When looking at all of the important issues of today’s society, one of the most neglected issues revolves around guns. Guns serve two different purposes: to defend and to kill. Even though I’ve been on this Earth for only 21 years, I’ve become keen and have taken an interest in the study of guns and how they pose more problems in society than any other issue. My interest all started around the time of the Columbine shooting in Colorado and how society has taken steps since that point in history. Going back to the two different purposes, both have been used to help explain the differences in the distinctions of different gun related events that continue to occur, such as mass shootings. Problem analysis, as stated, will help to explain how guns can be seen differently from each individual and what can be gained or lost from a deep analysis. The first step in problem analysis is to define the problem. Defining the problem, as described by Kraft and Furlong on page 161, is just to simply find a problem and describe it. As mentioned previously, I’ve noticed that as time has gone on since the Columbine shooting in 1999, there has been a growing issue with guns and the number of mass shootings that take place (CNN Library). To take this step further, there is also the issue of how they’re obtained and who are obtaining the guns. But how would the issue with guns be defined even further? I’d say: those with mental issues and those with violent criminal records, due to the lack of regulation placed by the country, are left to having accesses to too many guns. This definition helps to create a boundary in the area of research of guns, being the amount of access and who accesses them, and how both depend on each other for an answer. Can thi... ... middle of paper ... ...n-the-united-states/. (November 15, 2013). Kraft, Michael E., and Scott R. Furlong. 2013. Public policy: Politics, analysis, and alternatives, Anonymous Anonymous , ed. Charisse Kiino . 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. Langer,Gary. 2013. “After Newtown Shootings, most Back some Gun Controls, Poll shows.” ABC News (January 14, 2013). Library, CNN. 2013. “25 Deadliest Mass Shootings In U.S. History Fast Facts.” November 22. http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/us/20-deadliest-mass-shootings-in-u-s-history-fast-facts/ (November 22, 2013). Paul Mountjoy, “Gun Control and Mental Health,” The Washington Times, March 28, 2013, sec Communities. Unit, CNN Political. 2013. “Support for stricter gun control fades.” December 6. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/04/cnn-poll-support-for-stricter-gun- control-fades/ (December 6, 2013).
Over the past years media has been overwhelmed with news about mass shootings happening around America and if mental illness is the primary cause of the violent act. On February 2014, Jonathan M. Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish published their article “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms” in the American Journal of Public Health that addresses the issue that mental illness has very little to do mass shootings which is commonly used on the aftermath of the shooting
Bowman, Jeffrey, and Heather Newton. "Point: Controlling Gun Violence Is More Important than Controlling Guns." EBSCO.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2013.
Gun violence has been and continues to be one of the major problems in American. The U.S. has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world and consequently the highest rate of gun violence and fatalities compared to other developed countries. In a study by the University of Sydney it is estimated that there are 270,000,000 to 310,000,000 guns in the United States. According to the same study in 2010 there were 31,672 fatalities caused by firearms and on the following year the number went up to 32,163. Homicides resulting from guns are high in the United States and they are claiming more than eleven thousand lives every year (Guns in the United States: Firearms, Armed Violence and Gun Law). According to Vision for Humanity, an initiative for the Economics and Peace, the United States is ranked 99 out of 162 countries in the 2013 global peace index, homicide rates and violent crimes are among the various criteria used to determine the ranking (Vision of Humanity). Mass shootings at work places, schools, shopping malls and places of worship are happening in an a...
“It is estimated that there are 310 million non – military guns in America” (O’Brien and Stanton). Many people that own a firearm usually have more than one gun. Also, a majority of gun owners feel that owning a firearm is the best way to protect themselves at home. With the large number of guns said to be in America, there needs to be a way to prevent the number of frequently occurring mass shootings. The solution to this issue is called gun control. Gun control needs to be implied more in our society because gun related crimes are mostly committed by those diagnosed with mental illnesses, there is no contradiction with the second amendment, it has the ability to lower the amount of mass shootings in the United States, and universal background checks help prevent mass shootings.
Guns are not the trouble, people are. The United States is #1 in world gun ownership, and yet is only 28th in the world in gun murders per 100,000 people. The number of unintentional fatalities due to firearms declined by 58 percent between 1991 and 2011 Based on these facts, one can see the guns not the causes of gun violence. moreover, civilians who get permits take gun safety courses and have criminal background...
Today in the United States many people argue over the fact of guns being legal or illegal. There are people using guns for personal safety and there are others who use them for crimes, as well as for other situations. Firearm deaths in the United States have slowly been decreasing from year to year with all these bills getting passed to promote a safer country than ever before. Guns are the main weapon for youth suicide, school shootings, and for committing murder. In 2010 there were 2,711 infants, child, and teenage firearm deaths. As in school shootings and in committing murder, studies show shooters often had multiple, non-automatic guns, shootings were planned, most youth tell before shooting, shooters have a history of being bullied or threatened, shooters have mental issues, and shooters have done suicidal gestures before (Gun Control with School Shootings). Although there are people who use guns for murdering, there are also those who oppose guns being used without the proper requirements. 85% of all respondents to the survey supporting requiring states to report people to national background-checks systems who are prohibited from owning gu...
