One of the largest on-going debates across the United States involves mass shootings and whether we should do something to prevent them in the future. According to a report done by CNN, in 2015 alone there had been over 350 mass shootings across the United States. These shooting left more than 450 dead and nearly 2,000 Injured. These mass shootings can hit close to home. For instance, a recent shooting that occurred in San Bernardino California occurred duringa relaxed office holiday party. This resulted in the death of 14 people along with injuring 22 others. This tragic event, along with many others could have been prevented through the enforcing of stricter gun laws, and this should seem like the obvious answer to this problem. There should …show more content…
The author of this article believes that by enforcing heavier gun laws would mean taking away the ability for them to protect themselves along with this around them. On the contrary, if the government wants to put into effect these laws it would not take away that right. Buying forcing law such as in-depth background checks and banning I thought what one would still have the ability to protect themselves. In the end these laws would protect your family even further by preventing dangerous open from falling into the hands of the wrong …show more content…
In several previous mass shooting cases the gunman had treatment in the past with mental illness. For example, according to an article posted in the NY Times, the gunman involved in the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings that killed twenty people may have had previous physiological problems, he had been “completely untreated in years before the shooting for his psychiatric and physical ailments”. Also, found in that same NY Times article the gunman involved in a Washington Navy yard shooting that left twelve people dead had “twice sought treatment from the department of Veterans Affairs for psychiatric issues” just months leading up to the shootings. The resolution to this problem, however, would not be to completely deny people with any type of mental illness the right to own a gun. The solution would be to allow them to purchase guns, seeing that the pass the required background checks, as long as they are being treated for their mental illnesses and continue to do so. This way they are not denied any of their rights and future mass shootings like the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings can further be
An ever increasing emphasis on the prevention of mass shootings has presented the option of gun control and bans. Mass shootings have occurred many times throughout history, but have
Gun control should not exist at all in the United States. Mass shootings have almost become seen as normal event in the United States. What people do not understand is that gun control is not the answer; there are countries with little to no control that have fewer shootings. According to The Washington Post,Finland is ranked number 4 in countries with the most guns despite that they only had 24 homicides by firearm (“Gun homicides and ownership by countries” n.pag.) . In the article Did Gun Control Work In Australia “it is shown that gun control has reduced the problems but it still has not completely got rid of all firearm deaths”(Matthews n.pag.). The number of murders, homicides, or suicides do not go up due to people just owning more guns. Clayton Perry, a staff writer at the University of Maine, even points out “Stricter gun laws were in place during the Assault Weapons Ban between 1994 and 2004, but that didn't stop the shooters at Columbine in 1999 ”(Perry n. pag.). In Iceland, thirty out of a hundred people own a gun and they have zero homicides caused by guns a year(“Gun Homicides and ownership by country” n. pag.). In this day and age, everything is unpredictable, guns are a form of protection for everyone and there should not be restrictions on protection. The U.S. Department of Justice released a data brief that states, “ On average in 1987-92 about 83,000 crime victims per year used a firearm to defend themselves or their property”(Rand BJS Statistician n. pag.). The National Sheriffs Association released that the average police response time is at eighteen minutes while the average school shooting only last twelve minutes (“Embracing Technology To Decrease Response Time” n. pag.). Gun control should not exist because other countries do fine without it , high gun ownership has no link with increasing death rates , and guns are not harmful when instructions are followed.
The mistaken belief that there is a direct link between mental illness and violence is disrupting the gun control system. Individuals with mental illnesses only cover a very small portion of violence in general, and even less with gun violence. Instead, the focus should be on criminals and drug users. “Individuals who have exhibited dangerous behaviors in the past, have a criminal record, or have a history of drug abuse, for example, are much more likely to commit future crimes” (Wolf, 2015, p.851-878). The reason the government is focusing on certain groups of people are to predict future violence, so if they limit the ability of the mentally ill to purchase weapons they are thinking it will reduce gun violence. This hypothesis would not make a significant dent in the gun violence problem of the United States, because again the mentally ill only make up a very small portion. The shooter of Sandy Hook middle school used his mother’s legally purchased weapons and ammunition to commit the murder, even if the ban of the mentally ill were in place it would not resolve the problem. The only way to make sure future mass shooting done by someone with schizophrenia, or other severe illnesses is to fund the mental health programs, and at the moment the country is doing the exact opposite. “Unfortunately, funding for mental health care has diminished significantly; over the past few years states have cut approximately $4.35 billion from their mental health care budgets” (Wolf, 2015, p.851-878). The best way to stop violence is to recognize there is a
With an increase in the number of mass shootings that have occurred in the United States in the last few years the issue of gun control laws has become a prevalent topic of debate throughout American society. This debate stems from two opposing arguments over gun control. Some feel gun control laws are fair and not the contributing factor to these mass shootings, whereas, others feel that there is an urgent need for strict laws in order to end the problem of mass shootings. There are numerous pros and cons to the enforcement of stricter gun control laws but we must note a few things: stricter gun control laws would interfere with the second amendment, it is not the gun that kills it is the individual, and it is ultimately not laws that are
Mass shootings have been at the top of the headlines recently in the United States. These shootings are causing a major impact on those who reside in America. Something must be done immediately to bring down the frequency of these shootings so that one can be safe anywhere. There are many ways to stop this devastation that is bringing America to tears, but the most effective is to have stricter gun laws in the country. Control laws must be more harsh in order for there to be a decrease in mass shootings across the country.
Mass shootings in the United States is a huge problem that has seemed to become a norm, faced rarely by other developed country. On October 1st, 2017 the most deadliest mass shooting in US history took place, suppressing the Orlando nightclub shooting just over one year earlier. This just like every other mass shooting has gun owners and opposers scrambling on what we should do next to fix this terrible problem.
