Gun Control Is Bad Essay

According to James Madison in his Federalist Papers, “Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms,” (Raymond). Madison may be correct about Americans having more rights than many other countries, but sometimes the government has too much trust in the American people. Taking away all privately owned guns is not the answer, because doing so would consequentially create a communist state. Instead, the best solution is to control who buys guns and for what purpose. There are over 283 million licensed guns in the U.S. (Herbert p1), which does not include the unregistered and illegal guns people own, buy, and sell from the underground

Semiautomatic weapons are used to cause as much damage as quickly as possible. Marimow (2017) proved this when she said, “Like Maryland's, Connecticut's ban was expanded after a gunman used a military-style semiautomatic weapon to kill 20 students and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School.” (p.2). Marimow (2017) also stated, “The four dissenting judges said the banned firearms are not "dangerous or unusual" and are used by millions of law-abiding Americans in part because the military-style components increase accuracy and improve ergonomics.” (p. 3). The judges concluded that not all firearms are as dangerous as others and they do not need to be as dangerous either. A civilian has no legitimate reason to have a semiautomatic weapon. The Times Editorial Board (2016) expanded on that statement by writing, “There is no persuasive reason why any civilian should be able to fire so many bullets with such speed from a military style semi-automatic weapon.” (p. 1). The Times Editorial Board (2016) made another statement by saying, “Being able to replace ammunition clips quickly also adds to the death tolls in mass shootings. Current state law requires semi-automatic rifles be equipped with a fixed magazine that requires a tool for its removal.” (p. 1). Firearm users have no need to reload their weapon as fast as possible, unless they are trying to cause damage. Hamblin (2014) stated that,"Everything is regulated, but

There are many views about gun control especially about assault weapons. People are both for it and against it. The people who are for the ban believes the weapons can only be used for violence. They don’t want to recognize that people against the ban have several different reasons to own their guns. These reasons can vary; some people just want protection; others want to use their guns for sport. This pleasurable pastime will also provide a variety of food to supplement family grocery supplies and to help people save on food costs. Instead of making more gun control laws the ones we have should be enforced.

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.

The US second amendment protects citizens’ right to keep and bear arms. This constitutional provision has brought forth positive and negative implications on social life in the US. The implication of the law is that every person deemed fit under the law is allowed to buy guns of all types and ammunition without limitation. This is a controversial concept in modern democracy. Guns are the cause of most violent crimes and lead to the death of millions around the world. Every war that has been fought in the 20th and 21st centuries has led to investments of billions in the development of better and more effective guns. Every modern conflict, regardless of the geographical location has been fueled by the availability of guns. Businesses that manufacture and sell guns in the US make billions in profits. These profits cannot possibly justify the millions of deaths around the world.

July 20th, 2012, twelve are killed and fifty-eight are injured at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The man who killed them used a semi-automatic rifle with a one hundred round magazine. An automatic weapon has no use in the United States because all sporting events, and activities with guns can be accomplished without automatic weapons. It is important because it limits the possibilities of events like the shooting at the Sandusky school in Ohio. Some would say they are a good for shooting range activity and most people don’t commit crimes with them, getting rid of automatic weapons would get rid of the crimes committed with them overall. People die because of the actions taken with with assault rifles. Automatic weapons should be banned in the US because they are not needed for self defense, and they have almost no use in recreational activities.

Gun violence has been on the rise for many years and there seems to be no solution. People feel more protected with guns in their home, but actually this increases their risk to be in harm’s way of being hurt or killed because of the gun. The majority of gun ownership is owned by civilians “75 percent of the world’s 875 million guns are civilian controlled”(Gun Violence). People also feel more protected when they carry a gun on their person but this also increases their risk of being harmed “Philadelphia study found that the odds of an assault victim being shot were 4.5 times greater if he carried a gun" and that "his odds of being killed were 4.2 times greater when armed”(Gun Violence). If people knew that it increases their risk of being killed then not very many people will carry a gun around.

