n this article, Cooke examines many of the most horrific mass shootings of recent years with the purpose of hypothesizing whether stricter gun control laws would have prevented any or all of those tragedies. His conclusion is that they would not have. He then extends this contention to state that gun control laws in general are useless, because they clearly do not prevent acts of mass violence. This is a very common conservative argument, and can be found everywhere. Its principal weakness can be illustrated by observing that there exist strict laws against murder, yet murders occur every day in the US—that does not mean that said laws are useless. However, you could use it as a talking point in an argumentative essay. Cooke is a frequent
For the purposes of this paper "Gun Control" is defined as policies enacted by the government that limit the legal rights of gun owners to own, carry, or use firearms, with the intent of reducing gun crimes such as murder, armed robbery, aggravated rape, and the like. So defined, gun control understandably brings favorable responses from some, and angry objections from others. The gun control
Cooke bases his piece primarily on facts. His logic forces the reader to think more seriously about the issue of gun control and how it would not prevent terrible massacres from happening. Cooke writes of universal background checks: “it is certainly not possible to claim that they would prevent or even diminish the number of mass shootings” (Cooke 6). Gopnik includes a great deal of logic in his article, but, unlike Cooke, he does not rely solely on logic to reach his readers. Gopnik argues that gun control can reduce the number of fatal shootings. He compares America’s current gun control to that of other countries, making it clear to the reader that gun violence correlates directly to the amount of guns available. After offering several
The article “Will recent shooting influence gun legislation” takes about how the recent shootings are having an influence on people's perspective on gun control. It explains the various mass shootings across America such as the one at Charleston. Some people are deciding to go out and buy more guns, while others are trying to enforce more gun control laws. The American people are split down the middle, deciding whether they should protect gun rights or attack then. The article tackles varying concepts, such as mental health with guns and the use of assault rifles. It shows how gun violence has escalated in the past few years, and how the American people are reacting to it. Overall, it is about
Gun violence has been a massive issue through the modern age of humanity and has created a sense of division regarding the solution to this epidemic. In Adam Gopnik’s essay “Shootings”, Gopnik addresses the issue of gun violence and demands a change in American government policy to prevent the tragic killings of innocent lives. Gopnik harnesses the tool of emotion and passion to drive his essay. In Charles Cooke’s essay “Gun Control Dishonesty”, Cooke takes the polar opposite of Gopnik’s approach by utilizing factual evidence to prove the futility of gun control.
For many years, people have been pushing the American government to implement new laws that deal with gun control. Supporters of the argument claim that increased gun control will drastically reduce the crime rate in America. Nevertheless, a majority of gun control arguments are formed from strict control of data and emotional appeal. The mainstream media picks up these stories and broadcasts them to viewers without providing any context to them. While gun control activists assert that gun control is necessary, the American government should not ban guns because of the following reasons: potential vulnerability of innocent people being shot at by criminals and the inability for people to defend themselves against their own government.
The article “Gun Control Laws: Should the United States adopt stronger gun control laws?” focuses on the debate on passing stricter gun control laws. For example, supporters believe that gun control laws will decrease mass shootings and gun violence. Additionally, adopting these laws does not violate the Second Amendment, and as a result it does not limit the government from the use of fire arms when it is necessary. However, opponents argue that the gun control laws will not stop gun violence. The problem is the people holding the gun and not the gun itself. Furthermore, opponents gathered that stronger gun control laws do violate the Second Amendment. The author illustrates the debate on whether the United States should or should not adopt stronger gun control laws.
