The Pros And Cons Of Gun Violence In America

Gun control is defined as the “regulation of the selling, owning, and use of guns” (“Gun Control” Merriam-Webster 1). Gun control is a heated topic that many Americans concern themselves with today after recent mass shootings. Suggested solutions are posed and debated between different viewpoints. The laws in existence today should be carried out and tightened before excess laws are passed. Many Americans have turned to face the issue of gun control after recent mass shootings like the one in Las Vegas or in some Churches. Some Americans with a more liberal view believe that tighter gun control laws should be enacted. More conservative Americans believe that the gun control laws already passed should be followed through. The gun laws that have already been passed should be followed through opposed to enacting new laws because many laws are already in place, gun control laws do not stop illegally obtaining a gun, and strict gun control laws have failed to prevent mass killings in countries.

This was the headline in “The New York Times” by Christopher Mele and Manny Fernandez on November 5th 2017. The authors highlights the events that led to a gunman by the Devin Patrick Kelly, 26, opening fire at a congregation worshiping on a Sunday at a rural church in Texas, killing 26 people and scores injured. According to this article, the motif of the attack was attributed to a serious mental health problem and a failed marriage which led to divorce the victim having assaulted his wife and child.

Multiple videos of police involved shootings have surfaced on the internet over the past few years raising the question; should police be carry firearms? A few countries have already disarmed their patrol officers and left only a few specialized armed units. There are some that would believe the same should be done in the United States. However disarming officers would have disastrous results. Police officers must be armed to project force, secure a crime scene, and defend the lives of others.

This opinion piece from The Washington Post was written by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut. Published days after the recent Las Vegas Shooting, Murphy tells of his past experiences with gun violence urging for stronger gun control legislation. He states that the “phenomenon of horrific mass shootings is exclusive to the United States”, so the solution should be able to be solved by Americans. He argues that our response to “regular mass shootings” has been un-American, and how can a country that has solved the greatest problems in the world, not solve a problem that puts our fellow citizens in harm. “…we choose to be an increasingly distant outlier of exceptional violence”, Murphy states.

Gun control, it’s a common topic that gets thrown around debates very often, whether the second amendment should remain legal or it should be banned in the United States. I, among many law abiding citizens, prefer to keep the second amendment within our government just like it has been since our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. However, with this law still in place, it also means anybody over a certain age, depending where they live in the United States, can buy a gun. This puts me on edge because not everybody in our nation is a very self-controlling person, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion, and so on. This brings back those tragic moments in our generation such as the Newtown School Shooting, where a man walked into an elementary and shot little boys and girls, and also teachers. Or that time when the man shot many innocent bystanders inside the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando with a rifle and handgun. That is why there should be strict background checks for anyone who is going to buy a firearm, because it’s important to know just who exactly is going to buy a gun.

Although I did not agree with the article How Gun Control Advocates Could break the NRA’s Blockade by Ronald Brownstein, it states some points that were hard to refute about gun control and that helped shape my argument. My stance on gun control is that we should not ban guns as a whole, but have more of a centralized approach on how people can obtain a gun. Being an American citizen allows you with certain alienable rights that are outlined by the Bill of Rights. We as a nation were given these rights at the creation of our great nation based on the fact that all men were created equal. Some of the rights that are given include things such as, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to bear arms. The Bill of Rights was made because they wanted to place specific limits on government power. The author of the article is suggesting that we as a nation should ban all types of guns. This topic of banning guns or not banning guns is important because in recent events there has been a lot of mass shootings that have ended lives too early. These mass shootings are becoming more and more common the number of people that have been killed by guns within the last year has been four hundred and sixty-one. Also, there have been over three hundred mass shootings in the last 477 days.