Compared to other countries, the U.S.A. accounts for more than 30% of mass shootings worldwide. By itself this statistic would be incredibly alarming, and paired with the fact that the U.S. contains only 5% of the world’s population it is absolutely terrifying (Gallagher 2). Part of the reason that mass attacks are so prevalent may be the readily accessible supply if firearms. This fact brings one to the logical conclusion that gun control is a policy that our representatives in the government need to consider thoroughly. While i do understand that this idea is even harder to accomplish in practice than it is to comprehend in theory, it is a direly needed first step to making our country a safer place to live.
In the United States, mass shootings have been an issue for decades. The latest being the Las Vegas shooting where 58 people were killed and 546 people were injured. This is just one of many examples of the shootings that have taken place within this nation. Statistics from CNN also show that in the last ten years, four of the five deadliest shootings have occurred. (Willingham, Ahmed) The lack of strictness which the United States has on the ability to obtain guns gives leeway for these incidents to happen. When thinking about the safety of the citizens of the nation, one can argue that there needs to be better policies put in place to ensure fewer deaths which are caused by gun violence. While many can argue the Second Amendment prevents
There have been over 360 mass shootings in the United States between January and October of this year. An average of around 1.2 shootings a day should make it alarmingly clear that something must be done. Many people push for gun control due to their strong belief that it will solve the issues that come from people having the capability to murder others, and terminate the mass casualty situations, which are deemed as multiple people being injured and/or killed during a single shooting. They want the government to make it illegal to own a private gun because of how murderers and ill people put them to use. There is no doubt that gun violence and the safety of citizens is of great significance in society. There are several proposals and sides,
As a result of the Las Vegas Massacre, people are demanding political action to be taken. Mass shootings have been almost too regularly occurring in the past ten years. In fact, just in our current year, “there have been two hundred and seventy three mass shootings in the United States” (Fox 1). This number averages to seven and a half mass shootings per week! These staggering numbers are pressing a very real issue to our leader on gun control laws. A mass shooting has no true definition but follows a strict criteria.According to the Gun Violence Archive, which receives data from shooting incidents, a "mass shooting" is any incident in which a gunman kills four or more people, selects victims randomly, and attacks in a public place (Fox 1). It is necessary for action to be taken in order to decline the occurrence of gun violence. The topic of gun control has sparked great controversy amongst Americans. Protests regarding this issue has led me to research gun control to see how heavily it corresponds with mass shootings. Are more strict gun control laws essential to low gun- related crimes in the United States?
Imagine a small, happy family with a mom, a dad, and a little baby girl. Now imagine them hiding together in fear in the corner of their house as a man holds them at gunpoint, robbing them of everything they have. They can’t defend themselves because there has been a recent ban on all handguns in the United States. Scenarios like this will happen every day if we allow more gun control laws to be put into effect. Guns are used in defensive ways 250,000 to 350,000 times a year (Barrett). Can you imagine America losing that many more people every year, all because they enforced laws that wouldn’t allow everyone to have a gun? Gun laws in the United States are effective as they are and do not need to be added to or changed. In order to truly understand why, it is important to examine the causes of the problem, the effects of the problem, and what is being done or what can be done to help solve the problem.
Gun violence is very prominent in the United States. It has been for quite some time. There are several problems with how people are accessing firearms, and the type of firearms they are buying. People are accessing firearms way to easy nowadays. Some of these firearms are stolen or illegal. We need to somehow crack down on firearms and how these men and women are accessing them so easily. According to BBC, “Some 13,286 people were killed in the US by firearms in 2015, and 26,819 people were injured. These figure exclude suicides.” They also stated “There were 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015, killing 475 people and wounding 1,870, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker, which catalogues such incidents. A mass shooting is defined as a single shooting incident which kills or injures four or more people, including the assailant.” These numbers are outrageous and something needs to be done.
No matter where you live in The United States, you have heard of the tragic mass shootings that have occurred throughout our history. Whether it was the high school students of Columbine High School, or the victims at Ft. Hood, or even the elementary school students of Sady Hook Elementary, we have heard the horrific stories that are quite surreal to think someone would want to harm so many innocent people. It is clear that something has to be done, even if only one life is spared, then it would be worth it. President Obama’s Address to the Nation on January 5, 2016 presents to Congress the idea that strengthening the laws on gun violence, will not stop law abiding citizens from purchasing or keeping their fire arms. Instead, the purpose
Mass shooting and gun control have been major problem in today’s society. With all the mass shootings that have happened recently has made them both a well talked about topic. It has brought up the topic of how we can stop mass shootings from happening. It is going to take a lot to protect our country from these mass shooting but it is doable. The main problem is how these criminals are getting their hands on gun without any problem. The government needs to start to come out with stricter laws on how people can get their hands on guns. They also need a way to have better background checks. In today’s world it shouldn’t take minutes to get a gun, it should take at least a couple of days before you are able to purchase a gun. It is outrageous that criminals are able to get their hands on guns with the technology we have today. Our government needs to do more to make sure criminals and other threats aren’t able to buy guns.
The Gun Violence Achieve states, “there have been more than 1,500 mass shootings in America since Sandy Hook in December 2012”. It appears that America has been in a constant state of grief, prayer, and remembrance from these atrocities that we continue to see across our country. But yet after each horrific event, it is as if they recede into our memory without any changes implemented regarding gun violence and national safety. Our country is not hopeless. There are steps we can collectively take to prevent such mass shootings from tearing our country apart.