Gun violence in America is not at all as bad as it is in Sierra Leone and other countries with war and little law enforcement as we read about in the book a long way gone. In the book the main character Ishmael discovers that America is not at all like he heard through rap songs. When he moves to America and tells his story of being a soldier and killing people the people he talks to about it think that it is cool and Ishmael states in the book “violence in America is romanticized. I do agree with this statement that we do make war look easy and fun through movies and video games. We do not understand what it is like to be in a war and witness killing and bloodshed every day.…
Ever since the ratification of the 2nd amendment to the Constitution, one of ten amendments in the Bill of Rights, people of the United States have right to keep and bear arm in order to protect themselves. However, the extent of firearms’ usage is not limited to just people protecting each other and themselves. Accompanied with the right to keep and bear arm is the thread of gun violence. Mass shooting incidents, apparent evidences of gun violence have been seen all over the country. Gun violence has been causing fear for the people and endless loss for the country overall.…
For many, mental health and gun violence seem to go hand in hand. While it seems logical that individuals that perpetrate mass shootings must have some mental illness such as in the case of Adam Lanza who in December 2012 carried out one of the most tragic mass shootings at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown Connecticut. In that shooting Lanza, who was 20 years old at the time, killed his mother then went on to slaughter 6 adults and 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7 and finally taking his own life. (Connecticut Shootings Fast Facts - CNN.com) Lanza had in fact had been diagnosed with having Autism Spectrum Disorder which is characterized by “persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple…
Gun violence is any act committed by the use of a firearm that causes bodily injury or fatality. Gun violence in the United States has become increasingly evident and has led to mass tragedy nationwide, affecting all walks of life. It has had a devastating effect on communities throughout the country and has resulted in numerous injuries and deaths. Within the past decade, there have been more than “100,000 people killed as a result of gun violence” in America, and millions more have been victims of robbery, assault, or other crimes involving a gun (“FACT”). Within this same timeframe, hundreds of thousands of people within United States borders committed suicide with a gun or suffered from other gun inflicted injuries (“FACT”). Additionally,…
Gun violence in the United States has exponentially grown into a highly pressing issue in political and social discourse in today’s society. More and more cases of teenagers, young adults, and psychopathic criminals engaging in gun violence have arisen in recent years. Years ago, gun violence was typically associated with the inner city, but recently the plague has reached college campuses, malls, movie theaters, high schools, and even grade schools. The government, schools, peace organizations, and common people are banding together to find ways to deal with the matter adequately. Unfortunately, the solution is not obvious. There are varying viewpoints on the issue across the political and social spectrum, which creates controversy and dispute on what should be done. One thing is known, however; something needs to change.…
Gun violence is one main thing that tears families apart. Crazy, non-educated people roam the streets with dangerous weapons killing people and causing tragedies. Society would have done better if only police had the access to weapons and guns instead of civilians and criminals, although they could be confiscated. Gun violence incidents have been happening for a very long time, most of the time without a reason. Shootings, robberies, etc. all include the use of a weapon like a gun. These things happen every day. For example, if someone is trying/planning on killing someone, they won’t be able to do that without a weapon. Guns are meant for self-defense, people like gangsters don’t use them the way they’re supposed to be used, but why? Using them not the right way will get them in trouble and do nothing but get them thrown in jail, just use guns in the proper form, for self-defense, not homicidal kills. It is important to always stay cautious of your…
The idea of violence and mental illness in the news can affect society in many different ways. News articles that focus on mental illness is intended to change society’s opinion on gun control to make them believe it is the person’s fault for the gun violence. Instead of finding fault in the guns itself, people want to blame mental illnesses for causing all the problems in the world, “conservative commentator Anne Coulter provocatively proclaimed ‘guns don’t kill people- the mentally ill do”’ (Metzl and McLeish). Blame is being put on people with mental illnesses and no one is blaming the actually weapons. In reality the blame should be put on both the guns and person. The people who are committing these crimes are not sane people, and they have many problems. They can be extremely dangerous to the world, but so are guns. People have discovered that “60% of perpetrators of mass shootings in the Unites States since 1970 displayed symptoms including acute paranoia, delusions, depression, before committing a crime” (Metzl and McLeish). How many of this mass shootings are publicized in the media? The answer is that more than…
