The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control

In the current year, many things have changed in the political world with some of them being welcomed by all and others not as much. While this paper is not specifically about the people holding political offices, I feel as though it is important to view their influence in these issues. The policy that I am going to discuss in this paper is gun control as I feel it is a hotly debated issue in the country today, especially after the incidents we have had throughout the recent years.

A comforting fact about guns is that they enable the common citizen to protect themselves. In some parts of the country, it can take 20 minutes or longer for first responders to arrive. Because of this, a large part of our personal safety depends on our ability to defend ourselves (Gun Control Overview 5). This in itself proves the necessity of firearms for the well-being of the common citizen. There are also numerous colleges that implement what students should do in the event of a shooting in their handbook. “West Virginia University advises students that if the situation is dire, they should “act with physical aggression and throw items at the active shooter.” These items could include ‘student desks, keys, shoes, belts, books, cell phones, iPods, book bags, laptops, pens, pencils, etc.’” (Goldberg 12). The very existence of these policies is evidence that local law enforcement

“Interview the survivors of mass shootings and you hear these phrases a lot: Gunfire, they explain, rarely sounds like what it is… Many who have lived through the terror recall thinking it was a joke. A drill. Anything except the awful truth: that they might have only a few seconds to live” (“Stop the Violence” -Brody 220). Some people say guns make us feel safer, but in reality, they cause more harm than good. Arthur Kellermann and his colleagues concluded that, “Sadly, buying a gun does not make you safer. To the contrary, the evidence suggests that bringing a gun into your home increases the chances you will be killed” (“Feeling safe” -Vyse 27). Gun violence poses a very big threat to the U.S. “The U.S. has many more guns--and gun deaths--than any other developed country. In 2014, there were more than 33,000 such deaths in this country” (“Fight Over” 12). Guns are extremely dangerous and many deaths occur due to them, including murder, suicide, and accidental deaths, so stricter gun laws and technology should be used to decrease the number of gun deaths in the U.S.

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

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The right to bear arms is not just a right given to American citizens by our forefathers, it is a God given right. In response to recent mass murders involving firearms, gun control advocates have heightened the urgency to increase gun control laws. Ever since Eve took a bite of the forbidden apple, evil has existed in the world, however it is of paramount importance to realize who the real culprits of these evils are; guns are not to blame. Just as spoons do not make people fat and pencils do not do math problems wrong, guns do not kill people. People kill people. According to Steve Nolan, Co-Founder of SurvivalWeek.com and publisher of The Beacon, American gun owners use their guns almost 2.5 million times per year to ward off criminal attacks. Often times, a gun does not even have to be fired to scare away an attacker. In the event of a robbery, most criminals will flee simply at the threat of being shot. We continually hear about the evil that guns cause and the detriment to society that gun owners are, however, the media fails to mention the tremendous amount of lives saved by guns being used defensively. When 2.5 million lives are saved annually as opposed to the 11,000 lost annually due to gun related homicides, it is clear that

In the recent months, gun violence has become more common than ever. It seems that we cannot go a day without turning on the news and learning of a shooting. As a society, we are worried for our safety and question whether or not guns should be held by everyday non-government citizens. It seems that individuals turn to guns when they are not heard and are upset by other events.

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Courts have universally agreed, however, that the right provided by the Second Amendment is not absolute and that many kinds of gun legislation designed to protect public safety remain valid ("Gun Safety & Public Health," 2013). The ongoing debate between the gun rights versus gun control has caught more attention as number of cases involving gun violence increased significantly. In one study, it stated that major mental illnesses are associated with increased risk of violent act. In recent years, there were several news headlines on

Every day in America, we hear it on the news. Another person shot. Another murder. Another mass shooting. Gun violence has become the Black Plague of the 21st century. Just in 2017, the total number of gun violence incidents reached 61,593. Our current laws and restrictions do very little to curb these numbers, and restrict very little in the means of purchasing a gun. Our laws need clearer borders suited to modern times and modern weapons. Our 2A rights were written in 1787. We are now in 2018. These laws are antiquated, not written for a society with assault weapons. Adjusting laws poses a challenge because so many oppose changing our 2nd Amendment. A compromise needs to be reached if

As opponents against gun control have numerous reasons as to why guns should not be restricted amongst the American public but pointed to the Second Amendment to the United Constitution as the main reason why gun control should not be permitted in the U.S. However, what these critics do not want to accept is that since 1980, several crucial events in the United States have led to excessive gun control movement. Remarkably, it takes a lot more than one appalling catastrophe to influence Americans that more attention should be taken into monitoring the number and types of guns the public can get access to. However, some major shooting calamities in the U.S such as assassination attempts on President Reagan’s, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook have all triggered majority of Americans to take a stance in favor of gun control legislation. The first key push in the direction of the gun control movement begun during the era of Ronald Reagan presidency since he happened to be of one of the most “pro gun” presidents in American history.

