The Shootings : The Deadliest Mass Murder Ever Committed On An American High School Campus

The thought of guns and the ability to commit mass murder is a chilling one. According to the The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, “an average of more than 100,000 people are shot every year in the United States” (Just the Facts: Gun Violence in America). Gun violence in America has reached epidemic proportions, surpassing rates of gun-related violence in other developed, high-income nations by 25 percent (Preidt). There is an urgent need for tighter gun laws in America. (5) In order to put an end to the growing trend of gun violence, the United States needs stricter legislation regarding the purchase and ownership of firearms. Although most gun advocates believe that stricter gun laws would not prevent mass shootings, stricter gun

In the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment addresses the right to each individual to keep and bear arms. In the case of District Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court stated that the, “Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with the service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” Mr. Dick Heller objected the Washington D.C. handgun ban because it violates the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court validated that the handgun ban did violate the constitutionality of the right to bear arms. Also, the court advocated that the U.S. Constitution won’t withhold standards of forbidding the mentally unstable and criminals from possessing firearms. (claim 1)

The past few years in the U.S has seen a steady rise in gun violence. In 2014 according to gunviolencearchive.org there were 280 mass shootings and in 2015 alone, there were over 300 mass shooting events in the U.S (GVA 1). But still there has been little to no changes in gun control legislation or regulations. Many supporters of gun control now feel that any form of legislation will never be passed when, after the tragedy of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school 26 people-- 6 adults and 20 students—were killed, and yet no laws were passed at all to limit access to guns (New Scientist 1). How and why this has and is still happening is an on-going issue. For many opponents of gun control the lives lost simply do not out-weigh the dangers that gun control laws could produce in the future. And while many of these fears such as the endangerment of civil liberties, and loss of self-defense for some should be given proper thought and discussion; but, they simply do not diminish the fact that gun control laws have saved lives and reduced crime overseas, and would do the same in the U.S.

“There are almost as many privately owned firearms in this country as there are people living inside it — a figure that may also account for about half of the known number of civilian-owned firearms in the entire world. “ (Tharoor) Guns are used for many different purposes, but can also cause much harm. Over the past couple of decades, the amount of gun related travesties have continued to increase as the amount of gun control laws do nothing to prevent this from happening (America’s gun control). There are many different opinions regarding the issue of gun control laws within the country of America. The increasing of current gun control laws is essential for America due to the negative effects caused by the weakness of gun control laws that are currently in place.

“From the 1999 school shooting at Columbine that left 13 dead, to the recent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 dead, many people have been shocked by these horrific events and have searched for ways to end them. The answer is simple: more regulations regarding gun control” (Clypian). The stakes are rising in the policy debate on gun control due to the many mass shootings which have occurred throughout the country. While some people believe that more laws regarding gun control will not help because criminals ignore laws, this is incorrect. Gun control is not directed toward innocent gun holders but is intended to take action against the idea of gun violence. Steps should be taken to reduce access to weapons by the

Despite the harms associated with handguns, the Second Amendment, which states that “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”, protects the private ownership of them. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled against gun bans or regulations as violating the 2nd amendment. In the landmark ruling Heller vs. District of Columbia in 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that a thirty-two year ban on the private ownership of handguns in the District of Columbia was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court decided that the Second Amendment implies that the government cannot enact an outright ban on commonly held weapons or prevent citizens from having

Mere weeks ago, the lives of 26 innocent people were taken while attending church in San Antonio, Texas. The youngest victim of this massacre was only five years old (Andone, Hartung 1). America’s gun homicide rate is an incredible 25 times greater than other developed countries. Although the right to bear arms is a right held close to many American’s hearts, this does not excuse the fact that there is only a miniscule amount of regulation on these deadly weapons. Due to loosely handled laws regarding gun control, loopholes in the system, and an immense number of deaths due to gun violence, poor regulation of guns is an immense issue that must change.

In the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment addresses the right of each individual to keep and bear arms. In the case of District Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court stated that the, “Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with the service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” Mr. Dick Heller objected the Washington D.C. handgun ban because it violates the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court validated that the handgun ban did violate the constitutionality of the right to bear arms. Also, the court advocated that the U.S. Constitution won’t withhold standards of forbidding the mentally unstable and criminals from possessing firearms.

On December 14, 2012, a 20-year-old white male named Adam Lanza armed with a Bushmaster 223 assault rifle and a Glock 10mm handgun entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He proceeded to kill 20 children, 7 adults and then took his own life. Similar horrific acts of violence and mass shooting have become the norm in today’s society. The moment one occurs it becomes the only topic of discussion in the news and in politics. Followed by political rhetoric on gun control with no tangible results. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “in 2014 11,008 persons died from firearm homicides” (CDC, n.d.). Homicide are a small figure in the overall estimated amount of violent crimes committed with firearms. The constant bombardment of inflammatory news and ineffective regulations contribute to the continues cycle of violence and increases sales of firearms. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Notes that, “In 2015, an estimated 1,197,704 violent crimes occurred nationwide, an increase of 3.9 percent from the 2014 estimate.” (FBI, 2015). As long as criminals have access to firearms citizens will always have a reason to arm themselves.

