Persuasive Essay On Gun Control

Violence and crimes are growing in number and affecting American society. By reinforcing background checks we could reduce crimes and limit easy gun access to mentally ill people. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is a database where the names of people that have committed a misdemeanor, are mentally ill or drug abusers is kept to prevent them from attaining guns. Most criminals buy guns from unlicensed sellers at gun shows that don’t do properly background checks through the NICS, making it easier from criminals to purchase firearms. Another problem is missing records or information that was not reported to the background check system. Better background checks could reduce crime and gun violence in America.

According to a report by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey, the United States has about 35-50 percent of the world’s civilian-owned guns and has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. With no restriction and so much freedom, firearms can be distributed throughout the United States illegally and obtained as easy as buying it from a person, disregarding all gun laws. Implementing stricter background checks can help reduce the amount of crime relating to gun violence. It can also keep firearms away from those who shouldn’t have possession of them.

There are many different ways to improve background checks, and many will take time to assess the most effective way to implement them. Guns are a very lethal weapon and should not be given out to anyone who comes along with a little bit of cash, they should be strictly guarded to keep them out of the hands of the wrong people. People who are mentally ill or just purely have bad intentions are too easy getting their hands on guns without any way to trace the gun to them. Guns are being sold and given away without proper documentation and even stolen from legal gun owners. If we make background checks a very hard and difficult process, which will cut down on the number of people who own them and therefor cutting down on the chances of someone with immoral intentions getting one. Cars are the same way these days. In order to be able to drive a car you have to be able to pass a driving test, along with passing other requirements, such as age requirement and supervision of someone who has their license when you first get your

In the article, Americas Deadly Gun Addiction, By the Numbers written by Joanna Pearlstein, data is released regarding the United States having more guns that adults in the country. The mass shootings across the country has led to many civilians wanting more gun control. President Obama spoke to the nation that more background checks will be ran to hopefully reduce this situation, and lower the gun deaths in the United States, however gun lobbyers argue that it is not the guns themselves that are causing the issue and they believe that no matter how many background checks are ran you cannot make sure that a fun will not be placed in the hands of someone who many end someone’s life unexpectedly.

Stricter gun control is essential as current gun control laws have loopholes that are used by individuals to acquire weapons without any sort of background checks. Those who wish to avoid checks often use loopholes such as the Brady bill loophole. This gun loophole has been described by a correspondent from CNN stating, “In 1986, the Firearms Owners' Protection Act opened the doors for licensed dealers to sell from their own "personal collections," without background checks, and the loophole became entrenched” (Mara, 2016, para. 4). These so-called, ‘licensed dealers’ do not inherently have to check for any form of ID or background check to deem a person able to handle a firearm. Surprisingly, private dealers are not even deemed liable

In firearm stores, background checks have prevented 3 million gun sales to prohibited consumers, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. Background checks could be the next solution for firearm purchases, if they were stricter and had more requirements.

Many innocent lives each year are taken away because most states do not have laws particularly dealing with private dealers administering background checks. Background checks are needed to make sure that clients who are purchasing firearms will not use the gun to endanger themselves or others. However, even in the states where background checks are administered the laws still consist of many loopholes; some of these include, not checking for mental illnesses that the client might have , not following up on the client after they purchased the gun, and how private sellers and many states are not administrating strict and complete background checks., “Researchers confirm that universal background checks laws effectively improve public safety and

Any activity that would make it obvious that a certain person can’t obtain a gun can be seen with a background check. To clarify, “Don Macalady, member of Hunters against Gun Violence, stated, "As a hunter and someone who has owned guns since I was a young boy, I believe that commonsense gun legislation makes us all safer. Background checks prevent criminals and other dangerous people from getting guns” ( "Gun Control - ProCon.org"). Background checks should be a necessity when purchasing a gun. This would prevent the mentally ill from getting their hands on a gun. Most mass shootings are from the gunman having a mental illness. Background checks also allow insight on any criminal records, allowing potential criminals to not get their hands on a gun. Another reason gun legislation should be put into place is it would lower the cost of taxpayers. No gun violence would lead to mo hospital visits with expensive medical bills. This means taxpayers would pay less money for those medical expenses. For example, “In 2010, there were 36,341 emergency room visits and 25,024 hospitalizations for gun injuries, costing an estimated $6.3 million. 84% of those injured by firearms are uninsured, leaving taxpayers responsible for most of those bills through programs like Medicaid” (“Gun Control - ProCon.org”). Creating gun control laws would decrease the amount of money the U.S spends on gun violence accidents. Taxpayers pay more when there is more gun violence in the United States with the costs of insurances and all the hospital visits. No more gun violence would mean less hospital expenses dealing with it. Thus, keeping background checks as a necessity and putting more restrictions on guns protects citizens from harm and keeps more money in their