Gun Control Gun Control has been a highly controversial issue in the United States for the past several decades. From assassinations to mass shootings, every time guns and violence come together the issue resurfaces. Should the nation act on stricter gun laws and legislation? Would new gun laws help or hinder the gun crime rate in the United States? The nation stands divided on the issue; both sides taking a firm stance as to what they believe should be done legislatively with guns. Gun control advocates state that the number ofand different types of guns in the hands of the American public is simply too great. There are an estimated two hundred and forty million guns in circulation across our nation made up of three hundred million citizens. Gun control advocates reason that more guns lead to more gun crime. They site the extremely tight gun laws in countries such as the United Kingdom and Japan and compare the gun number to gun violence ratio. The ratio in those countries is nearly one hundred times lower than that of the United States with .04 gun related deaths per one hundred thousand people compared to the United State’s 3.42 gun related deaths per one hundred thousand people. Furthermore, out of the fourteen deadliest mass shootings in the world, half of them have been committed in the United States. Even though there was a decline in gun related crimes during the 90’s, they have been on the rise since 2005. Currently, the United States ranks twelfth out of one

Gun violence is a serious problem in the United States. In the United States, gun violence results in the death of thousands annually. According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, “The U.S. firearm homicide rate is 20 times higher than the combined rates of 22 countries that are our peers in wealth and population” ("About Gun Violence”). The United States must pass laws in order to decrease gun violence. The United States must pass laws to ban assault weapons, require a more intensive background check on gun purchasers, and require a mental health examination for gun ownership.

Gun control is perhaps one of the most controversial issues in this country but seemingly not so strong in others. The debate has been present since before the bloody birth of the United States. It was, however, not as pressed then as it is now. There are several factors that contribute to this growing debate. Among such arguments include: the use of guns for self defense, civilian possession of machine guns and assault rifles, and the 2nd amendment's inclusion of the militias right to own guns to protect people and country if need be. An individual is entitled to their right to own guns, however there should be strict regulations on guns and gun ownership.

The pro side brought up that guns are responsible for many deaths in the U.S. each year. I was really shocked that about thirteen toddlers accidentally kill themselves with a parent’s gun each year. They came up with the idea of a gun that can only be used when unlocked with the owner’s fingerprint, similar to an iPhone. They also suggested more in-depth background checks.

No issue has dominated America like gun violence. Since the start of 2017 there has been 384 mass shootings in America (Mass Shooting Tracker). These include the horrifying event in Las Vegas, where Stephen Paddock opened fire on a concert from his room at the Mandalay Bay. He ended up killing fifty nine people and injuring around four hundred and fifty people (Mass Shooting Tracker). It also includes the shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas where a gunman entered a church and killed twenty seven people and injured another twenty. Reactions to these types of events are fairly similar. An outcry for background checks and even calls for a ban on all firearms usually follow after these events, and for good reason. The loss of life due to gun violence is becoming all too normal in the United States, but to ban all guns would be ineffective and unethical. This article will show that gun control has not worked in certain places of America and other parts of the world. The article will also describe why it is not a viable solution to ban all guns because it would infringe on the Second Amendment. In addition, the article will also present the opinion of those who think that a ban on all guns is a viable solution. This article will now show examples of gun control not working in the United States and other places of the world.

In my beliefs it will reduce violent crime by keeping guns out of the hands of people who are likely to use it to kill people with i.e. bikies, criminals and those on criminal watch lists will reduce crime.

I choose to talk on a topic that most people is clearly not comfortable talking about until something major happens. I chose to talk on gun control, not that this is an easy subject to focus on but one that is seeking the attention all around the world. The one thing I do not like when it comes to any law is that religion and politics is always brought into anything when someone wants to make and prove a point. “The second amendment protects an individual’s right to own guns; that guns are needed for self-defense from threats ranging from local criminals to foreign invaders; and that gun ownership deters crime rather than causes more crime” (Procon.org., 2017). One thing I find interesting for the argument is that guns are rarely used in self-defense. This is true most of the crimes that is being committed are most of the victims are not allowed to defend oneself making the crime seem very senseless. Another pro is guns that are owned legally will likely get stolen and used by someone with a criminal background. More gun controls lead to fewer suicides. Most adults, including gun owners, support common sense gun control such as background checks, bans on assault weapons, and bans on high-capacity magazine. Enacting gun control laws such as mandatory safety features would reduce the number of accidental gun deaths.

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.

Millions of people die every year due to accidents, sickness, and natural causes. However, it is the more preventable deaths that are truly troubling. Gun violence is often preventable and yet, it seems that almost nothing is being done about it. This is highlighted in a video produced by Vox where it discusses how bad, especially in America, the problem has gotten. The video argues that although more than half of Americans believe in their right to own guns a majority of the people believe that there should be more regulations in place to help control gun violence. I argue that Vox is effective in its argument to create stricter gun regulations because of ethos, logos, and pathos.