On the news this morning, there was a government official that made an extraordinarily prominent point; he said that whenever there has been a monumental disaster in this country, the government never hesitates to take immediate action. The case isn’t always so with gun control, however. Every single time there is a gun related disaster, government officials say now is not the time to push for gun control laws. While President Obama was in office, he passed an executive order that would prevent people with mental disorders from obtaining firearms. Congress has refused to enforce the order. An order that could have prevented countless tragedies. How many guns are in circulation at the moment with owners that are mentally unstable? It makes one wonder, could it have been prevented? There is also the ethical issue facing health care professionals about the privacy of their patients. If one were forced to turn over such damning information to the government, whereas it can be assumed that there would also be a dramatic decrease in the amount of reported cases of mentally unhealthy people receiving treatment or even acknowledgment. The reason for this is that people will not risk their right to own a gun for anything. If this means abstaining from receiving proper health care or therapy, then they simply will not. While applauding the bills intention to make firearms less available to people that would not use it for the right intentions, gun rights advocates sharply criticized the bill, claiming it infringed on the Second Amendment rights of Americans’ (Vitale 1). President Trump recently signed a bill that removed the regulations placed on people with mental illnesses that would limit the purchasing of firearms of people that were deemed unfit (Vitali 1). “‘Republicans always say we don’t need new gun laws, we just need to enforce the laws already on the books. But the bill signed into law today undermines enforcement of existing laws that Congress passed to make sure the background check system had complete information,’” as said by Sen. Chris Murphy, one of the leading gun control advocates in Congress (Vitale 1). The true question for the government, for Congress, for Donald Trump himself is will more gun
The United States of America has a problem that is growing worse every day. American laws are not protecting its citizens from injury or death. You may think the mass shootings in America the guns used were bought illegally, but “since 1982, there have been at least 62 mass shooter carried out with firearms across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii. Of the 139 guns possessed by the killers, more than three quarters were obtained legally. The arsenal included dozens of assault weapons and semiautomatic handguns.” (Follman). Times have changed and so should our gun laws. The federal government should enact more control on all personal guns in order to reduce
The Atlantic asked its readers about their first memories with guns, and one reader responded with "We lived in southwestern Colorado my first six years of life (1949-1955). My father had a double-barrel shotgun, and a single-barrel one, a .22 rifle, and a “deer rifle.” We ate more venison than beef and almost as much pheasant as chicken.... I never knew where he kept those guns; I never touched one that he didn’t offer. We only saw them when he cleaned them or packed them to go hunting. He let my older sister and me shoot one of them to feel the kick and power and hear the loudness.... When he passed away in 1981, a year after my mother had passed away, we took inventory of their estate, but we never found those guns. Perhaps he sold them or gave them away or simply kept them hidden somewhere so that no one would be able to find them and shoot someone accidentally" (Green). The issue of gun control has been an increasing cynosure in society, growing in its controversy. The polar opposite sides seem to grow further different from one another, with one side supporting and the other opposing gun control laws/actions. Those who support it tend to believe there should either be no place for the firearms in society at all or that there should be very strict restrictions on who may obtain a given firearm. Those who oppose the laws believe there should either be little to no change in current restrictions or, as the National Rifle Association (NRA) advocates, there ought to be
This study showed that the states with the least restrictive gun laws did have the highest rates of violence. On whitehouse.gov, the president has said, “’Our nation has suffered too much at the hands of dangerous people who use guns to commit horrific acts of violence’” ("Now is the time | The White House", n.d.). The President is proposing a 9-step gun control plan that would create a universal background check system, limit gun ownership, ban certain assault weapons, and ensure that mental health patients receive the quality care they need. While the president’s plan sounds like a good strategy, many gun control critics argue that the president’s strategy does little to fix the problem with gun violence, and his policy violates American’s Second Amendment rights.
Every day in America an average of 93 are killed people due to gun violence. One of the biggest concerns today in American policy is gun control. This is a very controversial and complicated topic for both pro-gun and anti-gun supporters. American policy makers need to make it harder for the wrong people to obtain firearms and the fact that Second Amendment and gun control can co-exist. Mental illness constantly emerges in relation to mass shootings and shooters a like, as well as day to day homicides and suicides. America doesn’t necessarily have more crime then other developed countries the crime is just much more lethal. Right-wing Republicans constantly use the Second Amendment as shield to use firearms, the fact is the document is
What makes gun control reform even more difficult is that many Democrats themselves can’t support gun control without risking their seats. Many representatives or senators come from districts and states that vote Democrat for different reasons, such as union strength in the Midwest or rising immigration numbers in the Southwest. However, states like Wisconsin, Florida, or New Mexico also are strong supporters of guns, putting Democratic lawmakers in a precarious position (Scher 2017). This split in the party makes it nigh on impossible for bills to get anywhere. Indeed we saw this to be true after the Sandy Hook shooting. Senator Dianne Feinstein has been a passionate advocate for gun control nearly her entire tenure as a Senator, becoming one of the leading Democratic senators in the push for gun control (Friedman 2013). Feinstein represents a state where gun control measures such as assault weapons bans are extremely popular (California), so there is no constituent fear from her to back off gun control (Wheaton 2017). After the Sandy Hook shooting, Senator Feinstein introduced a new Assault Weapons bill to replace the previous one which had expired in 2004. It made the sale, manufacture, or transfer of 150 semi-automatic weapons illegal, which had features like magazine releases and thumbhole stocks, restricted large capacity magazines, and used a one feature test to determine whether or not a gun was an assault weapon (Feinstien 2013). Democratic majority leader Harry
School should be a place of peace and opportunity, but gaps in the system of gun control threatens the safety of faculty and students. School shootings have killed a total of 297 lives, young and old (Slate Magazine). Gun control has been a continuous nationwide debate for many years. It seems that no one wants to take a stance against guns unless they are personally affected. In order to take control of the matter and prevent more incidents from continuing schools need to change. To achieve a safe environment in schools need to educate faculty, safe and students, heighten security, and assess mental health issues.
