Guns have become a weapon to self-defenses when a person is in danger and needs to be able to protect themselves. Many people carry a gun to prevent robbery, break-ins, kidnaps and even abused. In order to purchase a gun, the buyer must be 21 years of age, pass a background check, pass a mental health team, able to demonstrate a safe handling and a waiting period is about 30 days to get the results. When purchase the gun must be locked away with the safety lock and the bullets must be in a different lock box and be out of reach so children won't be able to get their hand on it. Some people are against owning a gun, they feel it’s unnecessary and pointless. They expect when danger is approaching them the police will be there on time and save them. When others believe owning a gun can protect themselves and their families out of harm for any occasion that may happen in their lifetime.
The NRM Museums shows how it all started, “The first firearms, ca. 1350, called "hand cannons" or "hand guns," were essentially miniature cannons designed to be held by hand or attached to a pole for use by individual soldiers.” The first guns were designed for soldiers to use in war and able to train with them. For many years owning a gun has been an issue according to Michel Martin in NPR website, “…there was something different about U.S. gun owners or if there's something unique about the U.S. that put this country on a path to where these mass shootings have become more common and increasingly lethal.” This states that owning a gun can raise up mass shooting in a public environment and cause many incidences. Sometimes their friends or family know they have a gun and look for it and use on themselves or on others. In the Law Center explains, “Guns were used in 11,078 homicides in the U.S. in 2010, comprising almost 35% of all gun deaths, and over 68% of all homicides. Firearms were used in 19,392 suicides in the U.S. in 2010, constituting almost 62% of all gun deaths. From 2005-2010, almost 3,800 people in the U.S. died from unintentional shootings. In 2010, guns took the lives of 31,076 Americans in homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. This is the equivalent of more than 85 deaths each day and more than
School should be a place of peace and opportunity, but gaps in the system of gun control threatens the safety of faculty and students. School shootings have killed a total of 297 lives, young and old (Slate Magazine). Gun control has been a continuous nationwide debate for many years. It seems that no one wants to take a stance against guns unless they are personally affected. In order to take control of the matter and prevent more incidents from continuing schools need to change. To achieve a safe environment in schools need to educate faculty, safe and students, heighten security, and assess mental health issues.
Every day in America an average of 93 are killed people due to gun violence. One of the biggest concerns today in American policy is gun control. This is a very controversial and complicated topic for both pro-gun and anti-gun supporters. American policy makers need to make it harder for the wrong people to obtain firearms and the fact that Second Amendment and gun control can co-exist. Mental illness constantly emerges in relation to mass shootings and shooters a like, as well as day to day homicides and suicides. America doesn’t necessarily have more crime then other developed countries the crime is just much more lethal. Right-wing Republicans constantly use the Second Amendment as shield to use firearms, the fact is the document is
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.
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.
Fifteen of the twenty-five worst mass shootings in the last decade worldwide occurred in the United States of America. This is really telling people something about our country, it says people with guns are crazy and dangerous and America has a lot of it. Even though more guns don’t necessarily mean more murders, the amount of unregistered guns out in the public is a real issue that cannot be ignored.
Guns have been around for a very long time. People love being able to have the freedom to do what they want, especially when they can possess something that make them feel superior. The introduction of the Second Amendment opens up the controversial, yet well anticipated opportunity for United State citizens to be able to own guns. Americans enjoy the benefit of being able to own guns for decades over people in other countries. People can buy guns and carry them around in public. They own guns for many reasons such as to hunt, to protect themselves, and simply to satisfy their desire of owning a gun, but in recent years, the issue of people carry guns has become a problem. There are so many people get killed by guns in different parts of
With gun related crimes steadily increasing, the spotlight has been on a solution to cease firearm problems. Firearms have been around for hundreds of years, and they are included in self-defense, sport, show, and unfortunately crime. The danger of the situation immediately escalades when there is a firearm involved. A plan to fix these issues has been talked about and looked at throughout the recent years, but there are many different aspects you have to look at when trying to find a solution for this problem. However, not all gun related situations are at fault, for most people follow the law, using and collecting the guns for sporting, collecting, and self-defense purposes. The second amendment in the constitution gives citizens of the United states the right to bear arms. Areas of concern that can be focused on to prevent future danger in firearm situations are gun control laws, process undergone
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.
On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and leaving 17 injured at Virginia Tech. On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza went on a shooting spree in Newtown, Connecticut, killing his mother before shooting 20 1st graders and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary. On June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 58 others. Most recently on October 1, 2017, 58 people were killed and another 489 injured when Stephen Paddock fired onto the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Many more mass shootings have happened where more innocent people have lost their lives. Gun control has been in debate for some period, some people advocate for it while others dissuade it. Now more than ever, changes must be made to better protect people from losing their lives to a shooter. To prevent future tragedies in the United States, there should be stricter gun laws enforcing a more advance psychological test, imposing a federal gun license, and have a 1 month waiting period to receive the gun.
The New York Times, using data from the Violence Policy Center found that from 2007-2015, there were 28 mass shootings attributed to concealed carry, in which 136 people were killed (a mass shooting for the purpose of the study was defined as 3 or more victims). A different New York Times report also found that 8,124 people were killed in the United States in 2014, about 27 a day. The report also found that in the same time frame there were at least 722 non-self defense deaths, which lessens the self defense reason for buying a gun. In these, 218 cases also ended with the gun owner committing suicide (Concealed). This calls into question the mental health of some concealed carry owners, and that there need to be stricter requirements for
The United States firearm homicide rate is twenty times higher than the combined rates of twenty two countries in which are similar in wealth and population with the United States. Also, statistics show homes containing a firearm are twenty two times more likely to be used to kill or injure in a domestic homicide, suicide, or unintentional shooting than to be used in self-defense.
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.
Many Republicans are strongly opposed to any kind of gun control and many Democrats are pushing for gun ban laws. I believe America needs to find a middle ground and a gun reform plan should be put into action. Maybe we could take lessons from other areas around the world that have had success with gun reform.
Owning a gun of any type puts more citizens in danger than keeping safe. Accidental shootings happen in dramatic and regretful situations. There has been many occasions of accidental shootings that happen to family members. A case here where two boys were playing around, “Police say a 3-year-old was fatally shot in the head by his 6-year-old brother while they were playing "cops and robbers." According to authorities, the older brother found their father 's loaded revolver on top of the refrigerator and shot his little brother” (Miller). The father was arrested. That firearm tore a family apart forever. The mother lost
Guns in general are moderated to the the people here in the U.S. A normal citizen who has no gun experience whatsoever can’t just go and buy a fully automatic weapon and shoot it. If a person wants to buy a gun of that sort he/she has to take special classes in order to receive a special license in order to be able to buy a weapon of that sort. That also goes for a person who wants to carry a pistol anywhere they go, they have to get a CHL(concealed handgun license) in order for them to be able to carry that handgun legally. On the other hand there is always a way of