The Importance Of Gun Control In The United States

Gun regulation has been a controversial topic since they were first established as a weapon. People for and against gun regulation provide strong arguments for their side. Gun regulation has fluctuated over time due to changes in office. Being a democracy prevents us from having consistency. As a nation we continue to change regulations on guns because of the different views our democracy allows us to have. The main aspects pose the most problems in gun control are violence, illegal sale of guns, and mental health checks.

Throughout the 20th and 21st century, the value of gun control has changed drastically and how the nation has handled this situation. In the United States, around 22% of Americans have at least one or more guns in their possession for recreationally or personal use. Recently, there has been debate over gun control in the country. While many people think there should not be any more government involvement, more gun control laws would greatly benefit the United States by having less crime, less mass murder, and protect people from the mentally ill. Reducing the ability to access a gun in the United States would effectively lower the death rate in the nation as well as lower the crime rate.

The Second Amendment protects people’s right to have an armed local militia and bear personal fire arms. The interpretation of this amendment is that the people could own a gun, during the times the constitution was written, so the locals could defend themselves if a civil war ever came to be. But in these modern times, with the major military and police force this country has, why are locals allowed guns without any regulations? Many republican legislators do not believe in restrictions to arming the people. They are influenced by constitutionalists, who along the NRA (National Rifle Association), “believe that gun laws actually make communities less safe by disarming the good guys. Post-Newtown, this was reflected in the NRA's central proposal, which was to put armed guards in schools and to give teachers gun training. And they reject any gun safety measure, no matter how small, as a Second Amendment violation” (Bennet, 5). Not only are they implementing the image of guns on educational grounds, they are also arming teachers in class rooms with children.

In society today, there are many casualties from gun violence cases which are very big social problem. There was shooting in Las Vegas on OCT. 2017 which killed more than 50 people and more than 500 people were injured because of gun violence. Also, there was another mass shooting in Orlando at nightclub by “radical Islamic terrorism” which killed 50 people and lead more than 53 casualties (Brander). Admittedly, some people claimed that they should have the right to ‘self-defense’ which allows possession of guns; however, in modern society there is a host of issues stemming gun violence that threat people’s safety, so gun control should be stricter.

An ongoing debate, often shown in articles, is whether the United States should pass laws that limit gun control. Typically, when discussing this debate, there are two sides that have extremely different views from one another. The two different sides are widely known around the country as the Republican and Democratic parties. The Republican party wants to uphold their right to bear arms, legally hold guns within their home for self-defense, as well as open more hunting grounds to the public. The Democratic party, on the other hand, wishes for a stricter regulation on firearms. As written in The Washington Post, “The United States has a gun homicide rate that is at least a dozen times higher than those of most other industrialized countries” (Fareed Zakaria, “Change your gun laws, America”). The Democratic party believes the fault of massacres, school shootings, etc., are because of the United States gun control laws, instead of the people. This article inflicts a pathological appeal to our emotions, as discussed in the previous lecture, as well as the ethical appeal or credibility of the information that the author gives.

Gun control is defined as the government regulation of the sale and ownership of firearms, yet this definition seems to change depending on the source. Many see gun control as a violation of their rights while others think guns in any form should be banned. The best configuration of gun control is actually somewhere in the middle; there needs to be some regulation while not infringing upon the rights of gun owners. Completely unregulated distribution of guns would have devastating outcomes but, while many may argue that guns be banned, they are a right of every US citizen. There are some countries that have enacted very strict gun laws yet they have not found enough success to justify the stricter laws. Although guns are seen as evil objects of death, they are very often used for recreational purposes.

Guns have been around for a very long time, the first recorded firearm was used in 1364. Since then guns have been misused constantly. The most recent have been in the past few years. The shootings in theaters during the Batman movie, where a man dressed up as the Joker and just started randomly firing. The Orlando shooting, this took place at a gay bar where someone also decided to open fire. The shooting in Las Vegas, where people were enjoying their night at a country themed music concert. Finally the most recent, the shooting in the Texas church. A place where people go to express their faith and a place that is supposed to be safe, it was there where over twenty people lost their lives to a person who was misusing a gun. The point is that no matter how much time goes by people will always misuse guns as long as the laws say the same. The laws need to change not to take guns away but for them to be safer.