Gun violence in America has clearly made its presence in the past decade. Mass shooting such as Sandy Hook Elementary, Las Vegas, and Orlando have shaken the United States and left Americans in despair and disgust. The ongoing debate over gun control in the States has always been a topic of discussion, but with these tragedies occurring so often, obviously something needs to be done. Although some may believe that enforcing stricter gun laws will substantially prevent violence in the United States, it is paramount that all eligible Americans have access to a handgun in order to protect themselves and others as well as to prevent crime from ever beginning.

In a perfect world, one would imagine no violence and no use of weapons. However in the world we live in today we can agree that violence and weapons are unavoidable in America. “In 2014, ATF released firearms trace data for year 2013. It traced more than 336,000 crime guns and identified the sources of 166,426 crime guns in 2013. Among them, 47,803 crime guns or 29% of all crime guns identified crossed state lines, indicating that cross-jurisdiction gun buying accounts for a significant portion of crime guns” (Lee). From state to state, gun laws are diverse and while some argue that there is evidence for guns being an asset to their safety, others believe that these laws need to be redefined and adjusted to ensure their safety. According to the nonprofit project the Gun Violence Archive, the number of Americans killed by terrorism in the last decade was 24 while the number of Americans killed by guns in the last decade was 280,024 (Koper). From just this comparison, one can clearly see that a vast majority of the deaths in our country result from guns. It is one’s belief that gun control should be adjusted and policies should be set forward that ensures the safety of their citizens in a constitutional way while respecting their rights. Each state has the right to obtain their own laws for guns, however in respect to our country as a whole, gun laws in each state should also consider the wellbeing of neighboring states to further enhance security. The community may say that

In Chicago, when turning on the news on a Friday night there is this special called Weekly Death Toll. Typically, every state has this program. Notwithstanding the special Chicago news channels such as WGN- TV, ABC7 Chicago, and CBS Chicago, take the death toll to a whole new level. On a weekly basis, there are measurably twelve-gun homicides and after averaging that settles to seven hundred and sixty-two murdered in Chicago yearly. Nonetheless, those are only murders, not counting the four thousand three hundred and thirty-one shootings in Chicago. Makes one think, “How are these murderers getting guns?”, or “Why are they even allowed to have a gun? What are the police doing?”. Despite the fact, most gun lobbyist of the United States have argued that the current gun control laws are fixing the growing gun violence, closer examination reveals that a longer waiting period for gun ownership and higher taxes on bullets can properly restore the faith in American humanity by decreasing our appalling gun violence.

Every year in America alone, “33,880 people die from gun violence”. According to the Second Amendment, American citizens have the right to keep and bear arms. This, however, has been a matter of great debate for decades. Gun rights and gun control are perhaps two of the most discussed issues in US history, and the public’s opinions are very divided. To me, it all comes down to one simple question. Does America’s current system work? While this question is rather complicated to answer, by looking at the statistics for gun violence, I think it’s fair to say that the current system is not working. Don’t you think that it is time for America to start taking gun control seriously, and finally use it as a mean to stop gun violence? I strongly believe that America needs gun control, and so in this essay I explore the reasons why. Firstly, I would just like to clarify that I am not calling for guns to be banned, at least not yet. However, I am calling for stricter and safer guidelines to be put in place for owning these kinds of weapons.

The topic of gun control and stricter gun laws has understandably been at the forefront of the public mind for a long period. A recent string of mass shootings in the United States that seem to cost more and more lives each time has made the issue all the more urgent. Meanwhile, rates of mass shootings in countries around the world are much lower than those in the United States. A telltale statistic that might explain this difference is the number of guns per person present in the United States compared to other countries. Fewer available guns, the thinking goes, the less chance a person with a grudge or illness will be able to do mass harm to a large group crowded together. In order to curb gun violence, the United States must pass stricter gun-control laws at the national level, and remove local laws and ordinances that contradict the national law. These laws should aim to reduce gun ownership and gun violence while making gun-control policy uniform across all fifty states.

According to Jeffrey Swanson, A professor at the Duke University of Medicine, “every day in the United States more than 230 people are injured by gunfire, and ninety of them die” (1). Recently our society has seen the use of guns grow from leisure enthusiasts, such as hunting, target shooting, and sport, to individual driven genocides from those we may never understand. The use of firearms has become one of the most common weapons used in mass murders in the United States. Firearms have become a sensitive yet trending topic of conversation amongst the press, blogs, and social media outlets, due to the abundance of shootings taking place. Furthermore, this has led to questioning whether or not more restrictions should be implemented in the purchasing of firearms.