Persuasive Essay On Gun Control

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

“Interview the survivors of mass shootings and you hear these phrases a lot: Gunfire, they explain, rarely sounds like what it is… Many who have lived through the terror recall thinking it was a joke. A drill. Anything except the awful truth: that they might have only a few seconds to live” (“Stop the Violence” -Brody 220). Some people say guns make us feel safer, but in reality, they cause more harm than good. Arthur Kellermann and his colleagues concluded that, “Sadly, buying a gun does not make you safer. To the contrary, the evidence suggests that bringing a gun into your home increases the chances you will be killed” (“Feeling safe” -Vyse 27). Gun violence poses a very big threat to the U.S. “The U.S. has many more guns--and gun deaths--than any other developed country. In 2014, there were more than 33,000 such deaths in this country” (“Fight Over” 12). Guns are extremely dangerous and many deaths occur due to them, including murder, suicide, and accidental deaths, so stricter gun laws and technology should be used to decrease the number of gun deaths in the U.S.

Every so often the media and news feeds flood with reports of a mass shooting. Families mourn. In the days that follow, calls to action can be heard, and there is a demand for change. Sometimes minor legislation passes, but in the United States extreme change is rarely seen. Other developed nations provide an opposite comparison. Following the Port Arthur shooting in Australia and the shooting in Great Britain, both countries organized for significant gun reform.

According to Nicholas Kristof’s article “our blind spot about guns” gun control is a lot like cars regulation such that if we can regulate cars we can regulate guns. It took a lot of time and effort but thanks to regulations cars are safer than they were many years ago, and the same is very possible with guns. We need to keep our country safe. The first steps to gun control are improving on background checks and also requiring trigger locks on all guns.

October 1, 2017 marked the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. With almost 500 injured and 58 killed, not only did Las Vegas feel the tragedy of a personal loss, but the incident had rippling effects that shook all of America (Flaherty). With the fresh wounds of the recent Las Vegas shooting, politician's initial reaction is to implement more strict gun restrictions and "lay down the law" to prevent a similar event from happening again. Due to the drastic laws being carried out, the topic of gun control is a current issue in society. Is the solution to implement more firm restrictions on gun ownership or can the government allow the people to be their own advocates? While the opposing views of pro-gun restrictions argue that is up to the discretion of the government, they are often narrow-minded resolutions with no hope to finding a real solution. This particular shooter obtained his guns legally and passed all background checks, going unnoticed until his plan unfolded. Establishing more strict firearm restrictions would not have stopped the Las Vegas shooting from occurring. The number of gun restrictions can not increase, the government needs to either fix the existing laws or do away with gun restrictions entirely. Gun restrictions are not the solution because guns are not doing the killing--people are, the laws only attack the law-abiding citizens, and the gun restrictions add another infringed upon right that the government controls. While voting against additional gun rules will not completely eliminate the controversy behind this topic, voting against these laws will be a milestone to regaining the rights we have already been promised.

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.

Those that support the tightening of gun regulations use the increasing number of gun ownerships and gun-related incidents to argue their side. Recent studies show that approximately half of the homes in the United States possess a total of 223 million firearms (Bitto). Because of the high percentages of firearm ownerships, those that encourage tighter gun restrictions agree that the likeliness of such a weapon being used for crime is dramatically increased. 68% of fatal attacks from 2006 were completed with the usage of a gun (“Perhaps the 2nd…”),

The first legislative attempt of gun control was in 1934; it started the fight between the National Rifle Association, who believed it was unfair to the law abiding citizens to limit their rights, and lawmakers wanting to limit the amount of crimes. The debate has grown and changed immensely t over the years, but the issue is still there (Magoon). This year in Colorado, Senator Vicki Marble, Representative Stephen Humphrey, and Representative Lori Saine have been the Prime Sponsors for the repeal of the ban of possession and sales of large capacity magazines (Repeal Ammunition Magazine Prohibition). This is known as Senate Bill 17-007; it states that part 3 of article 12 of title 18 of The Colorado Revised Statutes should be repealed and adds a safety clause stating that it needs to be implemented for the “public peace, health, and safety” (Concerning the Repeal of Certain Provisions Concerning Ammunition Magazines). Large Capacity Magazines (LCMs) are generally defined as holding ten rounds or higher, but in the case for Colorado it is defined as holding 15 rounds or higher (Large Capacity Magazines). SB17-007 was introduced January 11, passed through the Senate but was indefinitely postponed by the House as of March 22 (“Repeal Ammunition Magazine Prohibition - SB 17-007”). Senate Bill 17-007 will repeal the ban on large firearm magazines; it should be passed because the prohibition has not shown any decrease of deaths in mass shootings and infringes on America’s second amendment right.

