In our country nearly one half of households own a gun and nearly thirty thousand people die each year from gun shot related wounds (Smock 151). It is because of statistics like these that gun control has become one of the most heated issues that our country is currently facing. While it is obvious that guns are dangerous weapons that must be used responsibly, many people are debating whether or not stricter laws should be put in to place in an attempt to lower the harms caused by guns. Many states and cities across the nation have already established laws that have made it harder for people to get their hands on guns. Many extremists have even asked for guns to be completely taken out of the hands of everyday citizens.
and Robert Kennedy the 1960’s were two foundational instances when the government knew they had to act and strengthen gun control laws. Gun control laws have always been an issue for every state. One of the biggest issues is that we don’t have enough people that are willing to speak up for stricter gun control laws. According to an Associated Press poll in December, “only half of Americans thought that gun laws should be stricter and 15% actually said they should be less strict.” I think we can all agree that gun control laws should be stricter. There are people who are mentally ill that are able to purchase guns with the intent of killing people.
Franck Bayebanen SSC 101 Human Behavior Perspectives “Term research paper” November, 2012 Gun control has become a typical American problem. Today even if the second amendment is the right for American citizens to keep and bear firearms, gun control has become a serious social issue. In facts gun control is becoming a social problem because there is a correlation between firearms and murder rates. United States is the first world economy but have mostly the same murder rates than some third country nation. It is a necessity to understand why America gives so much importance to guns, compare to other industrialized nations.
The Need for Stricter Gun Control Laws Nine thousand, four hundred, and eighty four (9,484) people died in handgun incidents in the United States during 2008. This number is drastically higher than gun related deaths in foreign countries such as Germany with two hundred and sixty nine (269), the United Kingdom had just fourteen (14), and Australia had only fifty nine (59). The reason for such a drastic difference in these numbers is because Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia have stricter gun control laws as well as requiring gun safety courses. These laws directly affect the number of deaths related to the misuse of handguns each year. If the United States chooses to adopt some of those foreign laws and regulations the
They are concerned that each step toward greater gun control will lead to the eventual confiscation of all firearms. Gun control opponent groups spend far more than gun control supporters on campaign contributions. Opponents of gun control, including the National Rifle Association, better known as the NRA, argue that the "right to bear arms" is guaranteed in the second amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and licensing restrictions penalize law-abiding citizens while in no way preventing criminal use of handguns. As the National Rifle Association puts it, “Guns Don’t kill People—People Do.” It is also argued that by making it difficult for guns to be bought and registered for the American public there is a threat to the personal safety of American families
The United States homicide rate in 25% higher when compared to murder rates in other high-income countries, therefore there is clearly something that other countries are doing that we are not. In Canada, for one to get a gun, he or she must have a license that takes 60 days to obtain. They also must take a gun training course, and then should pass a universal background check that focuses on mental, criminal and addiction history. In the United Kingdom, semi-automatic rifles, pump-action rifles, machine guns, and any firearm that has a barrel less than 30 centimeters in length are banned (Laville et al.). But most importantly, for us to adapt some of the laws that make our fellow high-income country’s homicide rate so low, the Congress needs to discuss this issue, without the interference of bribes or money, but by simply exploring the facts and the results of our gun
Gun Violence Solutions for America The recent tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary school once again brought to the forefront of public debate the role of firearms in our culture. The American culture of gun ownership is one of the most distinguishing features of this nation as the United States has almost as many firearms as people. Enshrined into our national fabric with the 2nd Amendment, the debate on guns and their restrictions is every bit as emotionally charged and hotly debated as immigration or abortion. While law-abiding citizens should continue to be allowed to own guns, a re-evaluation who is allowed to purchase them combined common-sense restrictions would go a long ways to preventing tragedies. Firearm ownership is a long American tradition, dating back to before the Revolutionary War when the forefathers of our nation needed guns on a daily basis for hunting or personal protection.
Should citizens be allowed to carry? Are the weapons themselves truly dangerous or is it the person wielding it? These questions and a slew of others have been pondered by both sides of this ongoing controversial debate but to no avail neither side has mutually agreed on answer to those questions or solutions to the issue itself. With steady increases in horrific mass murders such as the most recent Sandy Hook and the Denver Movie Theater shootings gun control has once again been thrown into public eye and with them becoming more frequent a solution to prevent such tragedies is demanded by the American people. But how can we accomplish such a feat?
Such kind of people are less likely to obey gun control laws, that law might have a excessive crash on law abiding individuals. According to justice Breyer, “the proposition that strict gun laws cause crime is harder to accept than the proposition that strict gun laws in part grow out of the fact that a nation already has a higher crime rate.” The murder rate in the United States, 5.7 per 100,000 people in 2006, according to the Federal Bureau Of Investigation. In 2005, according to the Justice Department, 55 percent of homicides were committed with a handgun and 16 percent with another kind of
Gun control is a world known and difficult issue that the United States struggles with. Throughout history firearms have always played an important role in the lives of Americans. History also shows that the rising amount of gun owners correlates with the rising amount of gun related crimes. There are those who believe that enforcing tighter regulations and background checks will help in ending gun related violence. Then there are those who believe that they have “the right to bear arms”.