Chelsea Parsons and our Executive Director, Annette Magnus, discuss on KNPR about their joint Center for American Progress report, "Violent Words, Violent Crimes," detailing the rise of anti-government extremism in Nevada. In their report, they illustrate the major problems of “loopholes in Nevada laws on background checks for the sale or transfer of guns.”
This discussion addressed the 2nd amendment in relation to the 21st century. Considering the most recent attacks on society, this issue is being highly addressed throughout America, and this discussion follows just that. Throughout this event, the speakers analyze the words behind the 2nd amendment, described the increase in police brutality in relationship to guns, and illustrates the connection guns have in history.
After the tragedy at Umpqua College, the former president, President Obama, has addressed the nation for the fifteenth time concerning a mass shooting. President Obama has been trying to propose new laws to stop all the gun violence the whole time he has been in office. A recent presidential candidate, Jim Webb, had a recent debate over the mass school shootings. Jim Webb was a Democratic candidate for the upcoming election but recently dropped out of the election. In the debate Jim Webb argued that gun sellers have to stop the distribution to criminals, and the mentally ill. Mr. Webb believes that American citizens have the right to defend themselves but background checks must be enforced to firearm sellers (Pavlich 1).
Daily News20 Mar. 2013. Rpt. in Gun Violence. Ed. Noël Merino. Farmington Hills,MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.
Today, we have discussed the current situation of gun ownerships in the U.S., and the tragedies associated with the abuse of guns. My proposal is to pass more gun control laws or policies to ensure a safer country. Consequently, one possible solution could be a background checking system which will effectively limit the opportunity for criminals to own guns. Nevertheless, until today, Americans have not reached consensus on gun control laws. At the end of my speech, I won’t urge you to sign on any “Gun Control Petitions”. But, maybe after today’s dinner, you would like to have a talk on gun control with your friends. And maybe you would like to think about the benefits you derive from the freedom of firearms, and also the losses you bear at
Perry Chiaramonte’s recent article entitled “Gun groups accused of ‘swatting’ open-carry permit holders, putting lives at risk” is unrealistic in its accusations, as well as inflammatory. This article defines swatting as “the act of tricking an emergency service into dispatching responders based on a false report” and manufatures the outrageous claim that the people with guns are the victims when the people who are calling the police feel as if they are in enough danger to do so. Online campaigns for stricter gun control laws are made out to seem ludicrous in nature and are the enemy of the sane public. The usage of quotes in this article is quite one sided as well in an attempt to slant the opinion of the audience. Chiarmonte constantly neglects to consider the ‘other’ side of the argument and therefore falls flat in giving a ‘fair and balanced’ evaluation of the situation.
In the United States of America the right to bear arms gave birth to a phenomenon called the “gun culture,” the term coined in 1970 by a historian Richard Hofstadter, which describes America’s heritage and affection for weapons(1). Not only did gun culture become an inseparable part of American democracy, but also it is considered to be synonymous with independence and freedom, the most important values for American society. Even though the crime rate and murder rate in the U.S. is higher than in any other developed country, U.S. citizens oppose every attempt made to pass gun control legislation(2). However, it may sound like a paradox, but the crime level in the most liberal states, when it comes to gun ownership, is the lowest in the
A handgun’s sole purpose is to kill a human being. Manipulating that power would lead to immense consequences, if the gun were to fall into the hands of an individual who is not in their right mind. Today, Nevada stands as the eighth state that enforces background checks on gun sales or transfers, through the work of Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s Question 1 hypostatized Stephen Jay Gould’s article, “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaur” by illustrating the pseudoscience behind establishing universal background checks to limit gun control. David Montero’s “When it Comes to Gun Laws, Nevada Could be Edging Closer to California,” and John Lott’s “The Gun Question,” discuss the topic of gun control and Nevada’s proposal to limit the amount of people able to obtain such guns by instigating background checks. Nevada’s new law of gun transactions requiring comprehensive background checks is flawed and vaguely written, the government must first improve the accuracy of the background checks and resolve the ongoing issues of crime in poverty before progressing.
“Legal restraints on the lawful purchase of guns will have little effect on the legal use of guns” (pg.125). Author James Q. Wilson, a professor of management and public policy at the University of California in Los Angeles writes the article “Just Take Away Their Guns” to provide the American public with evidence of why taking away their guns will have little effect on crime in the United States. “Just Take Away Their Guns” was published into the New York Times Magazine in March, 1994. Professor Wilson, author of many books such as “Thinking about Crime,” “Bureaucracy,” “The Moral Sense,” and “Moral Judgment” uses statistics to advocate for perspective on gun control. The article not only addresses the use of guns but also provides a lot of textual evidence to support the author’s claims related to legal restraints on lawful purchases of guns. Firearms present in the homes of American citizens, while potentially dangerous, provide these citizens with a sense of security.
