Among industrialized countries, the United States has the highest rates of firearm suicide and homicide, as well as the highest rate of gun ownership. (Kaplan 1227-1233) The question among many people is whether or not stricter gun control laws would indeed reduce the number of homicides in America, many try and relate the situation here in the US to Australia and say that because stricter laws worked for Australia, then it will also be the same for the US. In the wake of so many recent mass shooting tragedies people are searching for answers and resolutions, but because it is such a polarizing issue, people tend to be split with their opinions. Gun control may be the answer for many countries, but it is not the answer for America. The United States has 88.8 guns per 100 people or about 270,000,000 guns, which is the highest total and per capita number in the world. This has resulted in a direct correlation between the number of guns owned and a number of deaths/mass shootings. When reviewing massacres, it is clear that America is an anomaly, this is because there has been more homicides and mass shootings in America than what there has been anywhere else in the world. There are two major problems with the US, and that is the Black Market and ease of accessibility someone has to purchase formidable weapons. Almost every state in the country does not require a permit to purchase or obtain a rifle, nor do you need a license or have the rifle registered. So, if we were to now make laws stricter and ban certain people from having guns, the mere possibility of ceasing all rifles that are already in the hands of Americans would be near impossible. It is clear that Terrorists and criminals are not deterred by laws or the government’s rulings, this does not mean they don’t pay attention to the laws, they just find other alternatives to carry out their motives. For example, terrorists stopped using bombs as laws were put in place which made it easier for the government to track purchases, however that didn’t stop them. It just meant they found another alternative, guns.
“Gun homicides rates are 25.2 times higher in the US than in other high-income countries” according to (Fox 1). This has stemmed the debate as to
They make a very good point about how the United States compares to other countries, England and Japan. The authors write that England and Japan, who, “Have some of the tightest gun control measures in the world, also feature some of the world’s lowest gun homicide rates (per 100,000 people, 0.04 killings and 0.03,respectively)” (Ballaro and Finley). They then talk about, The United States, which has very little gun restrictions, “Has a rate of 3.42 gun murders per 100,000 people-100 times greater than England or Japan” (citation). This helps bolster their claim, that gun control is the greatest tool available to fight gun violence (Ballaro and Finley), because it uses facts to prove that in countries with tight gun control regulations, there are less gun killings.
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 thought of guns and the ability to commit mass murder is a chilling one. According to the The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, “an average of more than 100,000 people are shot every year in the United States” (Just the Facts: Gun Violence in America). Gun violence in America has reached epidemic proportions, surpassing rates of gun-related violence in other developed, high-income nations by 25 percent (Preidt). There is an urgent need for tighter gun laws in America. (5) In order to put an end to the growing trend of gun violence, the United States needs stricter legislation regarding the purchase and ownership of firearms. Although most gun advocates believe that stricter gun laws would not prevent mass shootings, stricter gun
With an increase in the number of mass shootings that have occurred in the United States in the last few years the issue of gun control laws has become a prevalent topic of debate throughout American society. This debate stems from two opposing arguments over gun control. Some feel gun control laws are fair and not the contributing factor to these mass shootings, whereas, others feel that there is an urgent need for strict laws in order to end the problem of mass shootings. There are numerous pros and cons to the enforcement of stricter gun control laws but we must note a few things: stricter gun control laws would interfere with the second amendment, it is not the gun that kills it is the individual, and it is ultimately not laws that are
Policymakers are constantly saying they need to lower crime rates in America. When looking at the numbers America doesn't have a significantly higher rate of crime compared to other developed countries. In fact, Canada has a 94% higher total crime rate per capita then America.”” There is not more crime in America, the crime is just much more lethal. When looking at violent crime due to guns America has a 288% higher violent crime rate then Canada.”” The main reason for the higher violent crime rate is the leisurely process of obtaining a firearm in America. In America, there is an average of 88.2 guns per 100 people, making it very easy to obtain a firearm. “”
In today's society, it is a norm to see people with guns, no matter who they or what their background is. The Second Amendment to our constitution allows American citizens the right to bear arms. In today's society, anyone can get a gun even if they are mentally ill or have a criminal background simply because our laws are too weak and are not being enforced. Today, I am here to talk to you about how and why we should add stricter and or new laws regarding gun control, such as (hold up fingers) having universal background checks and changing the laws regarding who can buy guns.