Gun control recently has rapidly become an even further controversial topic due to violent acts against the public by troubled individuals. How were these attacks allowed to happen? As stated in Framing Health Matters article, “In the United States, popular and political discourse frequently focuses on the causal impact of mental illness in the aftermath of mass shootings.” (.1) This issue unfortunately remains so overlooked that media sources only offer it attention after a tragedy. Not to mention the impact these situations have on the society. No normal person decides to harm people solely due to the fact that they can obtain a weapon easily. To be able to move forward with these irrational decisions the
Public mass shootings have increased at an alarming rate over the past three decades and have become a growing concern for the people of the United States. It has appeared that approximately every few months, media outlets report incidences of tragedy involving a sole gunman targeting groups of people with the intent to harm or extinguish life due to various motives. Recent research data indicated that over 80 public mass shootings have occurred in the United States since 1983. Some of the more recent shootings to date are: Marysville-Pilchick High in October 2014; Santa Barbara, California in May 2014; Fort Hood, Texas U.S. Army base in April 2014; Washington Navy Yard in September 2013; Sandy Hook Elementary, Connecticut in December 2012;
It seems that in today’s society, one of the many hot topics to talk about is gun control. As one hears news about mass shooting, hunting, homicides and terrorism, many believe that a stricter gun control law should be put into place, while others think that going against gun control is the best choice. All these things on guns that people here now a days impact the way they see others and society. Given this, gun control can be placed and explained in the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology: symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and the conflict theory.
In light of recent tragic events, gun control is once again an important topic of conversation. Both left and right wing individuals attempt to sway society towards their sides of the argument. These debates almost always follow the occurrence of a major attack on innocent persons. The questions are always the same. How did the individual obtain a firearm? What measurements are in place to keep this from happening again? Why does the average person need to own an “assault rifle’’? Why don’t we just ban everyone in the country from owning guns? In order to get a better understanding of the topic of gun control, we will have to explore these major questions.
Guns have been the weapon of choice for some of the most brutal massacres on America soil. Since early history guns have been used mainly for militia and defense purposes. But, the development of new gun technology has made firearms more accessible and deadly. Although the second amendment gives the right to bear arms, guns should be controlled and monitored by the government because guns have contributed to a lot of killings in America and will increase crime rates.
Gun control is a leading concern in America today. Recent shootings and murders today have people scared and pushing forward for gun control acts. In my opinion there should not be gun control acts on any guns besides automatic guns because, automatic guns should strictly be for military use only. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Many people push for gun control, but the effects of gun control are too severe. In this paper I claim to tell about the reasons why someone would push for gun control and the negative effects resulted by gun control.
The conversation of gun control and gun regulation has been a great debate over the decades. NRA Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, in his speech on Newtown Shooting that occurred on December 21st, 2012, addresses the topic of gun control and argues that guns are not the cause of gun violence. LaPierre's project is to instead of gun control and decreasing the numbers of guns, increase the numbers of guns to solve the problem of gun violence. On the other side of debate, an American journalist, Nicholas Kristof, in his journal, "Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?" argues that guns are the cause of gun violence, but they should not be banned. Kristof's project is to regulate guns with many cautions. While these two authors have different arguments and projects, they use similar strategies to advance their claims. This paper will focus on the way each author strategically uses compare and contrast, cause and effect, and problem-solution to advance their claims and how effective these strategies are used.
Every day some news related to gun violence are being heard all over the world. Shooting in driveway, public places, schools, homicide and suicide are some of different types of gun violence. Shooting on people and killing them is a big issue in the world and different comments are provided about that. One of the most important of them is about gun control laws. Stingl (2013) says “The term gun control as it is used in the United States refers to any action taken by the federal government or by state or local governments to regulate, through legislation, the sale, purchase, safety, and use of handguns and other types of firearms by individual citizens.” According to this idea gun control laws should be stricter and people should not be able to have access to guns easily. However, there are many other people who believe this idea is not a good solution and never help. This essay will demonstrate for and against views about the topic. People who agree with this idea consider: firstly, stricter laws will reduce violence and gun control means crime control. Secondly, some research shows people with gun are more at risks of getting shot. Thirdly, guns can always be misused by their owners and finally, stricter law is the best and the faster way to control crime and make community safe. While opponents say first of all, guns are necessary for people safety and protection. Secondly, guns are not the only tools for killing and violence; there are other weapons too and finally, gun ownership is human rights.
Throughout history, Americans have suffered from a serious issue of using guns in the streets. Guns have become dangerous for people 's lives in United States. The crime rate has increased due to handguns ownership in many states in U.S. Guns can cause many crimes, such as: murder, robbery and rape. Many people became afraid of having the wrong hand guns which can lead them to lose relatives or a friends. American history has shown how the guns can use in many crimes, such as the cases in the Charleston church shooting in North Carolina, Aurora shooting in Colorado, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, and the 2009 Fort Hood shooting in Texas. Those crimes showed that how guns are dangerous in United States which is also