Mass Shootings

Lately there has been a rise in the controversial topic of gun violence in the United States. Many Americans believe that the high number of gun violence is a result of the gun laws currently in place, while others believe that there is no fault in the current gun laws. Governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, states “gun violence is terrorizing America, tearing apart the very fabric of our communities and our families,” at an announcement in Portland, OR according to the article, Gov. Brown Announces Plan To Curb Gun Violence, written by Conrad Wilson. I believe that Govern Brown was not only addressing the loss of lives due to gun violence but also the relationships people have with one another as a result of the disagreements over whether gun laws
I believe that if corporations that sell firearms were to create more advanced background checks that include both criminal and mental health history, the number of suicides, school shootings, and robberies would decrease. Author of, Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms,Jonathan M. Metzl, explains that “60% of perpetrators of mass shootings in the United States since 1970 displayed symptoms including acute paranoia, delusions, and depression before committing their crimes.” Including past mental illness history as well as criminal history would allow sellers of firearms to better decide if one is suitable enough to own such equipment. Enhancing the process of purchasing a gun would lead to improvement of the public health crisis of gun violence because less mentally ill individuals and criminals would be allowed access to firearms.

Offering educational classes about how to use firearms and classes that provided citizens with information about the causes of gun violence is another way in which I believe could solve the crisis of gun violence. I believe that there is an abundance of people who either own a gun and are unaware of how to operate it properly or who don’t own a gun and don’t understand the sense of protection and safety is supplies people with. If classes on gun safety and operation were offered as no charge, more people
Creating laws banning firearms is also going against the second amendment of the right to bare arms, written in the constitution of the Unites States. I believe that improving the process of purchasing and owning a gun, offering educational classes about firearms and gun violence, and requiring that every gun owner posses some type of gun safe are valuable first steps to improved public health crisis of gun