Gun Control
“Gun are designed to kill. They have no other function” (Bowman and Newton). Today, there is a major debate whether or not guns should be legalized or stay legal. The Second Amendment allows people to right to bear arms, but many people disagree with that and to express their opinions, both sides protest. Guns have a long history in the United States. They were made for military purposes and are now used for anything a individual wants to use it for, like for example hunting. Stricter gun control laws should be enacted because they will cause fewer deaths, save money, and for increased public safety. More gun control laws should be enacted because by the enactment of more gun control laws there will be cause fewer gun deaths. The article, “Counterpoint: Gun Control Saves Lives” by Beverly Ballaro and Laura Finley, gives a statistical comparison of gun homicides;
“England and Japan, which 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 in England or Japan” (Ballaro and Finley).
More gun control laws can decrease the rate of death as shown in England and Japan. Because England and Japan had stricter gun control laws, they had lower gun homicides rates than in the United States. By enforcing stricter gun control laws, it
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.
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.
There are currently over 200 million guns in use, which means obtaining a gun in the United States mustn't be that hard. If gun usage could be regulated more by banning certain unneeded weapons to the public and requiring a more in depth background check, than miss usage of guns, and deaths caused by them would decrease. However, already existing laws need to be enforced and harsher penalties for those who don't follow the laws. If the country would agree on certain legislation for gun control, than The United States could be a much safer
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
Current Gun Control regulations do not deter violence and crime. It has been shown that places that have relaxed their gun control laws have a higher crime and death rate. Data proves that homicide rates “[...] among the metro areas whose principal city is in a state that requires some form of permit to purchase a gun, is 4.32 per 100,000 residents, compared with 5.74 among cities in no-permit states”(Bailey). This is evidence that there is a correlation between gun control and death rates. It is also proven with statistical evidence that places with the least amount of gun control have the most violence. Statistics show that “‘none of the states with the most gun violence require permits to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Gun owners are also not required to register
Some say that more gun control laws would reduce gun deaths. The website, procon.org, Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted, February 26, 2016, says, “There were 464,033 total gun deaths between 1999 and 2013” (p 6). Of these deaths, 58.2% were suicide, 37.7% were homicides, and 2.2% were unintentional. Guns are the leading cause of death by homicide with 66.6% and by suicide with 52.2%, and are the 12th leading cause of all deaths. The study published by American Journal of Public Health found that "legal purchase of a handgun appears to be associated with a long-lasting increased risk of violent death" (p 6). Guns are related to a lot of deaths, and are among the top weapons associated with all deaths. Also, just legally owning one increases a person’s risk of dying
Developing stricter gun laws in the United States can lower the amount of crime that is committed using firearms, as well as to prevent accidental death, homicides and suicides. Gun control is effective, and many nations have the statistics to prove that. Firearms have a place in society, but it is not in the name of self-protection. The source is somewhat incorrect, as gun control is necessary, but it does not mean that all firearms should be eliminated.
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
If gun control is regulated, then we will have less crime. Access to firearms makes killing easy, efficient, and impersonal, which increases the lethality of crime. Josh Sugarmann, the Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center has once said, "We recoil in horror and search for explanations, but we never face up to the obvious preventive measure: a ban on the handy killing machines that make crimes so easy.”Allowing untrained people to carry guns puts others at risk and it can result in self-inflicting injuries both by suicide and unintentional incidents. Gun violence in America kills more than 30,000 and injures almost 70,000 each year. Guns can be misused and abused, which is why gun
To begin with, stronger gun control laws should be enacted because the murder rate in America will decrease. In the article, “American deaths in terrorism vs. gun violence in one graph” shows that the United States has the most homicides and the most amount of civilian firearms per person. This means, the graphs show how many homicides and gun ownership countries have. The graph also shows that the United States has the most homicides
Too many people have lost their lives due to careless accidents and violent acts of crime that could have possibly both been avoided with more control. According to a Lancet study implementing federal universal background checks could reduce firearm deaths by a projected 56.9%; background checks for ammunition purchases could reduce deaths by a projected 80.7%; and gun identification requirements could reduce deaths by a projected 82.5%.(pro) Research shows that more gun control law being implemented could saves thousands of lives each and every year.
Second, countries who have learned from the incidents and enforced tougher gun laws actually lowered their crime rates, the reason being the right to owning a gun actually increased crime rates, such as events of gun shootings. For example, gun homicide rate in the United States in 25 times higher than other developed countries (Gun Violence by the Numbers). Japan on the other hand, has “enviously low rates of gun crime” resulted from its ‘zero tolerance’ gun ownership policy (Jowit). In similar ways, “Germany has one of the highest weapons-per-head rates in the world, but its homicide rate is one of the lowest in Europe: a death rate of 0.05 per 1000 people, compared with 3.34 in the US” (Jowit). The reason being that Germany had made changes to its gun laws from their past gun violence incidents. Germany now requires anyone who applies for gun under the age of 25 has to go through a psychiatric evaluation, involving personality and anger management tests (Jowit).
Hundreds of people die each year due to the misuse of guns. Still, gun control has been a controversial issue in the United States. People should have the right to protect themselves with guns but there should be stricter gun laws about who can purchase guns and specific guns that should not be sold to the public.
The studies and research on gun control has opened up many ideas on how weak the current laws really are. Crime rates consist of high numbers. “Since 1982, there have been at least 62 mass shootings across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii”