Should There Be Stricter Gun Laws

Guns are a major problem in our society and the numbers of these gun-related murders are continuing to rise. On top of the murders you also have people losing their lives through misfire and gun-related suicides. The total death toll of all gun-related deaths averages over 30,000 per year in the U.S. (http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/2013/03/07/u-s-gun-deaths-visualizing-the-numbers/). I believe that enforcing stricter gun laws will contribute to getting these numbers lower. The numbers do not lie, we as a society have a problem with gun-violence and we need to do something to fix it.

The role guns play in our society has long been debated on whether or not citizens have the right to own guns. There are those who believe that guns have no role in the hands of private citizens. Whereas there are those who believe that guns are the very foundation that protects our rights and liberties expressed in the Constitution. The debate is over whether or not there should be stricter laws preventing people to own guns. Though gun control and gun rights advocates share similar views on background checks and requirements, each have different views on the safety of guns and the Second Amendment meaning.

More gun laws would have a negative effect on shootings and crime rates. Stricter gun laws would not prevent people from getting guns, would not prevent killings, and would not fare well with the people of the United States. Strict gun laws would only prevent law-abiding citizens from getting guns, and criminals would still be able to get them. Crime and shooting rates do not go down after increase in gun-restrictive laws are passed. People in the United States have the right to defend themselves from harm, and the 2nd Amendment right to own firearms.

Guns have been used for homicide and suicide at a disappointingly high rate over the years. Each life lost is a life that matters. Do we really want to let our children grow up in a world where everyone has extremely simple access to purchase firearms that could harm you? There are always new cases of homicide and suicide making headlines in America but gun control is nonexistent yet to help prevent these cases. As Americans, we shouldn’t have to worry about risking our lives while going into public with our families. If the ability to acquire a firearm was stricter, there would be no worry about any of these horrible things happening to ourselves. America is a free country; we are supposed to be able to live without worry and

Every day some news related to gun violence are being heard all over the world. Shooting in driveway, public places, schools, homicide and suicide are some of different types of gun violence. Shooting on people and killing them is a big issue in the world and different comments are provided about that. One of the most important of them is about gun control laws. Stingl (2013) says “The term gun control as it is used in the United States refers to any action taken by the federal government or by state or local governments to regulate, through legislation, the sale, purchase, safety, and use of handguns and other types of firearms by individual citizens.” According to this idea gun control laws should be

As the population increases its stocks on firearms, a significant number of citizens are at risk of being harmed. According to statistics, “In 2000, almost 30,000 persons died from firearm injuries in the United States more than the number of deaths from, alcohol abuse, or drug abuse… [in spite of] almost 20,000 laws and regulations regulating gun usage to some degree” (Kwon and Baack). Though several individuals are in fear of losing guns as weapons for protection, a greater number of laws will continue to be useful in maintaining the security of citizens upon significant new laws addressing gun control. Although the existence of guns is necessary to protect bear arms, gun control laws help reduce violence, decrease the homicide rate, and help prevent accidents from around the globe. New gun control laws should be enforced to ensure the safety of the entire population, and most importantly to prevent any gun violence as necessary to help save the lives of the innocent.

Next, it is important to ask who are the people that really kill? Is it the gun or the person? People who defend the right to bear arms often state that it is not the gun that kills it is the individual that kills. Some feel the answer lies in that we need to introduce stricter laws on who is able to apply for license to carry guns. Gun laws vary from state to state with California being the most restrictive state to Arizona with the most lenient laws. These laws include background checks, waiting periods, and registration requirements to who can purchase and sells guns. Even with these laws in place we have still witnessed an increase in the number of mass shootings over the past few years. Implementing stricter gun control laws will ultimately not eliminate individuals from acquiring access to guns if they truly desire. State governments may require licenses to purchase guns but there remains an underground and online market to purchase guns, which does not monitor whether a person truly has a license or not. Rather than focusing on implementing stricter laws for control and ways to make the purchase

Another consideration is whether firearm violence is more a matter of harm to self or others. Suicides account for 61 % of all firearm fatalities in the United States in 2010 as recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (qtd. In Bowen, Injury 2015). In spite of such evidence, Gallup polling data from 2013 showed that 48 % of adult Americans blame the mental health system a great deal for mass shootings in the United States, whereas fewer 40 % blame easy access to guns; an inadequate mental health system is perceived as the top cause of mass shootings (qtd. In Bowen, Saad 2013).

More than 30 people are shot and murdered each day. Gun Control is becoming a huge problem in the U.S.. Numerous people have died due to terrorist and criminals who have guns. The rise of gun casualties has created a debate on whether or not you are allowed to own a gun. The amount of restrictions on owning a gun has recently made it hard to get a gun. If no one is able to have a gun, then people will not be able to protect themselves. There needs to be a limit on the amount of gun laws, however there needs to be stricter background checks so that criminals can not get guns easily.

Some of the guns used in these shootings were purchased illegally, but in most cases, such as the Virginia Tech shooting, they were purchased legally (Griffin). In order to buy guns legally the stores must run a background check on the person, and currently there is no way of knowing if the person suffers from a mental illness especially if the person has never gone to a doctor for it. While the background checks are necessary they are not all that helpful because most of the crimes committed with guns involve guns that were purchased illegally. The people who are buying guns legally are typically purchasing them for self and home protection These people will most likely only shoot their guns at a range. Surveys of inmates have shown that if they thought that there was a gun in a house they would avoid it. If there were better means of stopping illegal guns the number of crimes committed with guns would drop

According to the Violence Policy Center, there were only 211 justifiable firearm homicides in the U.S. during 2013. In that same year, there were 7838 criminal gun homicides. That means that for every justifiable gun homicide, there were roughly 37 criminal homicides committed with a firearm. Even having a gun can make a situation more fatal. An American Journal of Public Health study found that a person with a gun on them during an altercation with a firearm was 4.46 times more likely to get shot than those who did not. Guns ultimately do more harm than good in most

Stricter gun laws are required to reduce casualties caused by gun violence. People have right to own guns base on the 2nd amendment of the U.S constitution. According to “Background on Gun Control” 91% percent of Americans say that there should be least minor restrictions on gun ownership. However, research shown that children who died after being accidentally shot has increased from 140 in 1996 up to 259 in 2012 every year. In my opinion, the U.S government should increase stricter gun regulations on background check; mental examination and safety trainings to prevent misfiring that cause death and injuries among our friends and family.

Individuals with mental illness should not be able to purchase firearms. Jason Matejkowski explains, in his article entitled, “Exploring the Potential of Stricter Gun Restrictions for People with Serious Mental Illness to Reduce Homicide in the United States,” how individuals with mental illness are now limited to purchasing firearms due to mass shootings: “Recent mass shootings at the hands of individuals purported to have a serious mental illness (SMI) have motivated efforts to reduce gun deaths in the US by further limiting access to firearms by individuals with a current or historical mental health problem” (363). In addition, “With regard to relevant firearm laws, both federal and state laws forbid the selling or disposal of firearms and ammunition to an individual who ‘has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution’ or is ‘mentally incompetent’” (363). To reduce the number of deaths that occur each year, there should be stricter laws about who can purchase firearms.

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,

Gun ownership should be banned to reduce the 100,000 deaths of americans that are shot every year in the United States. Throughout America’s history, we have been known as the extremely gun violent country unfit to protect our citizens from danger. The television news reports continue to display the violent crimes and school shootings that has harmed innocent people especially children. When the government allows guns to be legal in the United States, they are giving people the responsibility to use this weapon for self defense purposes and recreational sport such as hunting. However, gun owners have been unable to handle this responsibility