. Understand that it’s not always about why the gun was pulled, but how it was used after it was pulled. Having a gun strapped to their side makes it easier to access, but that is a problem because if they are angered who is to say that the gun won’t be the first thing they resort to. Gun owners are not of one race, religion or cultural background therefore, not one person can say who should have gun rights and where there should be gun control. Gun control should be a world-wide issue looked at from different perspectives. Who is to say what race or religion should own a gun and what race or religion shouldn’t have gun rights because even the people that have clear backgrounds checks and no prior issues with the laws, but with a flip of a switch something can trigger rage within them and they can go out and harm innocent people. We will never understand why this happens or what sets them off. Mental illness is most likely a start of why people lose control, but mental illness is easy to hide while purchasing a gun. There is no screening for mental illness prior to allowing a person to purchase a gun. There is however a background check, but most of those are to make sure that the person doesn’t have any prior issues with the law that would stop them from being able to purchase a gun. Gun control would be a hard thing to establish today because many people sell guns not just stores. There are people on Facebook that sell guns and they are in fact not considering anyone to
The discussion of gun control has escalated rapidly over the last two decades, and has become very complex. Some people believe that there should be no guns, some believe we need more gun control, and some people believe there should be a ban on only certain guns. This makes for a multitude of opinions. To make the United States a “no gun” country is a task that would be nearly impossible. Many Americans, roughly 270 Million according to a Small Arms survey, own guns (Karp 1). Unfortunately, this number includes guns that are purchased illegally by individuals and groups such as gangs. To get rid of all those guns would not work without an enormous fight from lawful gun owners because taking away guns goes against the rights of every American
On December 14, 2012, 26 people lost their lives in one of the saddest tragedies in the history of America. These people did not die peacefully but were brutally murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Twenty young students, two teachers, two teacher’s aides, a school psychologist, and a principal all had their lives taken away because of a gun. The shooting sparked much debate in America whether more gun control or less gun control is needed. Less than four months later on April 30, 2013, conservative political pundit Glenn Beck published Control: Exposing the Truth about Guns. In Control, Beck effectively uses secondary data to disprove many myths about guns; however, he ineffectively persuades readers that violent video games, television, and film are the real contributors to violence in America.
Gun control is an ever-growing debate among American citizens. The debate is considering the positive and negative aspects of guns and what limits should be placed on them. Some people believe that guns should be completely restricted, while others believe that there should be no limitations on these weapons. However, many people are caught in the middle of this debate, believing that gun control should be allowed in moderation. Gun Control should be regulated to have a more strict process to obtain guns and to keep these weapons from those who are mentally ill.
On October 1st 2017, Steven Paddock shot and killed 58 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the course of 12 minutes, Paddock committed the worst mass shooting in modern American history. We must honor the victims and respect their memory, but we have to ask ourselves what we will do to prevent this in the future. The first and completely valid response to that question is enacting stricter gun control, but there is much more than that. We can increase funding for mental health treatment, we can take stricter security measures at hotels and concerts, however there is something major that needs to be changed that hardly ever gets talked about. It’s something that we are used to, that we have seen all throughout our
Today I saw a story on the news, about a 22-year old boy in California who went on a murder-spree and killed 6 people before taking his own life. His motive, you ask? Because he was still a virgin. Because he wanted to punish every woman for rejecting him and every sexually-active man for having a better life than he did. But the worst part is that this wasn’t the first time. This wasn’t the first time a person woke up in the morning and decided they were going to take innocent lives because they weren’t happy with their own. 121. That’s the number of attempted mass shootings that haven taken place in the United States this year alone. 475 people murdered and 1 870 injured in 154 days. This is what America’s gun crisis looks like, and this
Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Pulse Night Club, and Las Vegas all have one thing in common. They all became household names after experiencing horrific mass shootings shocking Americans across the country. We hear of other tragic shootings almost daily and the question we hear the media asking is, “are guns the problem?” The debate over guns has been around since our country was founded. Our founding fathers felt it was so important that citizens have the right to protect themselves, that the right to bear arms is the second amendment in the constitution, making it a secure member of the Bill of Rights. Since this amendment was published and made law of the land, people have been debating its validity, especially in recent years. Our country seems divided with half the citizens blaming guns for mass shootings and the other half adamantly defending our right to own guns. While some people argue that guns are the cause of mass shootings in America, the Bill of Rights should be upheld for citizens to have their rights to bear arms for protection of our property and from a tyrannical government.