As far as overall gun violence is concerned, according to the FBI's 1998 Uniform Crime Reports, the overall violent crime rate in the US decreased about 7%. Robbery alone declined by 11%, the lowest since 1969. In addition, murder dropped by 7%, the lowest since 1967. More significantly, despite the fact the number of firearms and handguns owned by individual Americans continued to increase from 1997-1998, the FBI also reported the rate of firearms used to commit murder and robberies decreased in 1998. (1998 Uniform Crime Reports). These facts conclusively prove that firearms owned by peaceable citizens do not lead to increased murder or violent crime rates. In fact, they demonstrate that armed citizens lead to reduced rates of violent crime. When the gun is in the hands of a well-rounded person, it is no more of a weapon than your every day curling iron.

The United States alone has “88.8 guns per 100 people, or about 270,000,000 guns” (Cornell, 2015). This is the highest total number of guns per country in the entire world. 22 percent of Americans “own one or more gun” (Cornell, 2015). These statistics are overwhelming to some people, while others see it as completely normal, or even excellent. Many laws have been passed to regulate this procedure, and citizens often cast their vote for officials solely based off of their opinion on gun control and the way weapons should be handled. All in all, the statistics are debated due to the fact that no one can agree on this questionable matter.

Guns offer protection to their owners, especially when their inside their homes. In a survey it has been noted that guns and their legal gun owners were able to stop approximately 2.5 million instances involving a criminal. This is great news to hear, after all we do want less crime, and less criminals walking around freely. After all what criminal wants to confront someone who they know has a gun. In fact this can be clearly seen in Kennesaw, GA in the year 1982, a law was passed saying the head of household is required to have a firearms in the house. Because of this law, home break ins plummeted down 89%. 10 years later they were still down 72% since before the law had been passed (Lives,

Gun Control has been a long debated, and hot topic among the American population for many decades. The 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution states that, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. Both sides of this debate have very logical arguments for increasing gun control or lessening gun control. These arguments tend to spike shortly after active shooter events, eventually having some type of legislature passed to prevent these atrocious acts from happening. But ultimately active shooter events continue to plague the United States, and much of the world.

The right to bear arms is believed to have been intended to allow citizens to arm themselves and overthrow the government if it ever were to break the constitution or become a tyranny. While that still holds true today, guns have become a far more integral part of life and the protection of ones property. Those in opposition to gun control argue that guns are necessary to defend their homes and their lives. These people “acknowledge, support, and defend the law-abiding citizen's God-given right of self-defense” (Republican Party on Gun Control). A level playing field, and armed civilians offers the opportunity to protect property and stop these mass shootings before they get out of hand. Take the Dark Knight shooting in Aurora Colorado. Perhaps somebody in that theater has a CCW (Concealed Weapon Carry Permit), and when the shooting began, he fired back and wounded the attacker, possibly saving multiple lives. Another belief of gun control opposition is that disarming civilians gives an advantage to criminals. Criminals by definition break the law, if a man plans on committing mass murder, he will simply go outside legal means to find a weapon. Therefore civilians are now disarmed against illegally armed attackers. Perhaps more guns would make criminals rethink robbing that store or attacking someone. For example, Switzerland has the most guns

For many years, people have been pushing the American government to implement new laws that deal with gun control. Supporters of the argument claim that increased gun control will drastically reduce the crime rate in America. Nevertheless, a majority of gun control arguments are formed from strict control of data and emotional appeal. The mainstream media picks up these stories and broadcasts them to viewers without providing any context to them. While gun control activists assert that gun control is necessary, the American government should not ban guns because of the following reasons: potential vulnerability of innocent people being shot at by criminals and the inability for people to defend themselves against their own government.