides, and these laws wouldn’t apply to criminals.
In 2012 several mass shootings accrued which reignited gun-control and firearm ownership debates in the United States. There are more public mass shootings in the United States than in any other country in the world. Many of the shooters had a mental illness and most states do not require background checks for firearms purchased at gun shows from private individuals, which is known as the “gun show loophole”. This results in too many guns falling into the hands of dangerous people, which is why we need stricter regulations. Although many others think getting a stricter amendment on gun control violets our second amendment we still need to do something about this situation.
As I sit here researching the topic on mass shootings and deaths in the U.S. a breaking news article popped up on my screen. In Texas today, November 5, 2017, 27 people were killed and 30 were injured. I would normally be in shock how someone can do such a thing to innocent moms, dads, kids, teens, and infants. But with the world we are living in now there are no surprises to me anymore with the recurring gun violence. It’s as if there is a contest to gain entry to the top mass shootings in U.S. history because this one in Texas has made it in. Exactly a month ago the Las Vegas shooting was taken place becoming the deadliest shooting ever recorded in U.S. history and this now being 4th in that list. Being the “greatest country” in the world I would think someone would have the common sense to realize guns are the issue not the people wielding them.
In the United States, mass shootings have been an issue for decades. The latest being the Las Vegas shooting where 58 people were killed and 546 people were injured. This is just one of many examples of the shootings that have taken place within this nation. Statistics from CNN also show that in the last ten years, four of the five deadliest shootings have occurred. (Willingham, Ahmed) The lack of strictness which the United States has on the ability to obtain guns gives leeway for these incidents to happen. When thinking about the safety of the citizens of the nation, one can argue that there needs to be better policies put in place to ensure fewer deaths which are caused by gun violence. While many can argue the Second Amendment prevents
On the night of October 1st, 2017, a gunman was able to open fire on a crowd of concert goers from his hotel room at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving 58 people dead and 851 injured in the process. It is defined as the deadliest shooting in modern US history, and involved dozens of weapons which were all purchased legally in the state, many of which were also modified to become semi-automatic rifles. If this one incident doesn’t sound bad enough, there are many other types of mass shootings like these that are reported by the media and often involve weapons which fall into what’s defined as an assault weapon. Because mass shootings like these happen so often, many people are starting to believe the right for
As a result of the Las Vegas Massacre, people are demanding political action to be taken. Mass shootings have been almost too regularly occurring in the past ten years. In fact, just in our current year, “there have been two hundred and seventy three mass shootings in the United States” (Fox 1). This number averages to seven and a half mass shootings per week! These staggering numbers are pressing a very real issue to our leader on gun control laws. A mass shooting has no true definition but follows a strict criteria.According to the Gun Violence Archive, which receives data from shooting incidents, a "mass shooting" is any incident in which a gunman kills four or more people, selects victims randomly, and attacks in a public place (Fox 1). It is necessary for action to be taken in order to decline the occurrence of gun violence. The topic of gun control has sparked great controversy amongst Americans. Protests regarding this issue has led me to research gun control to see how heavily it corresponds with mass shootings. Are more strict gun control laws essential to low gun- related crimes in the United States?
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.
America is currently experiencing a frightening crisis of internal terrorism. In 2015 alone, there have been nearly 13000 deaths in America due to gun violence. Mass shootings have become regular occurrences on the news channels. After every single mass shooting, politicians, celebrities and regular people all over the country express their uttermost grief and regret for the lost victims. Consistently, there is a subsequent call for more gun control. In some cases, new bills may be proposed. It has become a routine of some sort. However, these efforts have amounted to a negligible amount of progress. Even with all the outrage and mourning from the public after each mass shooting, nothing seems to change. The initial passion and vigor regarding
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.