At 10:08 P.M. on October 1, 2017, the lives of thousands of Americans were suddenly and horrifically altered. Stephen Paddock, armed with rifles altered to achieve fully-automatic fire rates, unleashed an onslaught of lead from his thirty-second-floor balcony. His target was the Los Vegas Strip, where 22,000 people were gathered for the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. For close to ten minutes Paddock turned what was supposed to be a carefree culmination of the three-day festival into a living hell. When the smoke cleared, 580 people lay on the ground bleeding, of which fifty-eight were dead. The next morning, America awoke to the carnage caused by the worst mass shooting in its history, and true to form, immediately started pointing
Gun control would be a hard thing to establish today because many people sell guns not just stores. There are people on Facebook that sell guns and they are in fact not considering anyone to make sure they can carry a gun or own a gun for that matter. If a criminal wants a gun they have many options to obtain a gun illegally and who are we kidding a criminal isn’t going to care if they have a gun legally or not. There are many guns in America and the government think they have control of who owns them and who doesn’t and its baffling, because just like in the case of drugs just because they are illegal doesn’t stop a criminal from buying and selling them. The government has little control on gun ownership and that isn’t a topic at the
As Americans are proud to be reside in the “land of the free,” our nation is noted to have pride of being able to own and carry a firearm. The right for Americans to bear arms is protected under the second amendment of the United States Constitution. However, this privilege has been taken advantaged of in the recent years. Unfortunately, more than 31,000 Americans die from gunshot wounds(1). Americans wake up to devastating news in relation to gun violence on their tv screen more frequently than before. Even when the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, there is still so many casualties in relation to gun violence(2). These unfortunate deaths raise the question of whether Americans should be restricted from owning firearms. In the United States, the right to own a gun should not be banned and abolished, but be looked into carefully to decrease the mortality rate by guns.
What is a Gun? According to Dictionary.com the definition of weapon means the following “any instrument or device for use in attack or defense in combat, fighting, or war, as a sword, rifle, or cannon.” Additionally, Google’s definition means “a thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage” Both definitions imply some sort of intent to harm or kill another human being. The most common type of weapon today that is used to inflict harm on others is widely known as a Gun or Rifle. About “ Thirty-nine percent of American households report owning at least one gun”(American Gun Ownership, By The Numbers). This is the percent of those who legally own a weapon. Those who do not legally own a weapon are not included. As the world becomes more violent and dangerous many feel the need for protection. Therefore, some resort to a weapon. Sadly some of these fall into the wrong hands. The statistics and deaths speaks for themselves. Something needs to be done about the use of weapons. Strict gun restrictions need to be put in place. If restrictions are put into place, and not improvement is made,
Actor Samuel Jackson, in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, once stated, “I don’t think it’s about more gun control. I grew up in the South with guns everywhere and we never shot anyone. This [shooting] is about people who aren’t taught the value of life” (Shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary) The issue of gun control has become a large problem in the United States. This is because it directly or indirectly affects every single American citizen. There are extremists on both ends: those who want to completely ban and restrict the sales of all firearms, and those who want to be able to stop by a gun store, buy whatever they want, and carry it anywhere. What many people do not realize is that a compromise between the two views would
The Second Amendment asserts that you have the right to bear arms, but to what extent? Numerous loopholes now exist that allow for individuals with mental health issues or criminal records to purchase guns. For example, a gun purchased over the internet or from a private vendor at a gun show is exempt from background checks because neither instance does not necessarily require licensed gun sellers. Increasing amounts of gun violence affect citizens of the United States daily and this number will continue to expand until precautions are imposed. Society is culturally embracing violence and becoming willfully blind to the dangers surrounding this civilization. Yes, we have the right to protect our country, and ourselves but from what? It
We all love power don’t we? We love to bring each other down, we love to steal, and most importantly show that we are better than each other. That is why guns were invented in the first place: To show dominance over one and another, to show that I have the right to kill you with this gun because I have the authority, so therefore, I decide when the bullet comes out, I decide who to kill and who to blame it for. Imagine yourself sitting down to a student in your class who brings a gun, which is legalized, because he felt violated by his professor and shoots him right between the eyes. Why? because he was given a grade that he did not expect to receive on the paper he wrote about the legalization of marijuana. The Texas state legislature recently introduced a bill that would allow students to carry concealed firearms on college campuses. With broad support in both the House and the Senate, the bill is soon to become law soon, and Texan students will then be able to bring their guns to class. According to the article, “Gun Control Facts,“ by James D Agresti and Reid K. Smith, based on production data from firearms manufacturers, there are roughly 300 million firearms owned by civilians in the Unites States as of 2010. Of these, about 100 are handguns.” I never personally liked guns; what is so right about this piece of machinery for which people are willing to put their lives in danger? This is a question of rightness, morality, and value that should be essentially addressed today. No matter how popular guns become there is no need for them in our holy learning environments.
With all of the recent tragic events involving gun violence the debate between gun control and gun rights has been at an all-time high. The most recent and deadliest example of gun violence in Las Vegas, Nevada being still fresh in peoples’ minds, the San Bernardino attacks in which deadly fully automatic weapons were used, and all of the recent school shootings are all making Americans wonder and debate about the proper response to these events. The majority of Americans are responding by asking the question on how these events can be prevented. Many Americans believe stricter gun control, background checks, or even complete bans on firearms are the solutions to gun violence. Many others believe gun control is not the answer, or the issue is not with guns at all, that maybe the issue lies with our overall mental health of our society, or even putting resources into other means of prevention is the answer.
Historically guns haven’t been a national issue. It is not until relatively recently that an overwhelming amount of people have been in favor of placing stricter laws on the owning of a fire arm. The call for gun control has become more prevalent in the eyes of the government and the people; the gun laws that are also often proposed are irrational and ineffective. One could not simply ban guns, it is comparable to banning a certain genre of music; it’s unachievable and would be a fruitless pursuit. There is irony in the fact that there are already gun control laws in place that if correctly enforced would prevent the conflicts that cause many to be anti-gun. Firearms never prove to be the source of the problem in a shooting either; the