Guns and weaponry have always been a major part of the cultures of the world since the beginning of time. For the United States of America, gun use can be traced back to the colonial days, our revolutionary roots. They have helped the United States turn the table specifically in times of dire need such as the Revolutionary War. Not only have advances in weaponry influenced the U.S., they have also helped to shape events across the globe. In 1791, this was understood by the Founding Fathers while writing the Constitution, which can be seen in the Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”[1]. With the advancement of guns specifically, there has been a rise in mass shootings, casualties, crime and controversy that has begun to split the United States. All a person has to do is turn on the television to a news channel, and at any given time, heartache, most often linked to guns, can be found. Some cry for a need for better gun regulation or sometimes complete abolishment for recreational use, while others cling to their weapons with claim of self-defense and economic profit. Violent crimes have been on the rise years; there has been an estimated 1.2 billion crimes of violence that occurred in the United States alone [2]. One thing is certain: gun trade and regulation boosts the economy. Last year, 301,

America is known as the land of opportunity, freedom, fast food, and raging numbers of gun violence. According to Mass Shooting Tracker there has been about 367 shootings so far since the year started (Mass Shooting Tracker). This is outrageous considering that in other countries, gun shooting numbers don 't even reach a two-digit number. Far too many people have been victims of these unregulated weapons, claiming lives and ripping families apart. There is no safe place from these assault weapons, no movie theater, night club, church, or school. American’s must deal with the fact that any unsuited person is legally allowed to purchase a weapon with the weak regulations we currently have. Assault weapons have been damaging for this country and it 's time to change the laws. Gun regulations and laws need to be stricter to make it harder for individuals to purchase guns to prevent any future tragedies from happening.

Criminals are provoked by self-protection and guns can thus be a disincentive. A majority of convicted American criminals have reported that they fear from attacking the victims who are armed. Their fear of encountering armed victims surpasses their fear of being caught by police (Lott, pp.05). Robbers do not attempt to break into houses after midnight because of the probability of being shot. Thus, society should be against gun control because crimes will decrease.

“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.

Guns in the U.S has been a problem for many years now. So much so that America is what comes to mind when people think about guns. America is the most known nation in the world when it comes to firearms, with citizens owning about an astonishing 270 million of the world’s 875 million firearms(Marshall). That is thirty percent on the world registered firearms. The reason why Americans own so may guns comes down to the second Amendment, which claims, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (Rauch) This grants the citizens from America the right to own and buy firearms. Since this amendment is vague, it comes down to

Researchers at the University of Alabama have conducted studies trying to find links between guns and mass shootings (Michaels). There are hundreds of millions of guns in circulation in America today. In fact, “the total number of guns in circulation is at least 240 million” (Ballaro and Finley). Adam Lankford, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Alabama, suggests that “America’s high rate of public mass shootings is connected with the number of guns circulating in the country” (Michaels). Implementing stricter gun laws would cause fewer people to want to purchase guns, resulting in fewer guns in circulation in the coming years. In the United States, “around 30,000 people die from gun fire each year. Around half of these are murders, a little less than half are suicides, and the rest are lethal accidents” (Ballaro and Finley). (2) Currently there are several million guns in circulation, and gun deaths in America are higher than any other developed country. (5) If the trend continues, the number of gun deaths will continue to increase. As stated in the article “10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down.” author Dave Gilson states that “People with access to more guns tend to kill more people- with guns. States with higher gun ownership rates have higher gun murder rates- as much as 114% higher than states with lower gun ownership rates” (Gilson). (7) More

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The right to bear arms is not just a right given to American citizens by our forefathers, it is a God given right. In response to recent mass murders involving firearms, gun control advocates have heightened the urgency to increase gun control laws. Ever since Eve took a bite of the forbidden apple, evil has existed in the world, however it is of paramount importance to realize who the real culprits of these evils are; guns are not to blame. Just as spoons do not make people fat and pencils do not do math problems wrong, guns do not kill people. People kill people. According to Steve Nolan, Co-Founder of SurvivalWeek.com and publisher of The Beacon, American gun owners use their guns almost 2.5 million times per year to ward off criminal attacks. Often times, a gun does not even have to be fired to scare away an attacker. In the event of a robbery, most criminals will flee simply at the threat of being shot. We continually hear about the evil that guns cause and the detriment to society that gun owners are, however, the media fails to mention the tremendous amount of lives saved by guns being used defensively. When 2.5 million lives are saved annually as opposed to the 11,000 lost annually due to gun related homicides, it is clear that

America is the most well armed nation in the world, with American citizens owning about 270 million of the world’s 875 million firearms (Marshall). Indeed, this is more than a quarter of the world’s registered firearms. The reason why Americans own so many guns is because of the Second Amendment, which states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (Rauch) This amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to have firearms. Since this amendment is relatively vague, it is up for interpretation, and is often used by gun advocates to argue for lenient gun laws. Hence, gun control is a frequently discussed controversial topic in