Why We Need Act On Gun Control

Many people also fear that gun control will give too much power to the government. This is one of the main reasons for the second amendment. Wayne LaPierre from the NRA stated “If you look at why our founding fathers put the second amendment there, they had lived under the tyranny of King George and they wanted to make sure that these free people in this new country would never be subjugated again and have to live under tyranny.” This means the reason for the second amendment is so that we, the people of the United States of America would never have to fear the government having too much power as they did back before 1776 (Pro-Con).

Seventeen people are dead in the state of Florida because of gun control. In the article, “Famous Speeches: "We call BS," Emma Gonzalez's speech to gun advocates”, by Emma Gonzalez gives a perspective of one mass shooting situation. Also in article, “Issue Overview: Guns in America”, by Bloomberg gives a perspective of many mass shooting situations. These two serious articles equate in many ways, although they differentiate in numerous ways as well.

Sandy Hook Elementary. Aurora, Colorado. San Bernardino, California. Las Vegas, Nevada. Orlando, Florida. (Words with Negative Connotation) These are just some of the biggest mass shootings that have swept America in the past few years. Hundreds of lives are lost each year to gun related violence in the United States alone. Gun control has been a topic in our country since our founding fathers adopted the second amendment to the US constitution. Although recently controversy has sparked to an all-new extent in America due to the recent spike in mass shootings and gun related homicides. So many families and loves ones are affected each year in the United States because of gun related violence and other mass killing events, because of these events gun control laws need to be revamped and strengthened in American in order to protect the citizens.

The right to own guns was granted by the Second Amendment of the US Constitution (The White House). Because of this, many people that are against stricter gun controls believe that implementing laws in order to make it more difficult to purchase and own guns believe that it would be a

The Orlando nightclub shooting in Florida on June 12, 2016 was the single largest massacre in U.S history, taking the lives of 50 individuals, including the shooter himself, and injuring 53 others. This is one extreme example of the gun violence that has been occurring in this country, but mass shootings like this and the one at Newton in 2012 are only a small part of our gun violence issue. The everyday gun violence that takes place in cities all across the United States claims the lives of thousands every single year. According to The Guardian, 33,500 civilians die each year because of gun brutality- “that’s about 1 life every 15 minutes” (Beckett). Between the years of 1999 and 2013, there were 464,003 gun deaths in the U.S, about 58% of them were suicides 37% were homicides. (ProCon.org) Gun violence and the consequences of that violence, have become a real and dangerous problem in the U.S , why else would the CDC list the United States as having the highest rate of gun violence out of all developed countries today? (Gale Opposing Viewpoints) This issue is not just attributable to a single factor, there are several that play an important part in why gun violence is such an issue in the U.S, namely laws and poverty; and in these causes we can also find solutions.

On February 14th, at 2:19 pm, a boy arrived at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida using an Uber ride. Everything deemed it to be a normal day at the school, until that boy triggered one of the biggest school shootings in US history, killing 17 and injuring another 17 people. That boy's name was Nikolas Cruz, age 19. Two years prior to this event, the boy was expelled from that same high school for threatening to assault teachers as well as threatening to shoot down the school. These school shootings have been happening all over the US, including the tragedy in Sandy Hook Elementary, on December 14th, 2012, when a shooter appeared at the school with one handgun and one assault rifle. That murderer killed 28 people ranging from ages 6 to 35. The masked killer´s name was Adam Lanza, age 20. Between 2007 and 2017, there have been 420 mass shootings in the US. There was even an emergency dismissal at our neighboring town, Staples High in Westport, due to a student who was thinking of executing a mass shooting. According to a poll in the Huffington Post, more than half of the US is inquiring, why are gun control laws so poorly structured in the US, and specifically, why are people able to buy assault

Currently in American society, gun control is a hot topic due to recent gun-related crimes such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. According to CNN, during the shooting 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and murdered 20 children and 6 adults due to gun violence. It was discovered that three guns were used “…a semiautomatic AR-15 assault rifle made by Bushmaster and pistols made by Glock and Sig Sauer” (Sandy Hook Shooting: What Happened?) to shoot his way into an elementary school and killing everyone

- For decades gun control has always been a very controversial issue in America. The Second Amendment states it is an individual's right to bare arms and by having stronger laws on guns, that would only be taking their right away, However, we have seen violent crimes rise due to guns, we have seen many people lose their lives and get hurt. Americans should be for gun control because it can help prevent school shootings, stronger regulations can help stop gun loopholes, and stronger laws can make it harder for people that have a bad record to get a gun. With the enormous amount of violence in today's society, individuals need to take a stand demanding stricter regulations on guns.

