The People Stand On Common Ground

A. Attention Getter: We all know that schools are Gun-free zones. Schools specifically have been gun free zones since 1990 when the Gun-Free School Zone Act was passed. The idea that making somewhere a gun-free zone would stop a shooter like the two young men in Columbine, is a nice thought, but is more wishful thinking than anything because as we can see, it didn’t stop them.

Sometime back in 2012, there was a reported tragedy that struck the elementary school at sandy hook, Connecticut. It is alleged that a man dressed in black walked into the school compound and opened fire disrupting the serene environment of the school. In the incident, after a few minutes, 26 people lay dead, 20 of them being young children aged between 6 to7 years. Among the grownups that perished were the school principal Dawn Hoch Sprung, and the school’s psychologist Mary Sherlock (Parmet, 2013). The killer identified as Adam Lanza a 20-year-old man also died. Found separately was his mother’s body, at a residence in town. It was compared to another incidence that had occurred in 2007, a similar event of shooting at Virginia where 32 people perished. The young were said to have been directed by their teachers into bathrooms and closets at the onset of the shooting. The incident occurred in

Not one person from Sandy Hook, Connecticut ever thought this sort of event would ever happen. On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Before the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Lanza shot and killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at his home in Newtown, Connecticut. After the shooting, Lanza successfully committed suicide before he was detained. Which left, the state, officials, and the entire country to question why Lanza would do such a horrible act of violence to innocent children and staff members of the school. Also, questioning the security of schools, and even our country. There are many conspiracies of the

The safety of schools have been tested more in the recent years with news coverage of the most recent incident in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where twenty children and six staff members lost their lives. With the recent rise of school shootings it is no wonder parents are concerned for their children’s safety in schools. Where drugs and peer pressure were once major concerns, in today’s society, we worry about our children dying in the hands of armed shooters. While there is much controversy over how to protect the future of America’s children, lawmakers are supporting a bill to allow armed guards to stand and protect our children in the school systems by creating laws to allow armed security in the schools. “The Indiana amendment's sponsor, Rep. Jim Lucas (R), said he believes mass shootings like the one in Newtown could be prevented by more firearms.” (Resmovits, 2013). In support of armed guards, the National Rifle Association has paid for research

On July 20, 2012, James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 during a playing of the film The Dark Night Rises in a theater in Aurora, Colorado. He used multiple guns including assault rifles and shotguns, tear gas, and various explosives. On December 14, 2012, Adam Lorenza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in NewTown, Connecticut, and fatally shot 20 kids and six adult staff members. He used a semi-automatic rifle and was carrying extra magazines. On September 16, 2013, Alexis Hood fatally shot 12 men on a naval base in Washington, D.C. These three mass shootings happened in a time span of just over a year. If it is this easy for people to kill a dozen or more innocent people in America, something clearly has to change.

Our country has always believed in a citizens right to own a gun. It is a principle that is so important to our country, that it is listed as the second of twenty-seven constitutional amendments. Gun control is a subject of great controversy that carries many true and false claims. Many people believe our second amendment rights are being attacked, and that the government wants to take our guns away. It is my belief that Obama does not want to take our guns, but future administrations may use laws made today to do just that in the future. As more gun related tragedies occur in our country, the question has become "How can we reduce gun violence in our county?", as opposed to "How can we take

In the past six months, there have been a total of 19,635 gun incidents. Out of those 19,635 incidents, 107 were mass shootings, 829 were home invasions, and 604 were for defensive use, according to Gunviolencearchive.org. It is unbelievable to see the number of gun related incidents that have happened in just the past six months. What is even more unbelievable to imagine is that so many of those incidents could have been avoided if people were allowed to carry concealed guns in certain places. Concealed carry, or concealed weapons, is the practice of carrying weapons, such as a handgun, in public in a concealed manner. All fifty states in the United States allow concealed carry in public places to some degree. But, some places, for example, schools, restaurants, and stores, prohibit concealed weapons. The controversy about whether concealed weapons should be prohibited in certain locations has been debated for years, and more often in the past decade. On one side of the debate, supporters of the “gun-free zones” claim that prohibiting concealed weapons in certain locations will reduce crime and ensure that the location is free of gun violence, allowing concealed weapons can result to more guns landing in the hands of criminals, and some even insist that public safety should be left to professional, qualified police officers, not ignorant citizens with little to no expert training. However, it is absolutely necessary to know that prohibiting weapons in certain locations

On December 14th, 2012, Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and shot and killed 20 children and 6 adult staff members. I remember sitting in my physics class when my phone buzzed and I received an alert from CNN about the tragic event. Newtown only being about 30 minutes away from where I live, affected my city greatly. The rest of the school year every elementary school in my district had a police officer stationed in front of it and my high school’s security policies would change. The school put alarm systems on the doors and lock all doors except for a select few that were manned by a security guard. This school shooting was not the first or last of mass shootings that have occurred in the United

Many people around the United States are victims of shootings, whether they be school shootings, mass shootings, or Terrorist Attacks. There seem to be two common ideas either support or oppose gun control. In the United States, many gun control supporters believe that guns are the reason mass shootings happen while gun control opponents believe that people are the cause of mass shootings. But they both want the people in the United States to be safe, whether that is from government tyranny, mass shootings, gun violence, or mental health.

