Gun control laws have always been a hot topic for many years amongst various groups. Many argue, the second amendment of the U.S Constitution, it grants all U.S Citizens the right to keep and bear arms. Although, it has come into question, do civilians need a gun for protection or is ownership just a part of social gun culture? According to the Geneva-based small arms survey, (the leading source of international public information about firearms), the U.S has the most armed civilian population in the world, with an estimated 270 million guns. However, most gun owners which are predominantly men, claim to be peace loving individuals that only carry for protection, recreation and some admit to an increasing paranoia of today’s society.
Since, the most common reason given for gun ownership has been protection, it can be compared to a home alarm or guard dog. Guns are something to have to ensure safety from attackers. Carrying a gun is viewed as a masculine duty. It
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Crime in the U.S 2015 report, states there was a 3.9 percent increase in the number of violent crimes, this equates to over 1.1 million violent crimes annually. With this kind of increase, gun owners are weary of everyone around them. Carrying a gun provides a sense of confidence that if something did happen, they would be prepared. Also, the Killed by Police database (2017) counts that 248 unarmed, mentally ill, and people of color have been killed by police so far, this year. Till this day, only one officer has been convicted of murder or manslaughter and didn’t receive any jail time. This paints a picture to civilians that officers involved in killing another person will not be held accountable for their actions. As people, especially men become troubled with the idea that they are not safe in police presence, the idea of carrying a gun to be ready for any and everyone is
The American society has for long struggle with the debate and issue of private gun ownership. There are the advocates proposing lenient laws to allow more gun possession while the people against it calling for stringent laws to control the situation. For many centuries, since the enactment of the Second Amendment and even during the slavery period, gun ownership remains an issue to debate. The negative effects have been the harassment of the minority and the vulnerable as well as increased crimes. On other hand, it has helped promote the security of the people and ensure there is no violation of people’s rights to own guns as required by the Second Amendment. As such, gun control and ownership remains a controversial and hot topic of discussion
People who carry or own guns may not have the proper training to wield their weapons. They may be prone to have mental and emotional instability, and may not carry out the responsibility that comes with gun ownership.
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.
The most common reason why people argue that they need to have a gun is for safety, so they can protect themselves against burglars. If a burglar would come into your house, you would have a better chance defending yourself and your family with a gun, than if you did not have a gun. The number of concealed weapon owners is at an all time high. In comparison the number of homicides had drastically decreased alongside the growing rate of legal concealed weapons. This number had been nearly cut in half in the past 20 years(Goldberg).
One reason that America has a homicide rate seven times higher than other developed countries is because many citizens do not listen to and follow the rules and regulations regarding firearms set in place by the government (Seitz-Wald). For example, it is illegal to move firearms across borders, yet about one-third of the guns involved in crime have been moved interstate. It is also illegal to sell anyone under the age of 21 a gun, but the most common ages of those who commit crimes with guns is 19, 20, and 18 (Bennett). If people followed these rules more strictly, the homicide, suicide, and unintentional death rate in the United States would go down tremendously. On the other hand, underage people should not be allowed to acquire guns. It is against the law and it is the people who acquire the guns who are criminals and cause more disasters, not the law-abiding civilians (Goldberg). While gun control laws may not prevent criminals from obtaining guns because people who commit a crime once are more likely to commit more in the future, they would still lessen the amount of people who would potentially buy guns and use them as a weapon against other people. Gun control laws would also help reduce the societal costs that arise do to gun violence (Barrett). Cities such as Chicago and Oakland have been constantly named as some of the most unsafe cities in the world. This turns
Bang. Bang. The shots rang out. When the state trooper arrived on scene he immediately took cover and began firing. As bullets flew through the air, pedestrians screamed in horror, and multiple lives were being taken all the police officer could think about was saving as many beating hearts as possible. Seven beautiful souls were lost that day, four innocent bystanders and three members of law enforcement. As the responding trooper observed his surroundings his breath was taken away; seven lives were ended entirely too soon, because a group of escaped inmates had easy access to guns. Nobody prepared for the storm. Gun control is preparing for the storm, which is requiring medical records before purchasing a firearm, holding stronger laws for gun shows and auctions, and pushing police to take accusations seriously. We as citizens of the United States of America must love our country enough to take the necessary precautions that are needed to ensure a safe country.
