Dark Knight Rises

One summer night, July 20, 2012, a gathering of joyful people pile into a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, waiting in anticipation to watch the midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. Half-an-hour into to the movie, an intense gun-fighting scene comes onto the screen, and a man dressed in tactical clothing walks in front. Smoke starts to rise and spread through the theater. The audience members soon have burning eyes and itching throats. For the slightest moment for some, it was thought to be special effects or a prank, until a horrific blaze of gunshots sound throughout the theater, the smoke-like substance soon recognized as tear gas, and the man as a sinister killer . Round after round, the twisted man fired into the audience as the people rushed out to evacuate the building. In the end, the horrific outcome had twelve people killed and seventy others injured. In instances like these, the U.S is reminded of the danger of guns, and how their availability to even the most mentally unstable of people can be dangerous. “The U.S. has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world, according to data compiled by The Guardian, with around 88 guns for every 100 people” (Eaton). All but 14 states in the U.S do not require a license for a gun, and there are many holes in
the system that allow for many who shouldn’t have a gun, easily purchase one. For instance, the man who had killed 32 people and injured 17 at Virginia Tech in 2007, was still able to purchase the handguns he used in the massacre because a Virginia court had declared him a danger to himself, which was not one of the characteristics they look for in background checks, thus having dangerous gaps within the reporting process that allowed him slip through the cracks with a gun (Eaton). There would be less death and injury in the U.S with stricter gun control laws. Even in the seeming security of people’s homes, guns can serve as a great danger. Almost everyday all over the U.S, unknowing toddlers find unsecured, loaded handguns in their homes or vehicles and fatally shoot themselves or others. Even in homes with older children or teens, it can be mistaken as a toy or used secretively, the outcome often ending with disaster as well. In a study published in The Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection and Critical Care, in August 1998, by Dr. Arthur Kellerman of Emory University in Atlanta, it was shown that: the shootings studied by Kellerman and additional co-authors that of the shootings, “...only 13 were in self-defense or were legally justifiable... By contrast, 54 shootings were unintentional, 118 were attempted or completed suicides, and the vast majority of these shootings -- 438 -- were assaults or homicides. Simply put...one self-defense shooting for 22 accidental, suicidal or criminal shootings --” (Rowen). The likelihood of guns benefiting or serving a home with protection, is exceedingly lower than the likelihood of violence and unintentional death. Along with posing as a threat in homes, there is a plausible link between gun control and police brutality.
In recurring instances of police brutality, the common element is the presence of guns themselves. Understandably, police officers are often living in fear of their lives, especially as: “officers are three times more likely to be murdered in high gun ownership states”(Diwan). With this statistic police officers are more often on edge, and the likelihood of an innocent, mentally unstable, or unarmed person being shot is much higher. A more strict use of gun control laws can help reduce the number of deaths, and keep police officers along with every-day civilians
safe. People against stricter gun control and banning of guns believe that guns are necessary for citizen’s personal protection. They often keep a gun stored in their home for the case of an intruder or person of threat. However, when presented with the issue of the danger of guns around children and others, gun supporters often have guns kept locked in safes. This, however, defeats the purpose of convenient protection. By the time someone is able to realize that there is an intruder in their home, there are only very rare instances when they are able to get to their safe, unlock the safe, and pursue the criminal in time. Besides this, it is highly unlikely for a homeowner to be killed during a home invasion, “the annual per capita risk of death during a home invasion is 0.0000002, which, for all intents and purposes, is zero” (DeFilippis and Hughes). It is tragically more likely for suicides and gun related accidents to fatally be result of a home-kept gun, than a successful use for protection. Supporters also suggest that with guns, criminals are deterred from breaking into their homes in fear of being shot. Contrary to this, research shows that the exact opposite happens instead. A study done in 2003, found that counties with higher levels of household gun ownership have higher rates of household burglary, not lower. Burglars are interested in stealing guns, along with money or valuables (Rowen). Though it is understandable to fear the, sadly very present, evil in the world, gun ownership is very rarely a solution. On April 28, 1996 , there was a killing spree that claimed the lives of 35 people and wounded 21 others at the historic tourist site Port Arthur in south-eastern Tasmania, Australia.The Port Arthur massacre remains Australia's deadliest mass killing spree and remains one of the deadliest such incidents worldwide in recent times. After this horrific massacre, Australia’s government put a total ban on guns. Ten years prior to the Port Arthur and the ban, ten other massacres had taken place, however, since the ban there has not been a single following massacre in Australia. Though the U.S and Australia may have vastly different cultures, this event still shows the possible effectiveness of having an absence of guns. Since 1999, there have been over 28 massacres in the U.S, a possible ban or strickening control of guns could help greatly decrease this number. In cases such as the one in Australia, the U.S is left wondering why a change hasn’t been made to protect the American citizens, like one had been made there. In the end, all Americans can agree that the way things are now is not acceptable. Every day their are violent shootings, massacres, fatal accidents, and gun related deaths all across the U.S. Guns can serve as threats in homes, along with concealed on the streets. After people lose their children, their friends, and their families, everyone can see the obvious truth that the United States’s gun control laws are not nearly as successful as they should be. How many more innocent lives must be taken for America to make a change?