The Need for Gun Control
The Need For Gun Control
Shortly after dusk, a sixteen-year-old boy stands on the street corner talking with a friend about what happened at school today between himself and another student. He nonchalantly stands there sipping his Pepsi when all of a sudden a black Honda with tinted windows drives up to the corner. The window rolls down, a voice calls out, and the boy walks up to the car. He bends down to peer into the car to see who it is when three rounds from a .38 caliber pistol rip through his chest and neck. The other boy frantically runs off into the distance. He stumbles backwards and trips on the curb behind him and falls to the sidewalk the car speeds off into the dark alleyway across the street. The young boy struggles to breathe as he coughs up blood. He chokes to death with every effort to breathe. He dies a minute or two later. These kinds of events are all too familiar to us and perturb us as we see an increasing number of handguns fall into the hands of the young. I am shocked at the sight of these events where innocent children are being gunned down on the street because of petty little arguments over something so minuscule as a pair of shoes, a particular type of jacket, or simply just a misinterpreted look. I believe that more strict handgun regulations are a must in today 's society. I 'm not saying that we have to ban handguns, but we have to take legislative measures in order to limit the possibility of handguns falling into the hands or youths. Peter Annin and Tom Morganthau state that according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 's
Uniform Crime Report, murders committed by persons under the age of eighteen who were arrested jumped from 1,193 in 1985 to 2982 in 1994. [1] This report shows a substantial increase in the number of killings by people who are under the age of eighteen. Most of these people are often participants in gangs and involved with drugs. Many of these people find that guns are a much easier method
Shortly after dusk, a sixteen-year-old boy stands on the street corner talking with a friend about what happened at school today between himself and another student. He nonchalantly stands there sipping his Pepsi when all of a sudden a black Honda with tinted windows drives up to the corner. The window rolls down, a voice calls out, and the boy walks up to the car. He bends down to peer into the car to see who it is when three rounds from a .38 caliber pistol rip through his chest and neck. The other boy frantically runs off into the distance. He stumbles backwards and trips on the curb behind him and falls to the sidewalk the car speeds off into the dark alleyway across the street. The young boy struggles to breathe as he coughs up blood. He chokes to death with every effort to breathe. He dies a minute or two later. These kinds of events are all too familiar to us and perturb us as we see an increasing number of handguns fall into the hands of the young. I am shocked at the sight of these events where innocent children are being gunned down on the street because of petty little arguments over something so minuscule as a pair of shoes, a particular type of jacket, or simply just a misinterpreted look. I believe that more strict handgun regulations are a must in today 's society. I 'm not saying that we have to ban handguns, but we have to take legislative measures in order to limit the possibility of handguns falling into the hands or youths. Peter Annin and Tom Morganthau state that according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 's
Uniform Crime Report, murders committed by persons under the age of eighteen who were arrested jumped from 1,193 in 1985 to 2982 in 1994. [1] This report shows a substantial increase in the number of killings by people who are under the age of eighteen. Most of these people are often participants in gangs and involved with drugs. Many of these people find that guns are a much easier method
Bibliography: [1] Annin, Peter; Morganthau, Tom. "The lull before the storm?" Newsweek 4 December 1995: < http://sbweb2.med.iacnet.com/infotrac/session/993/36/2172572/62?xrn_14 > 03/24/97 19:29:23 [2] Blendon, Robert J.; Hemenway, David; Young, John T. "The American public and the gun control debate" The Journal of the American Medical Association 12 June 1996: < http://sbweb2.med.iacnet.com /infotrac/session/993/36/2172572/16?xrn_1 > 03/24/97 18:54:01