Gun violence is one of the most serious problems in the United States. Each year in the U.S., more than 35,000 people are killed by guns, a death rate much higher than that in any other industrial nations. In 1997, approximately 70 percent of the murders in the United States were committed with guns. However, ironically, the United States also is the country that has the most gun control laws. Gun control laws generally focus on passing legislation—by local state, or national government—to restrict legal ownership of certain firearms. Seemingly, gun control laws may decrease criminals’ access to guns, but in fact the same laws also have their negative effects. Thus, the controversy over gun control is always heated. But my paper is not
The controversy over assault rifles is one of the most problematic issues related to the contributions of gangs, drug traffickers, and most criminal activity. More often than not, criminals have access to the weapons of their choice more easily than it should be. Getting them from licensed dealers, black markets, and family members’ homes, the availability of these militia weapons has become to effortless to obtain. The rise of criminal activity is part of the reason more than one-third of high school students have easy access to a weapon or gun. “Four out of five guns brought to school are actually brought from their own homes” (Page par 2). This is one of the biggest problems when faced with where criminals get their
The United States contains 5% of the world’s population. However, our nation covers 35-50% of the world’s civilian-owned guns, is ranked first for firearms per capita, and holds the highest homicide rate among all other nations of wealth and democracy at 88.5% (Masters). Such high rates and loose restrictions are bound to lead to tragedy. We will not sit here and make excuses, we will not allow power in the hands of insanity, and we will not allow the safety of our children to be hindered. After each tragedy that has struck, we have failed to successfully improve gun control. As of now, we hold no federal law banning semi-automatic assault weapons, just like the weapons used in the Las Vegas massacre, resulting in
Following recent noncombatant shootings in the US, President Obama publicized a menu of executive actions to curb the rising spate of gun-violence incidents. Given the chance to vote "for" or "against" each of nine key proposals included in President Barack Obama 's plan to reduce gun violence, Americans backed all nine proposals. One highlight of said gun-control campaign was the expansion of background check protocol, this ordinance made for a typical spike in reported background checks and gun sales in 2015. New federal data shows 2015 was a record-smashing year for the American firearms industry, with gun sales appearing to hit the highest level on record. Invariably, most gun shows, ranges and gun shops have explicitly become ‘Muslim Free Zones’. Some gun vendors have gone ahead to institute policies banning licensed American Muslims from owning guns on the basis of religious bigotry and prejudice, without marginal considerations for the tenets of the Second Amendment. Still, a study by the START Center at the University of Maryland found that there have been more cases of individual/domestic radicalization from the far-right Americans than among Muslims in the United States. Twenty-five
Throughout the years, gun violence is increasing dramatically. Mass Shootings are becoming more frequent, suicides are now mostly caused by a gun to the head, and crimes are being involved with guns. Somehow minors and criminals are gaining firearms. The government isn’t telling us the real story. They claim that they have very strict laws, well it turns out they don’t. There are so many things that the government hides from the public’s eye. Criminals get their way (hiding from the government) and they gain access to guns of their choosing. From pistols to machine guns, to rocket launchers. In this essay, I will explain to you how criminals are getting their way, causing so much gun violence across the United States, and how the government is doing nothing about this.
“The hotel suite used by the Las Vegas gunman to rain deadly rounds down on concertgoers below revealed an alarming arsenal of 23 weapons and accessories, including semiautomatic rifles, scopes and hundreds of rounds of ammunition — much of which could be legally purchased in Nevada. Another 19 weapons were found at the shooter's Mesquite, Nev., home”, according to Jervis, R., & Johnson, K. (2017, October 03). It should be illegal for any man, let alone a sixty-four year old man, to own over thirty-two guns with deadly modifications but some Americans don’t seem to agree. Basically, the shooter owned a small militia's worth of military and handheld firearms. Unfortunately, it takes a tragic event such as the Las Vegas shooting for America to realize the need for stronger gun control. Citizens are now trying to ban dangerous gun modifications like the bumper stock modification, which the shooter used to make his legal guns into automatics. (Automatics are a gun type that is very hazardous and used only for military or warfare purposes, outlawed for any nonmilitary citizen.) Sides opposed to gun control say gun control will only increase gun shows’ usage. While in reality, gun control would make tragic situations such as the Las Vegas shooting less common and less plausible to happen. By viewing the amount and types of guns Stephen had, the possibility of the shooter having a mental problem, and Nevada’s faulty security checks,
The legality of having guns and possessing firearms in the United States of America is well engraved within the Second Amendment of the nation’s constitution. However, the issue of gun regulation has remained a central topic in America’s public. Some people advocate for a total ban on gun possession, while others are totally against this idea. The shooting incident in Las Vegas weeks ago has raised controversial debates in the United States of America. In fact, the White House is concerned on the stand that President Trump will take on the issue of stricter gun laws. One of the cities that has gained the attention of both the legislators on this topic is Chicago. For its reputation for its low rate of gang arrests, lax punishments for gun law violations, and comparatively weak laws in accordance with surrounding states, it is justifiable to say that Chicago’s daily shootings are a clear indicator that strict state gun laws don’t work.