Mass shootings have become one of the most fearful events that could happen in elementary schools, high schools, and College campuses. These violent actions committed by a number of individuals have happened for many years and will continue happening unless prevented. Individuals like James Holmes opened fire in a Colorado movie theater, killing twelve individuals and injuring twenty, John Sawahri shot five students dead in Santa Monica College also injuring four individuals. However Eric Harris and Dylan Kleibold executed the most horrific act of school violence in United States History. These two individuals managed to take the lives of twelve students, a teacher and managed to take their own life in the process. This act of crime has spread through America, leaving no one safe.

Research shows that ninety-eight percent of mass shooting occur on gun-free zones (Morse [1]). Also, mass shooting have increased since gun-free school zones were implemented in 1995 (Nedzel 2). This legislation only makes matters worse. "Gun-free zones offer a safe haven for mass murderers" (O'Brien and Stanton [1]). Criminals know that honest citizens are not carrying concealed weapons in gun-free zones, so they know that if they attack one of these zones, no one will stop them quickly. For this reason, cities that have enacted gun-free zones have higher crime rates. An example of this would be the city of Chicago. Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, but they have one of the highest homicide rates. They have disarmed the honest people and “empowered criminals” (Owens [1]). These gun-free zones only cause more

Examples of Gun Free Zones are, “bars, professional athletic events, school/college athletic events, casinos/gambling establishments, churches, banks and financial institutions, amusement parks, day car centers, school buildings, school parking lots, school buses, and hospitals and emergency rooms” (Lott 18). Gun Free Zone policies vary from state to state, in “nine states private business” are allowed to “post whether permit holders are allowed to carry their weapons on the premises” (Lott 18). Often times, people who are in favor of stricter gun control are also in favor of an increase in Gun Free Zones. Unfortunately, what we do not consider when we discuss increasing Gun Free Zones is that often times people who are plan on committing mass murder, will not be worrying about whether or not they are allowed to carry a gun in that venue. In fact, a majority, 65%, 26 of 40, of the locations were gun free zones. One of the locations, the Long Island Rail Road commuter train only allows people who are permitted to have a gun to carry one. Therefore, if Colin Ferguson, the offender, did not have a permit to carry a weapon then this would have been a gun free zone for him (MTA). There is much argument over whether or not Gun Free Zones are effective in preventing crimes, based upon the fact that at least 65% of the 40 mass shootings in the United States have happened in a Gun Free Zone; it does not appear that they are achieving their goal of prohibiting firearms from being present in one. A former Sheriff said shootings happen in schools seeing

“ A 20 - year old man armed with an AK- 47- style rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition entered an elementary school in Decatur, Ga, on Aug. 20 and fired off a few rounds but surrendered before anyone was injured” (Toppo, 2013, para.2). Because of school shooting like Sandy Hook and many others, schools all around are finding ways to become more prepared in case of this kind of tragedy. Many options have been discussed but a common idea to keep students and staff safe in schools is allowing teachers and administrators to be licenced and to conceal a gun on school property. “While many national organizations have rejected the idea, it is now being seriously weighed by some school boards and state lawmakers across the nation” (Shah, 2013, para.5). Teachers and Administrators should be allowed to carry guns on school property because police stations are too far away and It will increase the amount of safety when given proper training.

In America guns have been a part of the country’s society since it’s birth. Throughout history the citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, hunt for food and engage in sporting activities. The issue of Guns and gun control is complex. Weighing the rights and liberties of the individual against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a precarious balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Those parties in favor of gun ownership and the freedom to use and keep arms, rely on the fact that the provision for such rights is enshrined in their constitution. In this climate of

In these last few years, the U.S. has been struggling with a massive amount of gun violence. From 2000 to 2013, there have been 160 cases of mass shootings in the United States, totaling 486 deaths and 557 wounded. And yet, despite these statistics, we still cannot pass even the most moderate bills, which would help reduce gun ownership in this country. This is because advocates of the Second Amendment, such as the NRA, stand between our nation and improved gun control legislation. Some of the NRA’s flimsy arguments for keeping the strict Second Amendment include controlling the number of guns owned cannot possibly reduce the number of shootings and people are the cause of mass shootings and not firearms.