Why We Need Stricter Gun Control Laws

Have you ever seen anyone get shot? How many funerals have you been with the person deceased being killed by a gun? Have you ever thought that maybe there could be a solution? Well, in the U.S. we know that in the bill of rights we have the right to bear arms. However what about others that don’t have “arms” those have no “protection” what would they do? There has been many tragedies made by guns in general attacking several amounts of people. But we still have done nothing. To give examples of some there was the Orlando nightclub shooting, this shooting happened in June 12, 2016 and the suspect used a rifle and a 9mm handgun and both were purchased legally (cite). Another example is the recent Las Vegas shooting happened in October 1, 2017 the suspect had at the least of a dozen of firearms that were again purchased legally that were modified again legally to become like a machine gun (cite). In just the two shootings that were stated both of them were guns that were purchased legally. With this position to have the U.S. ban guns as most of the times the shootings and attacks are used with legal guns not illegal guns.

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

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.

There is a huge epidemic that is taking place in the United States and our government has to put a stop to it. This issue is the mass shootings that take place in America. There has been numerous amount of mass shootings in the United States and many of them could have simply been avoided if there were stricter gun laws. This last decade has made Gun Control an unavoidable topic in society for Americas citizens and politicians. Our politicians must take a stand against these senseless crimes and ban these pointless weapons once and for all.

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.

Imagine this: you are in World History class at your high school almost falling asleep learning about Ancient China. It is a normal day for you and your classmates, until you hear an announcement from the principal. You expect the typical lockdown drill, but this situation is far from typical. A man with a gun breaks into your school. BANG! Several of your classmates are killed before this man can be controlled. You survive, but live the rest of your life thinking back to that day and wonder if you could’ve done anything differently. What you should be asking yourself is how did this crazy man get a gun? Although this situation is hypothetical, it has occurred several times in the United States. This is due to the loose gun laws of the United States. The Second Amendment protects the right for all citizens to have guns to form militias and fight against a tyrannical government. While this was built into the original constitution, it is causing many unnecessary problems in the U.S. today. Also, this definition carries little weight with militias no longer existing today. The United States should reassess gun control laws, resulting in decreased gun violence, and ultimately saving countless innocent lives.

Having looked at the basic outline of why stricter gun control is being advocated for by lawmakers, several statistics need to be explained. In 2012, out of all homicides in the United States, 60% were committed by firearm; compared to 10% in the U.K., and 18.2% in Australia. This statistic is shocking, and it gives advocates for gun control a reason to be extremely anxious for reform. As well as the number of murders committed with guns per capita in the U.S. in 2012 being almost 30 times more than the U.K, there have been about 1.4 million gun deaths in the U.S. between 1968 and 2011. That number surpasses the amount of deaths accounted for in all wars that the U.S. has ever been involved in, from the War of Independence to Iraq.

Imagine walking into a Walmart on a normal morning. Little did you know that in the back of the store, someone was being background checked so that they could purchase a gun. Even though they had a criminal record, they were still able to walk out of that Walmart with a gun in their possession. In the twenty first century, this could happen in so many different stores that you probably didn't know this occurred.

Gun control will not protect United States citizens any more than having no gun control, it will keep the guns away from the responsibility, and do nothing to prevent criminals from obtaining them. Numerous natives and government officials trust that firearm confinements will diminish murder rates and wrongdoing greatly; nonetheless, this isn't the situation. If a citizen has the intent to commit a crime, then they will do what is necessary to get it done such as getting a gun. Even though it is illegal. They are already committing crimes so there are no consequences of getting a gun. Gun control laws will not protect this country because law abiding citizens will not obtain guns, but those citizens will not commit any crimes,

The second amendment in the American Bill of Rights guarantees citizens the right to bear arms. A right that has been very beneficial to citizens since it was amended. It allows the population to protect themselves against governmental tyranny and genocide. The push for stronger gun control laws in America projects more of a problem for citizens than a solution.

You hear about it on the news. Mass shootings, people killed, several injured. This is the world we live in today. Our daily lives have been infected by the hate of others. Recent events have caused an uproar on a debate that has been going on for years. Gun control. This was an idea sparked in 1999 and has not had a resting point. Controlling society and controlling guns is not going to fix an issue that has been around for almost 20 years. We must control the access to guns. Ultimately, it is not the guns that are killing people, it’s the people that are killing people.

Although gun ownership does not necessarily lead to more gun deaths, study conducted by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center analyzing the relationship between gun availability and homicide using data from 26 developed countries show that where guns are more readily available, there were more homicides. As a result, Americans face greater chance of death by firearms than the next five highest countries combined (“Homicide” 2). Lawmakers within the state and federal government are attempting to alleviate this problem. However, the majority of focus on gun control comes in the aftermath highly publicized of mass shootings, with lawmakers introducing new bills targeted at assault weapons commonly used in those type of shooting.

There should be more laws enforced when it comes to gun control. There are good reasons to limit gun control, and to have them. The right to bear arms is guaranteed in our Constitution, therefore cannot be completely removed from people. Although,there​ ​should​ ​be​ ​stricter policies​ ​when​ ​anyone​ ​is​ ​purchasing​ ​a​ ​gun.​ ​Such​ ​as​ ​background​ ​checks,waiting​ ​periods​ ​to receive​ ​firearms,​ ​strong​ ​handgun​ ​regulations​ ​and​ ​a​ ​required​ ​safe​ ​firearm​ ​storage​ ​under​ ​the federal​ ​law. The Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns. Guns are intended for self-defense for threats from any sort of criminal. In America 22% of people are owners of one or more guns.The gun control law states that the Second Amendment is intended for militias. That there has always been gun restrictions, including gun owners and support new gun restrictions. Some people will oppose to the idea for more laws to enforce gun control. One idea is that making it more difficult to legally purchase a weapon will make a person unarmed and vulnerable. Another con idea is that no matter what laws are created evil people will do evil things. The right to carry laws have been on the rise since the 1990s, violent crimes have decreased. The number for gun owners has risen by about 100 million. There needs to be more laws enforced when it comes to gun control. Some may say that the public awareness for gun control grew after John F. Kennedy’s assassination.