Next to piping hot apple pie, and cold beer, guns are about as American as it gets. If a person has watched the news at any point within the last decade they have certainly seen many scathing news segments on gun control in America. Each one saying we should either hide our kids or hold our firearms close. Add on to that both sides of the debate constantly blaming each other for being the big bad wolf, it is no wonder that it has turned into such a hot button issue. Each year I see an increase in posts on social media about how gun control is being added to the “do not talk about it during the holidays” list for fear of starting a fight among relatives. This hostility towards voicing an opinion on gun control, is keeping us from talking about one of the most important aspects of gun control. The high rate of suicides by firearm. My objective for this essay is to bring to light why America needs more gun control by talking about how a lack of strong mental healthcare/gun control leads to suicide by gun, how guns are a main factor in suicides in America, and how enacting more gun control would help lower suicide rates.

The United States of America was built with one common goal in mind- Freedom. For years our country fought for this right to be instilled in our blueprint and for it to be the basis of our countries making. Without freedom, our country and its principles would perish. Our founding fathers gave us the right and liberty to this principle of Freedom in the Bill of Rights. Under this legal document, the 2nd amendment is established, securing Americans the right to possess and bear arms. Yet, somehow this undeniable right is misconstrued by the proponents of Gun Control, who claim that the right to bear arms was solely intended for militias. However, this statement is false and undermines their own allegations. In order to fulfill the collective right to serve in a militia, there needs to be an individual right to protect and to serve one's country and self. What arguments could possibly diminish the need for protection? Or go against the blueprint of The Founding fathers not only intended for us, but laid out by the law itself. Evidently, gun control has proven to do more harm than good and hinders the rights of Americans. Therefore, The United States of America should liberally implement the 2nd amendment because it consequently leads to lower crime rates,it is a constitutional right and protection.

Typically, Texas is always a state that believes in the separation of powers, state pride, and gun rights. Texas residents have the right to open carry their licensed weapons but some did not find this was enough, the legislature went a step further to permit concealed guns on state colleges and universities too. On August 1, 2016, Texas Governor Greg Abbott made guns on campus with concealed carry legal. Since there was so much opposition to the law, it took a few legislative sessions for it to pass. This new law sparked a new discussion nationwide, does having guns on campus make the environment safer or more dangerous than before? Certain security measures such as background checks, age minimums, and restrictions on convicted felons and high-level misdemeanors or people with mental illnesses are in effect, it can be argued that these are not sufficient in ensuring that concealed-carry on campuses is a safe practice.

Do guns protect us or cause more harm? This has been a question and argument going on for years. No one can still determine the right answer since it’s so opinionated and great views from both sides. Gun control is the when the short and monitor the gun supply for the public. There should be gun control because it will help keep everyone safe.

One of the main topics that has been sweeping the nation has to do with the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the right to bear arms. Due to the most recent shooting in Las Vegas, many American citizens have been switching their views towards strengthening the gun control laws. Gun control laws need to be strengthened in order to strengthen the overall protection from misuse of guns within the nation.

On September 5th, 2017 a deranged man by the name of Devin Kelley charged into a church and killed 25 people including an infant. Devin then was shot at by a law abiding man who stepped onto his porch with his legal gun, and opened fire upon Devin, who then fled until he was chased down by another gun carrying man until Devin ended his own life. Had many of the people been carrying their own handguns in the church they may have been able to open fire on Devin themselves and kill him or make him flee before all 26 people died. Although the government does need to tighten down on their background checks, guns should remain legal: they are an equalizer, guns don’t kill people, people kill people, and making guns illegal will not stop people from obtaining them from previous historical events.

Gun control is an issue throughout the world, with each country having the sovereign authority to regulate firearms within its borders. The vast majority of industrialized countries have strict gun-control regulations. For example, Japan places restrictions on the possession and use of all firearms except in limited instances (e.g., hunting, athletic events, and research). Canada permits the possession and use of firearms for competitions and target practice, but it forbids the possession of handguns unless an individual can show that a handgun is needed for self-defense. The United Kingdom has banned handguns altogether and limits the possession of firearms to activities such as hunting, target shooting, pest control, and slaughtering. Meanwhile, Germany permits the ownership of certain firearms so long as an individual meets the requirements for a firearms ownership license, which include that the applicant be age 18 or older and have expert knowledge in the handling of firearms and have the necessity to possess such firearms.

Recently, there has been a substantial amount of debate on whether there should be gun control. The United States should not create more gun control because it restricts the right to self-defense but it will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns and breaking laws the Second Amendment of the constitution defends individual gun ownership. Likewise, the Second Amendment of the constitution defends individual gun ownership. In contrast, some conclude gun control laws will decrease suicide and murder rates; however, this is not the case.