Should the Federal Government Enforce Stricter Gun Control?

Each person has their own idea of what our founding fathers meant when they put this in our constitution. Some people use guns as a hunting sport or for food. But then there are the ones who want to cause harm to each other. I still remember the morning of December 11, 2012. The day the Clackamas Town Center shooting occurred. A man entered a busy mall, killed 2 people and seriously injured another. He ended up shooting himself after causing all that fear and pain to the shoppers. My family and I had planned to visit the mall that day to take my relatives who came to visit from California, but we overslept. We heard the news on the radio on our way there and we turned around knowing we could have been there. The culprit stole an AR-15 from

Gun control is a very touchy topic in the US. mass shootings have made this subject harder to talk about, but Americas strong belief in the 2nd amendment make it impossible to completely take away our guns. The most recent mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado has sparked more interest in this topic from both activist and anti-gun advocates. Our culture has always heavily relied on guns for things like hunting, target shooting, and mainly personal protection. Would taking away our guns and to make a safer really work. This is the question will attempt to answer and my short persuasive essay.

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.

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.

Over the last decade or so, the United States of America has been shaken by an epidemic of terrifying mass shootings, devastating slayings of unexpecting victims, and unnerving annihilations of the innocent. There is no specific target, no explicitly sought-out group, nor definite individual. From a classroom of first-graders, to a crowded movie theatre, to a U.S. Naval yard, the location seems at most, random, other than that it is almost always a public place. The perpetrators responsible for these horrific murders also vary, and often surprise those who thought they knew them. However, while the occurrences of mass shootings are unpredictable and always shocking, most have one thing in

The scene is all too recognizable. A troubled person pulls out a gun in a school, an office, or a shopping center, and he or she slaughters innocent men, women, and children. Recently, mass murders have occurred at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech University, and Omaha’s Westroads Mall (Schwartz). These tragedies are not inevitable, so people wonder one question. Are guns in our society getting out of control?

“After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn 't do it. I sure as hell wouldn 't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military.”

Over two hundred years ago our forefathers wrote the constitution of the United States and made our right to bear arms in the second amendment. However, many things have changed over the years and what seemed to be a great idea then, it doesn’t work now. I strongly believe that the government should make gun laws tougher and make it hard to own weapons. Certain laws should be in place to make it harder to obtain weapons. Stricter gun control laws will ensure drop in violent crimes, prevent household firearm accidents, and create a more peaceful society.

United States are the most top armed nations around the world, and there are 270 million guns which are held by US civilians (Brussel). With the large number of guns, it could become unpredictable without proper gun control. As an example, the tragedy was brought upon the nation on December 14 2012, twenty children and six staff members was killed by a single man at Sandy Hook Elementary school. New York passed the Ammunition and Firearms enforcement act of 2013 becoming the first state to respond to the tragedy in Newton, Connecticut (Rosebrugh). Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed it into law now requires gun licenses to be renewed every five years and background checks on all gun sales which makes New York one of the most challenging place to obtain a gun. The recent bill passed by New York should be a model for the Federal Law because strict gun laws could protect innocent lives from being taken away by groups of people such as criminals, or those who are mentally unstable.

The United States needs stricter gun control to reduce violence. There are 30,000 gun deaths a year (Goldberg).We need to do something about this. Human life is the most valuable thing, since everyone gets only one. In 1994, the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act was signed by Clinton (Miller). This bill created background checks and banned many automatic weapons (Miller). Congress let this bill expire. We need it back, but stricter. No automatic weapons or weapons with more than eight shots without reload. No one needs thirty shots to kill a duck or stop an intruder.

Gun control has been a highly controversial issue in the United States, especially in the wake of so many recent tragic mass shootings. For some people having a gun is a crime, and for others gun control is a right that belongs to us. But the question is, do we need stricter gun control laws? We believe that gun violence has gotten out of control with massive shootings, and we need to do everything to stop it.

Gun control has been a hot topic in the media for decades. The decision to keep amendment two as it is, add stricter regulations, or abolish the amendment altogether has caused a considerable amount of quarrel between opponents of gun control and its advocates. According to Glenn Utter and Robert Spitzer “[t]he Pro-gun forces see themselves as the supporters of a vital constitutional right to keep and bear arms pitted against the “gun grabbers.” Strong advocates of gun control see themselves struggling for a more civilized society against the “gun nuts” and profit-hungry firearms manufacturers and dealers” (2011). They also disagree over whether or not firearms are an independent variable of the high level of violence in the United States (Utter and Spitzer 2011). This topic has also immensely affected politicians and the way taxpayers vote. Barack Obama is the most recent president to propose a gun control amendment. Given his Democratic status, numerous individuals of the same party have voted in favor of his amendment. For this reason, those who oppose gun control tend to vote for Republican leaders, and its advocates primarily vote for Democrats.

One reason is that gun laws don’t need to be tightened,It’ll take too long to retake every gun bought and carried buy an everyday citizen. Reason, being people are saying that everyone needs to just tighten gun laws and that that it'll make a difference. Also people already have guns and most people have more than one gun.

Thousands of deaths and injuries are caused by guns annually. Guns are getting very out of hand at this moment. Many people like to abuse the power of carrying firearms, which basically causes numerous arguments on why some people shouldn’t have the capability to own a gun. Gun control is essential in order for peace to take place. Without gun control, tons of people wouldn’t be here today. However, at this point in time, this is where we need to take a stand and be stricter on gun laws, due to the deaths placed by violent people. Guns tend to make crime rates higher, by leading to many homicides, suicides, and murders. It is time for action to start taking place on these firearms.

Of the approximate 875 million firearms legally owned in the world, American citizens own one quarter of these. Our second amendment, “the right to bear arms”, establishes this right for us. While this accounts for legally obtained firearms, those obtained illegally far exceed these numbers. There is no way to establish how many firearms are illegally possessed. Banning guns in America would only affect law abiding citizens. Criminals and those who want to acquire guns will go to any extent to get them either by stealing or through the black market. Legally abiding American citizens should have the right to own a gun in order to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their property. Banning gun ownership hurts those who obey laws and have no effect on the criminals.