Gun Control: Good or Bad?
By: Kevin Zhong
Backround
Every year many people are being killed by guns. About 30,000 people every year are killed in the U.S. by accident, suicide, or homicide. In the early 2000s, homicides committed with a firearm in the U.S. were responsible for about 2.2 deaths for every 100,000 population. Calls for stricter gun control measures typically grow louder following any high-profile shootings. Many politicians, gun control groups, and law-enforcement officials are debating whether individual people should own guns. Especially after many massacres and gun kills. Supporters of gun control argue that current laws are too lax, allowing dangerous people to acquire deadly weapons with little to no hindrance. While opponents of of gun control insist that the second amendment protects the right to bear arms. They say that gun control activists only mention gun shootings to scare people and to promote their beliefs. Gun control should be more strict to prevent more shootings and deaths, and yet still constitutional.
A lot of people every year are killed by guns. Many acts and laws have already been passed to help control guns, some have failed, some have succeeded. One of the first pieces of legislation was the Sullivan Act, which required a permit to carry or own a weapon small enough to be concealed. The National Firearms act of 1934 imposed a tax on the manufacture and sale of certain firearms, including machine guns, shotguns, and some rifles. This law was designed to “make it difficult to obtain types of firearms perceived to be especially lethal or to be the chosen weapons of gangsters”, which are notably machine guns and short-barreled long guns. One of the worst gun massacres was on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary school in newtown Connecticut. A 20 year old man armed with an assault rifle and two handguns forced his way into the school and killed 26 people, including 20 children aged six and seven, before killing himself as the police came in. The mass slaying of small children at an elementary school appeared to shake the nation in ways that other mass shootings did not. many politicians and citizens are calling for the United States to tighten gun laws and expand mental health care services. At a memorial service on December 16 in Newtown, President Barack Obama declared that the United States was not doing enough to protect children from gun violence and called for the country to take action. “Since I have been president,” said Barack Obama, “this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings.” Also, he said during his speech that he would only “use whatever this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as a routine.” Barack Obama’s is right, gun control needs to be more strict.
Although many people agree with gun control, a vast amount of people still favor it. A major reason of people in favor of it is that the second amendment states that “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.” So people argue that people should have guns for self-defense. Opponents of gun control also point out that lower crime rates in some states where residents are allowed to carry concealed weapons as proof that gun violence is caused by more than just people’s ability to possess firearms. Gun right groups have also given 30 million to federal candidates and party committees since 1989, with 27 million going to the people for oppose gun control. A National Rifle Association spokesperson Wayne LaPierre also argued that more guns, not less, are necessary to prevent violent shootings. He said, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Gun control is a good idea to some people, but to others, it is not.
People need to promote gun control so less shootings and deaths happen, while all being constitutional. If gun control laws were more strict, some of the recent massacres might have never happened. The killer might not have ever been able to buy a gun, lives might not have been lost. Guns are dangerous, and not needed. If you want to make the world a safer and better place, then support gun control!
Work Cited
“Gun Control.” Issues and Controversies in American History. Infobase Publishing. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
“Gun Control Follow Up!” Issues and Controversies. Facts on File News Services, Web. 9 May. 2013. 18 Mar. 2014.
“Gun Control: Update.” Issues and Controversies. Facts on File News Services, Web. 17 Dec. 2012. 18 Mar. 2014.
“The Gun Debate.” CNN. Cable News Network, Mar. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.