On any given year, roughly 12,000 Americans are killed in gun-related homicides. That means, on average, 33 U.S. men, women and children die at the hands of others using firearms each day. Stopping this violence entirely is an impossible task. As a people, all that Americans can do is try to mitigate this violence using policy, and recently attempts have been made at doing so by limiting the people’s right to bear arms. On paper, this approach makes sense: to lessen gun violence, fewer guns should be legally allowed in society and more regulations should be imposed on those weapons that can be carried. However, gun control is admittedly not that simple: some cities and states with more stringent policies have lower violent crime and firearm…
Since the founding of our country, millions of lives have been taken due to lack of gun regulation. In the past year alone, there have been more mass shootings than there have been days in the year. These acts of terror have resulted in 12,703 deaths, 3,385 of which have been children and teenagers aged 0-17. The topic of gun regulation has become more and more heated over the past few years due to the increasing amount of controversial cases involving weapons (i.e. police brutality cases and racial discrimination incidents). Due to the rise in gun-related deaths, the United States Federal Government continues to argue over the way to reduce the number of innocent lives lost. Republicans argue that mental health should be a greater focus than…
“I have a very strict gun control policy: if there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it (Eastwood). Statistics are proving that we need to prevent gun violence and get rid of all access to all guns. In this country, anybody can get a gun, statistics prove gun violence is increasing, we need to prevent gun violence. Banning guns completely will make America safe again. Every day, 306 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides and suicide attempts, unintentional shootings, and police intervention. Every day, 90 people die from gun violence: 31 are murdered. 56 kill themselves (Key Gun Violence Statistics). Private gun ownership should be banned.…
Since the inception of firearms, people have been wielding all types of arms and ammunitions against each other in order to injure or kill their opponent. In the modern world, this violence is unwarranted and goes against everything society stands for. Nowhere else is gun violence most prevalent than in the United States of America. Because of the Constitution, Americans have had the right to bear arms since 1776. When the Constitution was drafted, the term “arms” meant nothing more than a musket or perhaps small one-shot pistol. However, as arms and ammunition have evolved much like any other technology, their capacity to accurately kill humans has increased. So much so that one firearm can be used to kill many people…
For example, in 2014, there were approximately 2,549 children who died from a gunshot, and 13,576 children who were injured (Gun Violence: Facts and Statistics, 2017). The more guns there are that are lying around homes, the more likely there’s going to be an accident resulting in death, or injury. Guns need to be kept under control to prevent these things. The last reason that there should be stricter gun laws is that right now, people have too easy of access to guns, when they really don’t need them in the first place. There are too many people who have guns just because they can, and most of those guns are lying around the house where almost anyone could get ahold of them (Bush, 2015). It is important to limit their access to guns so we can prevent these things from happening. In order for a U.S citizen to drive a car, they must pass a test proving they are capable of driving a vehicle safely. If they don’t pass the test, they are not able to drive a car. The same should go for guns. People should have to prove that they are going to be safe and responsible with a gun; guns shouldn’t just be handed over (Bush,…
America should have better gun control for many reasons, people don’t feel safe with others having guns because they believe criminals have a higher advantage of killing innocent people and could cause more trouble. Even if it is the police’s job to protect us from this happening, there are others that take the advantage from using their gun and they make big mistakes with it. America must have a different way to control gun safety and gun laws should be stricter.…
Gun control controversies are not something that has just come about in the past few months. America has dealt with gun control issues for decades, as well as anti-gun groups that want to disarm America. In 2009 before Barack Obama got sworn into office for a second term, gun sales were on the rise around the country. Gun sales continued to rise mostly out of fear that once in office, Barack Obama would promote legislation to disarm the American citizens. In a news conference Mr. Obama stated, “Gun-owning Americans do not need to rush out and stock up before he is sworn in next month. I believe in common-sense gun safety laws, and I believe in the second amendment”. (Hoar, 2009, para. 1) Mr. Obama also states, “Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear. I said that throughout the campaign. I have not indicated anything different during the transition. I think people can take me at my word. "(Hoar, 2009, Para. 1) Here in 2013, those lawful gun owners are just as afraid, if not more, than they…
Before the turn of the 20th century, guns were not an issue in the United States with many reasons contributing to this fact; however, guns have become a hot topic in the 21st century. Right-wing politicians promise to not take away citizens second amendment rights or villainize politicians who support gun control legislation. On the other hand, left-wing politicians say they will keep the American people safe and get guns out of the hands of people who will abuse the right to own a gun. With mass shootings and other gun violence polarizing American voters’ views on the second amendment, the next president needs to be aware of what the government can and cannot do in terms of legislative powers; however, the government has an interest in regulating…