On December 14, 2012, a man walked into an elementary school with three semi-automatic weapons. He killed twenty children and six teachers. The nation was shocked and hurt, yet nothing changed. On October 1, 2017, a man brought twenty-three guns into his hotel room in Las Vegas. He killed fifty-nine people and injured more than five hundred. If the present follows history, this event will change nothing. Every year congress fails to make any considerable effort to stop gun violence. The news is always full of coverage of mass shootings, but guns are also used for murder and suicide every day. The United States must past common sense legislation to limit the gun violence in America.
One very large con of owning a firearms is that “...young adults who own guns are being categorically portrayed as menaces to public safety.” (Cox, 2018, p. 20). There are no real reasons why a person who owns a gun is a danger to the public, even if he/she has multiple hours practicing on a gun range to hone their skills, they are still the “bad guy”. “Blameworthiness and moral agency are irrelevant to the modern gun
Imagine somebody breaking into your home with the intentions of hurting you and your family and trying to take all your valuables that you own in your house, and not having anything to protect your loved ones. Without the protection of a firearm, the intruder could injure or kill all members within the household easily. In the United States, according to the Bill of Rights, a citizen has the right to bear arms, however, recently people have started to believe that guns only incite violence and therefore gun laws need to be more strict. Although, If you own the firearm for the right reasons and go through the process of having a carrying license, then that is within your rights to protect yourself and be able to own the gun. Therefore,
America is a country where guns are becoming more of a common household item, more people have been buying guns to protect their families. While guns are becoming more popular in homes, gun violence and crime is becoming more common as well. As more people are dying everyday from gun violence and crime, the government and the people of the country are beginning to take the incidents into account and are beginning to build up more laws around gun control. But with these laws many people have begun to not agree with them. Americans are questioning whether having more gun control will help, or if it will create more chaos and violence in their country.
The right to own a gun has evolved over the years. Owning a gun is not just about possessing it, it’s about knowing you can protect yourself. Every person has the right to
When it comes to the controversial subject of gun ownership, almost everyone has an opinion on where they stand. Many people that oppose the ownership of a firearm or are pushing for stricter gun control laws argue that guns are responsible for many deaths and tragedies that have taken place in the United States in recent years. Individuals that are in full support of their second amendment right are arguing that guns do not kill people, but people kill people. A recent study has shown that due to an increase in sexual assault, that women are the fastest growing gun owners. Stronger laws need to be passed to control who can get their hands on a gun, however the peaceful gun owners who strictly use their firearms for self defense should be allowed to keep them.
Generally, the most common use of guns is for hunting and recreation. People utilize hunting for putting food on the table and for bagging the trophy animal. Whether one’s hunting small game, big game, or just shooting clay pigeons, the usage of a firearm is needed. This use of guns is used more in the open country and forested parts of the United States. To gun owners, hunting is a great hobby because it brings families
Having lower rates on guns has kept guns out of criminals’ hands and weapons like AR-15’s out of civilians’ hands as well. As of October 8th, 2017, a few days after the mass shooting in Las Vegas; Congressman have rallied together to find a solution to this problem. Some say that the right to bear arms is in the Constitution, but certain gun policies aren’t taking effect in United States. With this implemented, Congressmen agree these policies are the answer to their prays.
Many people in the United States of America love their guns and are very passionate about them. There are around 300 million guns manufactured and owned in the U.S, that’s almost one gun for each man, woman, and child. However, many people see them as being a lot of fun whether they’re at the range or out hunting in the woods, but there are very many people in the U.S that would like to see more gun control laws. People believe that by putting more laws in place, that they can limit the number of shootings and misuses of guns. A lot of people who like guns see this as a threat to their way of life but it’s not. Gun control should be taken more seriously and there should be more laws to prevent the sale guns to people who may be unstable to protect the innocents who may fall victim.