(20). Regrettably, guns bought devoid of background checks are all impossible to monitor. There lacks means of establishing a history of the gun buyer. This is the justification of merely plugging loopholes can be ineffective (Zigmond 10). The requirement of background checks can help in slowing the rate at which guns fall in the wrong hands. However, it may not halt complete gun violence, as records are not updated. Limiting high-capacity bullets or ammunition is most probably the obtainable of all options. Discontinuing and banning murderous weapons can slow rate of committing murder by use of guns (Henderson 3).

Due to many of the recent violent acts in our country involving guns, the question has arouse; Should a system of universal background checks be required for all gun purchases? What some Americans do not realize is that guns are constantly falling in the wrong hands of criminals and more often, the mentally ill. There are too many Americans loosing their lives because of this. Most of the people that are ineligible to purchase guns are able to because of the flaws in the universal background system or through private party sales, which do not initiate background checks. Shootings actually occur very frequently. Since 1982, there have been 61 mass shootings, all involving gun use. The United States also holds the record of having 15 of the nastiest 25 shootings. It is proven that more guns result in more murders. States with harsher laws on gun control do not have as many deaths from violence correlated to the use of guns. According to a map provided by The Washington Post, “…states which have one of three gun control restrictions in place – assault weapons’ bans, trigger locks, or safe storage requirements. Firearm deaths are significantly lower in states with stricter gun control legislation (Klein).” Seattle’s Mayor, Ed Murray states “Gun violence kills 86 Americans every day. It happens everywhere: in big cities, small towns, on our streets, schools, shopping malls, and places of worship (Klein).” It is apparent that individuals who have criminal backgrounds or who have a

Americans are 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than any other developed nation on earth. This includes countries like Switzerland and Sweden, who have large gun cultures, but have solid gun control to let law abiding people own guns, but keep them out of the hands of criminals. America, on the other hand, has horrible gun control and in most states you can buy a gun without a background check as long as the seller isn't a gun dealer. At the moment, it is far too easy to purchase a gun, legally or illegally. USAToday states that “3% of Americans own half the country's 265 million guns”. Americans own more than 265 million guns, that means more than one gun for every American citizen. Adding on to the facts, 55 million Americans own guns. It is as easy as going into Walmart to purchase a firearm. Guns shows take place all over the nation, and it is easier to purchase a gun there too. Stores do background checks on the buyer, but guns show will just accept your money and give you your firearm. However, CNN states that denials are rare for gun purchases. “However, denials are rare, occurring less than 1% of the time. More than 100 million such checks

Also, without a record of sale there is “no way of knowing whether a seller really conducted a background check or even if a transaction has taken place.” But, the counter to this measure, according to the article, is unsubstantiated “paranoia” from supporters of gun right owners, who argue that this measure would amount to a national registry of law abiding gun owners. To counter this argument, the editorial points to the fact that “licensed dealers already have to keep records of their gun sales when they conduct background checks,” which “haven’t led to a registry.”

The first reason gun control should be in existence is because without law saying otherwise, a gun can be in anyone’s hands. If stricter gun laws were made, more lives would be saved. Not only should there be a standard background check, but I am also a strong supporter of medical background checks. The Council on Foreign Relations states that, “A so-called "gun show loophole," codified in the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, effectively allows anyone, including convicted felons, to purchase firearms without a background check.” ("U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons”). If there are no boundaries to who can have a gun, anyone and everyone is put at risk. Once it is legal for anyone to have a gun, nothing can be done about it.

The gun laws and bans in the United States are not helping to make things better or decrease our crime rate or solve anything instead we need better background checks to make sure we are not giving guns to the wrong people. ‘’A study published in the Harvard journal of law and public policy discovered that the nations with more guns tend to have a lower crime rate’’ (Snyder, Michael. N.p., 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.). This proves that people tend not to commit a crime if they know that people around them are armed and ready to fire also they know that if they go to a country with a lower percentage of gun ownership they are not taking as much risk because there aren 't that many guns in the area.

For one thing, background checks can aware us if the person has any criminal history that involves violence and short tempered people. This would give us the opportunity to have more gun control and it reduces the deaths by guns. According to the article of the leading source for pros and cons of controversial issues, “Guns were the