Introduction
Gun laws have been a controversial issue in the Second Amendment of the United States. For better gun control there should be stricter laws. The guns are supposed to be used for military purposes but the laws have also allowed individuals to own the fire arms for self defense.
Thesis Statement
American citizens have an obsession of owning guns. The United States law has made it possible for individuals to bear arms for self defense. Gun laws have become very important for governing the society on safe use of firearms. They play a major role in the decrease of murder rate and crime. Guns have been responsible for accidental deaths among individuals in the United States.
Problem/background
Owning of guns by individuals has become of major concern in the United States. This is because the guns have been abused by individuals. People have been using the firearms to commit crime such as accidental deaths and mass killings. Children, criminals and people of unsound mind have been able to have access to fire arms illegally causing tragedies that could have been prevented if care was taken in selling and storing of the firearm.
Opposing position
Gun laws are very important for today’s society. The laws play a major role in the decrease of murder rate and crime. The laws reduce common incidences of accidental shootings that happen amongst children. With stricter gun laws across the country it makes it difficult for an individual to purchase and probably a few people to own guns. One would think that people would be more careful when they own such a dangerous weapon. However some individuals do not know how to use and store the gun safely. This is the reason why young children will find their parents guns accidentally and shoot or injure someone else or themselves. Due to the laws that have been put in place currently, people who have unstable minds or have criminal records can easily gain access and purchase such a dangerous rule. Some states such as England have illegalized the usage and ownership guns except for military purposes only.
- Evidence
Stringent gun measures in the country would definitely be safer because they would control the number of people who own the weapon. Due to lack of knowledge of how to store and use the weapon, there has been a trend of school shoot outs where students take their parents guns and injure or sometimes kill other students. The Brady campaign is one of the toughest firearm laws in the country. Its law includes a ban on firearm possession in schools and a ban on semi-automatic guns. These rules were broken by a shooter in Newtown. In Newtown 20 school children were killed because the user of the gun had not been done a thorough background check. In Aurora 29 people were killed because the person who had a gun in the movie theatre did not know that the military grade weapon was semi automatic (Williams, Llanos, Connor, and NBC News, 2012 P.2). These deaths are totally unnecessary and completely avoidable. With stricter gun laws these accidents can easily be prevented.
- Evidence
United States needs to limit the number of guns that are being manufactured. The person purchasing the gun should state clearly why they need the firearm for. The NRA (National Rifle Association) and politicians have turned the state into a violent Militant American where people turn against each other with fire arms. The country is turned into an unsafe and fearful place to live in. Guns that have not been purchased for their rightful purpose should be returned to local police stations (Sugarmann, 1992. P.32). No individual should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. People should have valid reasons as to why they need to carry firearms around.
- Evidence
Insane people and individuals with unstable minds have been able to acquire firearms easily. Due to this firearms have changed the dynamics of violence. An individual who is in possession of a firearm will react differently from an individual without one. If the person is of unstable mind or insane the shooting will turn out more tragic than if the person was of sound mind. It is believed that the individual who is in possession of the firearm has an option that he did not have. The sellers are supposed to check criminal and medical histories of a person before selling a firearm to a buyer. Gun laws should also be strict on sellers such that if someone is injured by the person they sold the gun to they should be answerable to the law. With the strict gun laws their illegal sale would decrease tremendously.
Conclusion
Mass and accidental shooting have become very common in the country. The laxity of gun laws has encouraged ownership of firearms without much control. Stricter gun laws will make the country safer. This is because there will be a control on how gun are purchased and used, and who owns the gun and for what purpose.
Works Cited
Can Gun Control Work?. Studies in Crime and Public Policy. Oxford University Press, USA,
2002. Internet resource.
Carter, Gregg Lee. Guns in American society: an encyclopedia of history, politics, culture,
and the law. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.
Sugarmann, Josh. National Rifle Association: Money, Firepower & Fear. Washington, D.C:
National Press Books, 1992. Print.
Webster, Daniel W.. Reducing gun violence in America: informing policy with evidence and
analysis. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. Print.
Williams, Pete, Miguel Llanos, Tracy Connor, and NBC News. "Elementary school
massacre: 20 children among 28 killed in Connecticut slaughter - U.S. News." U.S. News.
NBCNEWS.com, 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
