Stricter Gun Control Essay

An alarming 11,644 people in the United States have been killed by a gun this year, and it’s only October (Gun Violence Archive). Have you or someone you know ever been affected by gun violence? How much longer will it take until our leaders take a stand to stop it? Gun violence is violence committed with a gun involved, and it’s a growing problem that is causing many deaths and injuries all over the U.S. Gun violence in the United States poses a serious threat to the future of American citizens. It is a problem that is making the U.S. more dangerous and will ultimately make our society more violent in the future, so the elected leaders of our country need to pass laws that will ensure we are

It seems like mass-killings, accidental firings and highway snipers have snuck comfortably into our society. Have we accepted mass shootings like Columbine HS, Sandy Hook Elementary and especially our local Lindhurst HS? Even law enforcement is not safe with the murder of five police officers in Dallas in one of our latest mass-shootings. With these famous, headline grabbing news stories, there are countless active shooter and murders that don’t reach national headlines. When is enough, enough? Very few social arguments are more polarizing than gun control. In Molly Ivins, “Get a Knife, Get a Dog, but Get Rid of Guns”, she takes a strong, passionate position

Gun control in the U.S has been a highly talked about topic the past couple of years. Through the development of technology and social media; many people across the country have been more involved in voicing their opinions about this issue. America is known as the land of the free, many people take pride in being able to bare arms. However, this right has been abused by not only civilians, but law enforcement as well. The United States has the 31st highest rate of gun violence in the world and it is not decreasing anytime soon. The phrase “America's largest mass shooting” has been reassigned to numerous occurrences that have taken place over the past decade. It is apparent that through these tragedies it is time for a serious change, innocent lives are being lost for no reason.

Using this definition, a 2016 study published in the journal Violence and Victims reported that 292 mass shooting incidents took place worldwide between 1966 and 2012; nearly one-third of these were in the United States.”(DiLascio, 2017). The statistics are the answer to whether or not limiting firearms in The United States will help in the overall goal of limiting firearm violence. Other Countries such as England and Japan have more regulations on firearms and it limits the firearm related murders in those Countries. “Have some of the tightest gun control measures in the world, also feature some of the world’s lowest gun homicide rates (per 100,000 people, 0.04 killings and 0.03, respectively).The United States, by contrast, has a rate of 3.42 gun murders per 100,000 people-100 times greater than England or Japan” (Ballaro, 2016). Over the years gun crime has decreased a lot. “ Although gun crime declined steadily throughout the 1990s and early 2000s-thanks in part, perhaps, to the assault weapons ban still in force at the time-it increased sharply in 2005 and has been on a steady rise since. In 2008, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan group of 300 US mayors, found that homicides from handguns were highest in states with the most lenient gun laws” (Ballaro,

The United States is one of the few countries were the right to bear arms is protected by the constitution. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most violent with incidents involving guns this year reaching an estimated 36,212 and an approximate 9,050 deaths (“Gun Violence Archive”). There are an estimated 310 million firearms in households across American, these are only estimates because current gun laws do not require them to be registered or tracked. A more staggering estimate is that most of the guns owned by private citizens are semi-automatic guns, the same type of gun used in almost all mass shootings. While these privately owned guns are legally purchased, many times, they land in the hands of criminals, and owners never report them stolen. Mass shootings and gun crimes are not the only issues with gun violence the one never talked about is suicide, more guns available equals more suicides. The United States is one of the easiest countries to own a gun legally or illegally, stricter gun control laws are necessary.

     News is all around us and is readily available to everyone. There are many flaws in the system that hurts the authenticity of the news when you see it. The media is indirectly part of the political system. Most news is either considered liberal or conservative by many.

One of the most controversial issues in our society today is the topic of private gun ownership and gun control laws. This controversy has arisen mostly due to the different ways that the second constitutional amendment is interpreted. The amendment states that "a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right to the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" (Lott, 2000). On one side of the issue, there are those that believe that the amendment guarantees the right of individuals to possess and carry a wide variety of firearms. On the other side are those that contend that the amendment was only meant to guarantee to States the right to operate militias.

