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The Great Division on Gun Control in America Essay

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On December 14, 2012, the community of Newtown, Connecticut was shattered by a mass shooting at Sandy Hooks Elementary School which claimed the lives of 26 people. Of the 26 people gunned down, 20 of the victims were small, defenseless children. In January 2013, a Georgia mother was home alone with her nine year old twins when an intruder forced his way into her home. The mother and her children attempted to hide in a closet, but the intruder discovered them. In self-defense and to protect her small children, the mother shot the intruder five times. Since these events and many other home invasions and mass killings, the concerns of gun control advocates and opponents have been like two sides of a coin. Advocates have raised concerns …show more content…

This study showed that the states with the least restrictive gun laws did have the highest rates of violence. On whitehouse.gov, the president has said, “’Our nation has suffered too much at the hands of dangerous people who use guns to commit horrific acts of violence’” ("Now is the time | The White House", n.d.). The President is proposing a 9-step gun control plan that would create a universal background check system, limit gun ownership, ban certain assault weapons, and ensure that mental health patients receive the quality care they need. While the president’s plan sounds like a good strategy, many gun control critics argue that the president’s strategy does little to fix the problem with gun violence, and his policy violates American’s Second Amendment rights. On the other side of the gun control debate, one of its major opponents is the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA along with 50 percent of Americans are not in favor of the government’s intervention in gun control. The NRA opposes the President’s plan to reduce gun violence for two main reasons. Firstly, the NRA says President Obama wants to dilute the political influence of the NRA. Secondly, he has a hidden agenda to expunge the Second Amendment from our Bill of Rights. The NRA believes the President’s plan to undermine their political influence by neutralizing voting gun

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