The Need For Gun Control
According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime America ranks 91st in the world with a crime rate of 4.7 per 100,000 population. We as a society need to put systems in place to prevent any continuation of gun violence.
Another, complicated issue is the lack of restriction and policies on firearms. In order to fix this problem, we need to reduce the chance of an individual getting a gun if they do not have the proper background for one. The fact that the majority of Americans want gun control is telling from a Gallup Poll of 1993 reported that “Total Ban of Handguns: 39% of U.S Population and 17% of Gun Owner, One gun a month limit: 69% of U.S Population and 64% of Gun Owner, Ban Cheap Handguns: : 72% of U.S Population and 63% of Gun …show more content…
In a comprehensive study published in the American College of Epidemiology, Jeffery Swanson states, “Evidence is clear that the large majority of people with mental disorders do not engage in violence against others, and that most violent behavior is due to factors other than mental illness.” (Swanson) One can choose to believe the study or not because many do not because even the US Supreme Court, during their landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller strongly upheld the right to bear arms, but endorsed prohibitions on gun ownership “by felons and the mentally ill” because of their special potential for violence (Metzl). I do agree that mentally ill people should be limited in owning a gun, but not because of their history of using guns, more so that owning a gun is excessive. Equally, I feel that it is people misconception around the mentally ill is injustice when contrary, to popular belief fewer than 5% of the 120,000 gun-related killings in the United States between 2001 and 2010 were perpetrated by people diagnosed with a mental illness according to Appelbaum (Metzl). We should be treating the mentally ill people with more respect as they are not the problem here, it's the media. The media are the ones who paint the mentally ill in a bad light and sensationalize the coverage. The mass media would have you think that many of these
Another, complicated issue is the lack of restriction and policies on firearms. In order to fix this problem, we need to reduce the chance of an individual getting a gun if they do not have the proper background for one. The fact that the majority of Americans want gun control is telling from a Gallup Poll of 1993 reported that “Total Ban of Handguns: 39% of U.S Population and 17% of Gun Owner, One gun a month limit: 69% of U.S Population and 64% of Gun Owner, Ban Cheap Handguns: : 72% of U.S Population and 63% of Gun …show more content…
In a comprehensive study published in the American College of Epidemiology, Jeffery Swanson states, “Evidence is clear that the large majority of people with mental disorders do not engage in violence against others, and that most violent behavior is due to factors other than mental illness.” (Swanson) One can choose to believe the study or not because many do not because even the US Supreme Court, during their landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller strongly upheld the right to bear arms, but endorsed prohibitions on gun ownership “by felons and the mentally ill” because of their special potential for violence (Metzl). I do agree that mentally ill people should be limited in owning a gun, but not because of their history of using guns, more so that owning a gun is excessive. Equally, I feel that it is people misconception around the mentally ill is injustice when contrary, to popular belief fewer than 5% of the 120,000 gun-related killings in the United States between 2001 and 2010 were perpetrated by people diagnosed with a mental illness according to Appelbaum (Metzl). We should be treating the mentally ill people with more respect as they are not the problem here, it's the media. The media are the ones who paint the mentally ill in a bad light and sensationalize the coverage. The mass media would have you think that many of these