There have been many incidents in the past based on the lack of gun control. These incidents range from an incident with one other person to mass shootings. There are three big issues that woke up our society: the Trayvon Martin case, the Colorado movie theater murders, and recently the San Bernardino shooting. These incidents will help illustrate the reasons why we need stricter gun control.

Imagine at this moment seeing a loved one walking out those doors, perhaps the last time, and later in the day finding out he/she has been in a brutal shooting accompanied with other civilians. People are forced to think, ‘is there a way to stop the violence that is happening in the society’, however, there is a way, but it is not enforced. According to Gun Deaths in America, “More than 33,000 people are fatally shot in the U.S. each year.” This information goes to show that gun violence in all types is resulting the loss of innocent civilians and the system of gun control is weakening (Fivethirtyeight.com). Gun control is needed in the U.S. because civilians are living in fear, wondering if it’s the last time being in this world and having

Gun violence has risen in America tremendously. According to the White House.com, Over the past decade in America, more than 100,000 people have been killed because of gun violence and millions more have been the victim of assaults, robberies, and other crimes involving a gun. (Office of the Press Secretary). The most recent case where a gun was used to carry out an act of violence was the Las Vegas shooting that took place on October 1st,2017. During a concert, perpetrator Stephen Paddock opened fire on to the crowd: 58 fatalities, leaving 546 injured, and then turning the gun on himself. This is only one of the many mass shootings that has risen the call for gun control. On The other hand, Citizens continue to fight for their right to

America has been drowning in the blood of students shot on school campuses. The number of massacres is climbing up yet we do not see any major changes in the gun laws and continue a heated debate on whether the answer is more guns or less, in spite of the fact that there is an overabundance of evidence, research and statistics that strongly suggest that the very reason we are in this predicament is because we have too many guns and too loose of regulations as is. The debate has been going on for over a decade sparked by the Columbine High School Massacre, and the situation does not show any signs of improvement. As a matter of fact, it is only getting worse. Former US Attorney General Eric Holder pointed out, that in the years between 2009 and 2013 we saw an almost 3 times increase in the average number of mass shootings per year (qtd. in United States, Dept. of Justice 1). As figures 1 and 2 show, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) there has been a consistent yearly increase in the number of active shooter incidents as well as casualties in the years 2000-2013. We

For the group that supports stronger gun control, their belief is justified. One reason for stronger control is that the second amendment was planned for militia back in colonial america. Colonists used guns for hunting, the Revolutionary war, and protection. At this time it was required by law that all men eligible for militia to own a gun (“Background”). The need for able men to fight was a concern in Colonial America.

On October 1st in Las Vegas, Nevada, the worst mass shooting in United States history happened. The shooting was carried out with semi-automatic assault rifle, which are military grade weapons that can fire over 100 rounds per minute. This shooting reopened the debate on gun control, which has been necessarily quiet for a while. With our country so divided over this issue, there are many things that need to change to make the issue better. There have been roughly around 130 mass shootings in the United States since 1970, which is close to around 25 per decade. Gun violence in the form of homicides is just as bad. In 2014, there were an estimated 33,000 deaths related to gun violence (Smith). Guns are rarely used for self defense like people say they are using them for. The way that people can obtain a gun is way too easy. Anyone can walk into a gun show and purchase an assault rifle or a handgun. No doubt that people have the right to bear arms, and we shouldn’t take away guns for good but we should have stricter laws protecting innocent people from getting attacked. Background checks should be mandatory, and closing the gun show loophole would stop people with mental illness and convicted felons from getting their hands on deadly weapons.

There were 327 public mass shootings within America in 2015, in all killing 475 innocent people and even wounding 1,870. As of present day America, this issue has began to exacerbate. Since the past couple of years not only has the number of gun ownership grown, but so have the crime rate within using guns have increased. Numerous people have advocated to slowly recover this issue. Which is why public gun laws should have a greater amount of restrictions because more controlled laws would reduce gun deaths, in addition to that stricter public gun laws would prevent the number of legally owned guns stolen by criminals and would reduce societal costs that are associated with gun violence.