Using this definition, a 2016 study published in the journal Violence and Victims reported that 292 mass shooting incidents took place worldwide between 1966 and 2012; nearly one-third of these were in the United States.”(DiLascio, 2017). The statistics are the answer to whether or not limiting firearms in The United States will help in the overall goal of limiting firearm violence. Other Countries such as England and Japan have more regulations on firearms and it limits the firearm related murders in those Countries. “Have some of the tightest gun control measures in the world, also feature some of the world’s lowest gun homicide rates (per 100,000 people, 0.04 killings and 0.03, respectively).The United States, by contrast, has a rate of 3.42 gun murders per 100,000 people-100 times greater than England or Japan” (Ballaro, 2016). Over the years gun crime has decreased a lot. “ Although gun crime declined steadily throughout the 1990s and early 2000s-thanks in part, perhaps, to the assault weapons ban still in force at the time-it increased sharply in 2005 and has been on a steady rise since. In 2008, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan group of 300 US mayors, found that homicides from handguns were highest in states with the most lenient gun laws” (Ballaro,
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.
The United States has a population of roughly 319 million people yet it has an accumulative amount of 371 million firearms at its disposal. One notable example of this statistic coming into play is seen when you look at the city of Chicago. Chicago is the city with the strictest gun control laws in the country. When the Gun control legislatures were passed in Chicago, crime dropped at a rapid rate. Although after a year or two Chicago remained to be the most dangerous city in the United States due to the availability of firearms in the surrounding environment. With the wide scale implementation of gun control it is more than reasonable to expect a steady decline of gun homicides as a
Recently, mass shooting is happening everywhere across the country once in a while, notably in Las Vegas and Texas. And even on our campus, a Soka alumni was arrested for threatening a “killing spree” last Friday. The debate about the gun control has been a hot issue throughout the history of the United States, yet during the interview after the mass shooting in Texas, President Trump responded "we could go into the gun control policy], but it's a little bit too soon.", and called the shooter a "very deranged individual" with "a lot of problems over a long period of time" rather than calling him a terrorist. The right to bear arms is one of the unique features in the American society. Only in the United States, Guatemala, and Mexico clearly states the right to bear arms in their constitution. The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
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.
The United States have been “ranked first in international gun ownership rates with 88.8 guns per 100 people (about 270,000,000 guns total)” (ProCon.org. 2016). Additionally, the United States, in 2007, had “12,632 gun homicides (4.19 deaths per 100,000 people) and 17,352 gun suicides (5.76 deaths per 100,000 people)” (ProCon.org. 2016). What this shows is that both Switzerland and Finland had lower death rates due to their confining gun control laws. Hence, the United States should follow in these other countries’ footsteps in increasing gun regulation to lower homicide by gun and suicide by gun. Moreover, in a March 2016 study, “gun homicide rates in the United States were 25.3 times higher and gun suicides were 8 times higher in 2010 than
Gun control is one of the most talked about topics in modern day America. 43 of 50 states have the right to bear arms. Most states have to background check you in order for you to purchase or sell guns. Some other states prevent carrying guns and some other ban assault rifle weapons. People who support the gun laws say that the second amendment was meant for militias and that gun restrictions have always existed. People who oppose that say that guns are needed for self-defense from people who invade houses or are actual threats. Although both of those are correct, there will always be two sides for control laws.
How many people have to die before this world will let go of these dangerous weapons? The Chinese invented gunpowder in the 9th century which lead to the creation of guns. A repeating firearm is a firearm that holds more that one cartridge and can be fired more than once between chargings. Gun control should be enforced more because it will help prevent violence, it can help stop crime, and although some people may argue that gun control should not be enforced because guns can help save people’s lives but they are wrong because people misuse guns.