Lately, there has been a controversy about gun control due to an increase is gun crime. With all the crimes throughout the years, many people don't know if we should have more laws for firearms or no more than what we have now. Within the last year, there has been about 53,000 incidents alone, but the year before was about 52,000 so not much of a difference of the two years. With mass shooting between the years 2014-2015 here is the only difference of eighty that had occurred and been reported, but yet with the accidental shootings, they are about equal with 2,000 that were reported (Past summary ledgers). The number of deaths that happened in 2015 was around 13,000 and in 2014, it was 1,000 less than that within the year gap. The new laws not only affect the people who oppose firearms but

“If a child can’t open a bottle of Aspirin, we should make sure that they can’t pull a trigger on a gun.”

The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil man and evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil. The second amendment is to protect the right of the people to keep and bear arms. According to the data, as the number of guns increased, the gun violence decreased since 1990s. This happens because during 20 century, people had different mind and they were alcked of sense of security. But now the society has changed. Although there are criminals existed, there are more good people, therefor gun control don’t need to be stricter. There were people died because of guns, but a lot of them were suicides, so there should not be more gun control or banning guns because guns can protect innocent people, guns are just tools and gun control will not control the criminals.

Our second amendment right, the right to bear arms. This is something that is special, and something we hold dear to most Americans and then there are the people infringing on those sacred rights to bear arms against a radical nation, criminals, or anyone who chooses to cause harm. And this is happening right here in the united states in Chicago. Gun control is too strict in Chicago and should be changed, because for one, it doesn’t work, criminals get their hands-on weapons either way, and people need a way to defend themselves, which goes along with the 2nd amendment. We need to be ready for anything, as Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world... The first step – in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come – is to teach men to shoot!”

Secondly, guns were designed to kill, and only kill. So why are we shocked when they do? Why are we shocked that around 1,300 children of a ‘great nation’ are dying every year due to accidental gun deaths? Humans make mistakes, regardless of age or race, but does that mean that we should let fatal accidents occur as easily as we do? The United States needs gun control if it wants to protect its citizens, especially its children. “In 2010, 90 percent of the children killed by guns around the world were American, where, according to the data, 19 children die from or are treated for gunshot wounds each day.” As a matter of fact, guns are now the third leading cause of death in children in the United States. During adolescence, you are more prone to feelings of invincibility, curiosity and impulsivity which can ultimately lead to accidental shootings if firearms are part of the adolescent’s surroundings. Considering there were about 265 million guns at last count, which is more than one for every adult American, it is extremely common for children to be raised around guns and gun culture. Back in 2015, the Huffington Post published an article where they revealed some shocking statistics – “In the US in 2015, toddlers have been responsible for more shootings, and shooting deaths, than terrorists.” Throughout the whole of 2015, there were 52 toddler shootings, roughly around one each week. We take action against terrorists and terrorism, and rightly so, yet we do not protect our

The latest mass shootings in aurora, colorado and newtown connecticut leave us all liberal and conservative, republican and democrat appalled and disgusted at the carnage now some people want to place the blame for this horror on things like 30 round magazines or semi automatic rifles. we want to blame something anything we can control, but what we really want to ban is violence and murder and insanity and we dont talk about that though because deep in our hearts each of us knows that violence and murder and insanity are built into the human condition and likely always will be you know there are 2 kinds of animals in this world, no one watches a leopard chase down a gazelle and denies that the gazelle has a right to use its hooves and horns to protect itself from the predator but there are people all around the country who deny that same right to self defense to other human beings such people seem to think that the way to stop the leopard is to cut the horns off the gazelle, that by somehow making it easier the predator the predator will simply go away my friends this is insane. When you make it easier for the predator you get more predators. So lets start with the so called assault weapons more properly known as semi automatic rifles, in 2011 the total firearm murders came to 8,583 according to the FBI. Now during that time the total murders committed by rifles alright, not just semi-automatic rifles, were 323 that's 3 percent of all murders hammers and clubs kill half

Every state has their vast money-making, tourist cities such as Las Vegas, or Orlando. Just the same states also have smaller, less attractive, more residential cities that outsiders may never know the name of. This goes the same for the citizens of that city, and where they work as well as what schools they attend. However the average person has heard of the city of Aurora or Columbine High School located in Colorado, and just about anyone can talk about Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Every city listed so far both populated and rural have had mass shootings with a minimum 12 deaths. Las Vegas, the most recent occurrence, resulted in 59 people killed and over 500 injured at the hands of a singular gunman (Los Angeles Times Staff). The lack of action by the government is unjust and immoral. The proper and moral action is to conduct strict gun control laws in the United States to prevent further catastrophes and mass murders at the hands of a gunman.