Although people against gun regulations argue that guns are what keeps us safe, there was a study done by New York City cardiologists which states that the U.S. has 88 guns per 100 people, but there are about 10 gun-related deaths per 100,000 people which is more than any of

In Chicago Illinois strict gun laws prevent people from easily obtaining a firearm. However Chicago sees some of the most violent gang violence in the entire country. At the end of 2016 there had been 762 homicides in the chicago area. It’s obvious that these strict gun laws are not working. Gangs are still finding was to obtain firearms and continue to murder. Any restrictive gun laws obviously will make the situation in this country worse. I personally have not experienced severe gun violence and I feel that it correlates to the large amount of firearms that people own in

Fifteen of the twenty-five worst mass shootings in the last decade worldwide occurred in the United States of America. This is really telling people something about our country, it says people with guns are crazy and dangerous and America has a lot of it. Even though more guns don’t necessarily mean more murders, the amount of unregistered guns out in the public is a real issue that cannot be ignored.

The Orlando nightclub shooting in Florida on June 12, 2016 was the single largest massacre in U.S history, taking the lives of 50 individuals, including the shooter himself, and injuring 53 others. This is one extreme example of the gun violence that has been occurring in this country, but mass shootings like this and the one at Newton in 2012 are only a small part of our gun violence issue. The everyday gun violence that takes place in cities all across the United States claims the lives of thousands every single year. According to The Guardian, 33,500 civilians die each year because of gun brutality- “that’s about 1 life every 15 minutes” (Beckett). Between the years of 1999 and 2013, there were 464,003 gun deaths in the U.S, about 58% of them were suicides 37% were homicides. (ProCon.org) Gun violence and the consequences of that violence, have become a real and dangerous problem in the U.S , why else would the CDC list the United States as having the highest rate of gun violence out of all developed countries today? (Gale Opposing Viewpoints) This issue is not just attributable to a single factor, there are several that play an important part in why gun violence is such an issue in the U.S, namely laws and poverty; and in these causes we can also find solutions.

The US Government has created laws to maintain some sort of control over gun ownership, but in no way do they reduce or prevent gun-related injuries, murders, or homicides. A negative correlation exists between crimes and gun ownership in countries internationally, according to a study done by Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Which is basically saying that the more guns the citizens own, a larger drop in crime will take place. A study that took place in the United Kingdom, known as “the most violent country in the European Union”, showed that the number of violent attacks rose by 77% in the decade following the banning of

Too many people are being killed each year. If the United States has stricter gun laws there will be less shootings and kills. In the United States 33,600 people die every year from a firearm. I think there should be more gun laws in place because we have the police to protect us.

A CBS article by Robert Preidt, states, “Compared to 22 other high-income nations, the United States' gun-related murder rate is 25 times higher.” With such wide accessibility to powerful firearms, Americans are at a much higher risk of gun violence. This statistic demonstrates that the United States is far behind on gun legislation compared to other advanced nations in the world. AJ Willingham states in his CNN article, “From 1966 to 2012, nearly a third of the world's mass shootings took place in the U.S. This is according to a 2016 study that used the FBI definition of 'mass shooting' ... While the U.S. has 5% of the world's population, it had 31% of all public mass shootings.” The gun violence epidemic in the United States is most notably highlighted in the statistic provided by Willingham. Even though the United States has such a small population size compared to the rest of the world, the gun violence rates are higher than any other nation. This demonstrates America’s leniency in gun legislation compared to other nations. England and Japan possess some of the tightest gun control measures in the world while simultaneously featuring some of the lowest gun violence rates (Ballaro and Finley). The correlation between strict gun control measures and gun-related deaths is evident in the statistics of other economic powers in the world, so why has the United States not taken measures to strengthen gun legislation? Similarly, Beverly Ballaro states in her article, “In 2008, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan group of 300 US mayors, found that homicides from handguns were highest in states with the most lenient gun laws.” This statistic coincides with the previous data concerning strict gun control measures and the correlation with gun-related deaths. By increasing gun control, the gun-related deaths in the

One of the main reasons responsible for the commonness of shootings in the USA is the policies. Buying a gun is as easy as going to the supermarket for milk. The majority own several guns and would use them any time. All states allow carrying of a concealed firearm in public. Only some states require a background check of the purchaser. If you compare the number of deaths because of shootings per year you can see an interesting pattern.