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
In the 21st century, raging riots are common in the United States of America. In fact, the diversity of opinions often leads to dissension and discord, and with these unstable circumstances, crimes of passion can occur quite frequently. Specifically, terrorists, murderers, bombers, and other mentally incompetent people remain discreet predators among the innocent. However, many would argue that guns, especially the rise of automatic weapons, have only led to the increase of such violence. Concisely, guns, whether hand guns, rifles, or shotguns, have led to a multitude of problems for both those that wield them and those that fear them because of the dangerous situations that can result.
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.
On average, there is a shooting throughout the country where the victim was left defenseless each day. even with strict gun control laws set in by the federal government, many Americans still have faith in our second amendment. Gun control is proven ineffective, According to Richard Epstein of the New york University of Law, “We can confidently predict that crime will go up unless and until there is a vast expansion of the public police force.” (Epstein 1). While gun control law are in place there are still too many guns for the federal government to keep track of within the country, Richard Epstein states that “upwards of 200 million firearms of all descriptions are available for general use in the United States.” (Epstein 2). With recent
The question of banning or permitting concealed guns evokes many more questions. According to Lott (2013), when the state legislative hearings were processed about concealed-handgun laws, the most usual concerns involved the problem of armed citizens who may possibly attack each other in the affected state that could follow car accidents, or even may accidentally shoot a dutiful police officer. However, the author argues, the evidence does not show the grounds for such fears: although 31 states have already had such concealed-handgun laws for many decades, there was only one case of a concealed handgun used in a shooting after a traffic accident. Moreover, that incident involved self-defense (Lott, 2013, p. 13).
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
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
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.
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
Because of our current system, individuals with a questionable criminal record, the mentally unstable, and members of society simply unfit to purchase a gun are able to take advantage of the second amendment. For example, the Virginia Tech mass shooting that took place in 2007, as well as the mass shooting at a church in Charleston South Carolina in 2016 both occurred on the basis of the purchase of a firearm without a formal background check being issued to the suspect (Chuck, 2015). In both cases, both men held a record that would have been deemed questionable had a thorough background check been issued. A problem America faces in making progress for reform is the loss of interest from the American public. There are sparks in support of firmer gun laws after mass shootings or notable tragedy’s, but this interest fades over time and Congress makes no changes. According to Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, “The thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference," (Bradner, 2017). Those pushing for legislative change are frustrated with the amount of American lives that need to be lost in order to send a message to Congress that moves them to action.
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.
The open presence of guns in public life can quickly escalate everyday conflicts into deadly altercations. It has been one cause of tragic, irreversible damage to innocent lives of citizens through the long US history. Despite the evidence that openly carrying firearms in public spaces endangers public safety, most states lack laws to limit “open carry” and some have even taken steps to weaken regulation regarding the practice. Historically, most states either prohibited or strongly regulated the carrying of firearms in public spaces. Over the past three decades, however, state laws have changed dramatically. In that time, many states have significantly weakened their laws to permit more and more people to carry guns in public places and to reduce or eliminate local law enforcement’s ability to keep potentially dangerous people from carrying guns in public.
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
Johnson’s purpose of the article was simply to inform the reader, that gun law debates are not solely about liberal and conservatives arguing over their beliefs, but rather to shine light on the components that shape the individual’s belief about gun control. In this particular article, as a foundation, he uses the debate between the state of Oregon’s governor Kate Brown and sheriff John Hanlin, to bring into focus the different components that influence some of the debate over gun control. Gov. Brown believes in the state enforcing strict gun laws such as greater background checks for gun transfers in order to prevent a high crime rate. Sheriff Hanlin, on the other hand, stated, “This law is not going to protect citizens of Oregon in that
“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,