Every so often the media and news feeds flood with reports of a mass shooting. Families mourn. In the days that follow, calls to action can be heard, and there is a demand for change. Sometimes minor legislation passes, but in the United States extreme change is rarely seen. Other developed nations provide an opposite comparison. Following the Port Arthur shooting in Australia and the shooting in Great Britain, both countries organized for significant gun reform.
Imagine somebody breaking into your home with the intentions of hurting you and your family and trying to take all your valuables that you own in your house, and not having anything to protect your loved ones. Without the protection of a firearm, the intruder could injure or kill all members within the household easily. In the United States, according to the Bill of Rights, a citizen has the right to bear arms, however, recently people have started to believe that guns only incite violence and therefore gun laws need to be more strict. Although, If you own the firearm for the right reasons and go through the process of having a carrying license, then that is within your rights to protect yourself and be able to own the gun. Therefore,
According to Nicholas Kristof’s article “our blind spot about guns” gun control is a lot like cars regulation such that if we can regulate cars we can regulate guns. It took a lot of time and effort but thanks to regulations cars are safer than they were many years ago, and the same is very possible with guns. We need to keep our country safe. The first steps to gun control are improving on background checks and also requiring trigger locks on all guns.
All too often in America, we wake up to the awful news that something horrific has happened. Recent mass shootings such as the slaughter of 58 innocent lives in Las Vegas, and the disgusting massacre of 26 men, women, and children in a small-town Texas church leave all americans appalled and disgusted of the carnage. No one deserves to die such a brutal, innocent death. When things like this happen, we look for someone, something, anything to blame. After every mass shooting comes the topic of gun control to the surface. Many people want to blame things like 30 round magazines or semi automatic rifles. In reality, what we really want to ban is violence, and murder, and insanity. However, we don’t talk about that because deep down we
In today’s world, there are many things going on at once from the world melting to someone getting a police ticket. There also many things that go by and sometimes we don’t see what’s going on in front of our noses or aware of the laws in some areas of the U.S. In the “lovely” state of Arizona the laws to carrying a weapon are very slim because there are no special permissions associated with carrying firearms, licensing of ownership, registration of weapon and permits to purchase virtually anyone can carry a firearm("NRA-ILA | Arizona State Profile.") In a publically open area, however, guns are not the concern or the issue, nor the people that own weapons it’s the negative pervasive influences associated with them. Most people can be persuaded into virtually anything someone could say that all white tall rabbits destroy cars electrical systems, and that’s why everyone should shoot them. Should people buying a weapon have permits to carrying/handling, have more than one valid reason to buy a gun, and, at least, two screening test to check for any mental illnesses.
Through my small amount of time knowing about firearms, one thing that stands out is people being much safer around a legally authorized firearm carrier. Unfortunately, even in open carry locations some people may get scared. People don’t realize that others are safer through deterrence. I, enjoy conceal carry and open carry, but realize that ignorant people will treat me as if I was about to commit a crime while picking out a fragrance for candle making or recycling. I, was advised that even though it was legal; to stop wearing a legal firearm while recycling.
I am writing you today in an effort to resolve an issue I am sure you are fully aware of. This issue is gun control, and I believe that the violence involving gun is getting out of hand. Whether it be one person or numerous people being shot, I think it all starts with the availability of guns in our nation. From 1966 to 2017, more than two-hundred eighty million guns have been manufactured in the U.S. In contrast, no other country has more than ninety-six million guns. This is befuddling because the United States makes up about 4.4 percent of the world population, but holds 42 percent of the firearms in the world. I understand that you want to be a powerhouse on
From 1988 to 2001, the usage of anti-depressant drugs in the general public increased by four-hundred percent (Swanson). The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary took place in December of 2012, and during 2014, firearms were used in 88 percent of teen homicides, and 41 percent of teen suicides (“Suicidal Teens”). On February 28th, 2017, the Trump administration repealed a firearms regulation that prevented mentally disabled persons from owning guns. At the same time, teenage mental illness is on the rise, specifically in cases of depression and anxiety. A report from the Surgeon General shows that over 90 percent of adolescents that committed either suicide or homicide have or had a mental disability. Mental disabilities such as depression and anxiety put teenagers at a high risk for homicides and suicides. Teenagers who are stressed due to school, lack of parenting, puberty, bullying, and other factors can develop depression, anxiety or another mental illness. Allowing these teens easy access to firearms proves time and time again to be very dangerous. In some cases, the families of these teens have never been assessed to see if they can responsibly store firearms. The only background check performed is on the owner of the firearm, meaning that a person may own the weapon even if another family member living with them legally cannot. Loose gun control laws allow families with physiologically ill children to have access to firearms, without first checking to see if the disabled children in the home are responsible enough to be around said firearms. Repealing gun control laws instated by the Obama administration will cause an increase in adolescent firearm-related homicides, suicides, and tragedies similar to the one at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Once again the topic of gun control has risen due to the most recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, which was the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. This shooting resulted in the loss of 58 innocent lives and the harm to more than 500 others. As we can see, these events are happening far too often and we must make a change soon. While this Letter to the Editor gives me a place to express my concern on this issue, I will also use Facebook and Twitter to reach as many viewers as possible. I believe that Twitter will be more effective in having my voice be heard because of the ability to use hashtags and the millions of active users they have.