Although the laws of gun control are more and more strict, the rate of gun violence and gun crime in the United State are not going down. Many people think gun control is not the answer for gun violence. For example, the tragedy at Virginia Tech may tell us something about how a young man could be driven to commit terrible actions, but it does not teach us very much about gun control. So
It appears as though the repetitive and unfortunate tragedies of mass shootings have become incorporated into the everyday life of American culture. We are forced to live in a heightened degree of fear, skepticism, and hesitation concerning our public safety. This phenomenon could reasonably occur in response to the vast ineffectiveness of the country’s current gun laws. Time after time similar misfortunes arise, yet few major changes are implemented to prevent them from reoccurring in the future. We cannot let this trend continue any further. Though some claim that increased gun control is useless and infringes upon the Second Amendment, it limits civilians’ weapons grade, obstructs those deemed unfit to wield such lethal weapons, and insures a greater level of security, thus it should be executed.
Gun control remains a moot point among many people today. With mass shootings that happen in our country, this question arises: can gun control stop shootings or does gun control promote shootings. History tends to repeat itself, so we need to take a trip to the past to solve this issue. Throughout history gun control has changed in many ways from registration/ background checks, the type of gun that can be purchased, and the age at which you can purchase types of firearms.
Hook) After student Dimitrios Pagourtzis shot and killed 10 of his classmates at Santa Fe High School, traumatized survivor Paige Curry coldly remarked, “‘[school shootings have] been happening everywhere, I've always kind of felt that eventually [one] would happen here, too’” (Vera). (Bridge) Curry’s message displays the visible desensitization to school shootings, thus reopening the nationwide conversation regarding gun control. (Divided Stasis/Thesis Statement) (Opponent’s claim informed by 3 scholarly sources) Although opponents of a stricter gun control policy do not think putting limitations on guns will be effectual in reducing fatalities, (Rhetor’s claim informed by 9 scholarly sources) proponents of gun control believe more stringent laws will lower rates of violence because (Reason/Support 1) guns are one of the leading mechanisms of suicide, (Reason/Support 2) guns are used at a much higher rate for criminal purposes rather than self defense, and (Reason/Support 3) guns have successfully been controlled in other countries.
A rising issue in our country today is the increase of mass killings that occur. More specifically, why are the perpetrators for these horrific events inclined to go through with these actions? Why did Dylann Roof kill nine innocent people at the Mother Emanuel African American Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina? Why did Adam Lanza murder twenty first-graders and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut? Although we cannot fully answer these questions, we can determine why these events happen so easily; primarily because of our gun control laws. With the increase of gun violence in our country, we may be able to reduce this issue by restricting laws pertaining to the accessibility and ability to
Gun control is an extremely controversial issue in the United States, and the debates around this topic has started many decades ago. According to the article “Gun Rights vs. Gun control” by Brianna Gurciullo, these debates are fueled by the people who defend the gun rights and the people who advocate in favor of gun control. It has been difficult to prove that gun ownership is directly related to an increase in violence due to the fact that researches tend to disagree on the impact of gun ownership in the American society. These debates tend to be brought to the spotlight whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States, which according to Abbey Oldham, who is a reporter from the PBS News Hour, happens quite frequently. However, organizations, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), defend that the laws for gun control violate the Second Amendment of the constitution, which states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” stated Gurciullo. Due to the distinct interpretations of the constitution and the difficulty to agree on the best approach to tackle the issue, this controversy seem to be almost unsolvable.
An ever increasing emphasis on the prevention of mass shootings has presented the option of gun control and bans. Mass shootings have occurred many times throughout history, but have
In the wake of the recent Las Vegas shootings, the debate over gun control policy has been re-stoked to a higher degree than ever before. Both liberals and conservatives face the same looming question: Is there an actual solution to gun violence or is this just part of the unpredictable human condition? While many on the left believe that increased regulation is a step in the right directions, many on the right oppose this view. In an op-ed piece titled “Why gun control won’t end mass murder,” the author Tammy Bruce, a Tea Party conservative, argues that liberals are missing the big picture by focusing on gun control. Tammy contends that unpredictable behavior driven by our human condition is to blame for the mass violence. The point she makes is well received. However, we cannot deny that gun control laws may have prevented more acts of gun violence than we can begin to imagine.
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.