There is something most if not all boys have in common, being either a child or even an adult: an unexplainable fascination with guns. Some would argue that this fascination, along with access to real or toy guns, is in combination with lethal consequences. This belief is based on the unproven notion that children tend to mature with less of an appreciation for the lives of others. On the other hand, there are those who do not view the combination as an issue. These people do understand that there is an associated danger, but that is stems more from the pre installed mindstate of the wielder. Most of those who argue this stand on child gun safety would agree that guns are important parts of American culture, and it would be unconstitutional to limit its availability to the general public. though the combination of children and guns has been proven to be dangerous, it’s understandable to believe that a gun is only a tool. It is rather the lack of knowledge given to children with regards to firearms that makes the combination so lethal at times. The responsibility does not lay with the uneducated children, but with adults who supply guns to children yet do nothing to inform.
Use of guns are a part of American culture. Hunting animals, honoring persons (21-gun salute), and self protection are some common justifiable uses for firearms in the United States. Guns are also present in various forms of entertainment, specifically movies, internet videos, and television shows. Children are most commonly exposed to guns through these formats, which downplay the seriousness and consequences of gun violence. Understandably, children go off into the real world after having watched so many visually appealing programs involving guns, emulating t...
... middle of paper ...
...those with the power and authority to create change to rise to action and understand this truth.
Works Cited
Howard, Patricia Kunz. "Parents' Beliefs About Children And Gun Safety." Pediatric Nursing 31.5 (2005): 374-379. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
Obeng, Cecilia. "Should Gun Safety Be Taught In Schools? Perspectives Of Teachers." Journal Of School Health 80.8 (2010): 394-398. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
Bushman, Brad J., et al. “Gun Violence Trends In Movies.” Pediatrics 132.6 (2013): 1014-1018. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Mar. 2014
Poe, Richard. The Seven Myths of Gun Control: Reclaiming the Truth about Guns, Crime, and the Second Amendment. Roseville, CA: Forum, 2001. Print.
Holland, Penny. We Don't Play with Guns Here: War, Weapon, and Superhero Play in the Early Years. Maidenhead, England: Open UP, 2003. Print.
As the generations of America’s youth continue to grow, so does the increase in violent crimes associated with each generation. Over the last decade, studies have shown that school shootings have increased by an astonishing 13%. Although this figure as a percentage does not seem like much, it makes one stop and think. Parents blame the video games and their violent behaviors for the influence on their children’s daily lives. Grandparents blame the child’s parents for not showing them the right way to grow up in the world. And then we have that child’s friends who say that this child just was not respected by their classmates, or perhaps even bullied into this violent nature. Regardless of the cause to this violent increase, many Americans do believe in a solution: gun control. Gun control is the situation in which the federal government would put a ban on owning firearms. Contrary to what many “hard-core” Americans believe, gun control would not necessarily ban them from owning hunting rifles or even personal handguns. It would simply limit the ownership of semi-automatic assault rifles, and other rifles of this nature. This does not contradict the Second Amendment of the Constitution which states that American citizens have the Right to Bear Arms. I believe in the constitutional Right to Bear Arms, and I am against any attempt to eradicate that right for any American citizen: however, I am for gun control in the sense of lowering the possession of semi-automatic and fully-automatic rifles.
This article gives a good understanding from a teacher’s standpoint, which most other articles just focus on the government. Obeng focuses on students who may bring a gun into the school and kids who have access to weapons at home rather than just criminals, which is also a good point of view for readers to understand. The authors focus is to show that most teachers are for the students being taught gun safety because they believe it will help the safety of students and the community (p.398). A problem I saw with this study is that was done in 2010, which was before the Sandy Hook incident that took place in 2012 that would probably influence some teachers decision. The Sandy Hook shooting was a focus point in other articles and makes this research study by Obeng a little outdated for this topic. Although I am interested in the teachers view for gun safety, I also believe Obeng would have a stronger case with a larger group of teachers and maybe a separate study with the parents’ opinion on teaching children about gun
It is interestingly sad how debates on gun violence and gun control is being handled in our society by our top leaders and lobbyist. Gun control has become a serious issue and a national epidemic, however, the debate is far from over. In the article “under the gun” by writers Rottenberg, Rice and Franich, for entertainment weekly, the writers discussed the failing of gun control laws and the increase in gun violence. By setting sides of their argument, the writers discussed violence in movies, TVs and videogames and how this violence impact our society, thus allowing their audience to decide for themselves.
If you have ever picked up a handgun whether it ranges from a real gun to even a water gun, you know of how simple it is to use and or operate it within a matter of minutes. You simply enough pick it up, aim it, and squeeze the trigger. The gun does all the rest. The trigger pushes against the sear and the disconnector, this releases the hammer which hits the firing pin that expels the bullet from the cartridge. From a technical viewpoint, this process is almost child 's play. Therein lies the problem. Children have been shown to frequently handle guns, with dire results. According to the Center for Disease Control, 409 kids aged 14 or younger died in 2013 alone as a result of playing with guns (Center for Disease Control “2013, United States
Violence related to guns is a prominent issue in America. Guns are a means to an end; meaning guns have played a strong role in suicides, murders, and injuries. In the past decade there has been an average of 400-500 thousand incidents of firearms per year (Gun Violence). The number of injured people from firearm incidents in the United States per year for the past decade is 400-600 thousand people (Gun Violence). These statistics are absolutely shocking to anyone. The amount of violence and crime that comes from guns is enormous. It is imperative that proper gun control is put into place by means of background checks and proper training. It can almost be certain that the number of incidents of accidental discharges from children and the number of victims affected by gun crimes in general can be highly reduced.
In America guns have been a part of the country’s society since it’s birth. Throughout history the citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, hunt for food and engage in sporting activities. The issue of Guns and gun control is complex. Weighing the rights and liberties of the individual against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a precarious balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Those parties in favor of gun ownership and the freedom to use and keep arms, rely on the fact that the provision for such rights is enshrined in their constitution. In this climate of growing violence, rife with turmoil and crime, gun advocates feel more than ever that their position is justified. As citizens of the “Land of the Free” possessing a gun is a fundamental right, and may even be a necessity... Anti- gun lobbyists point to the same growing violence and gun related crimes in an effort to call on the government to take action. By enacting more laws and stricter control, these people not in favor of guns feel society would be better safer.
Lott, John R., Jr. "Opposing View: Guns in Schools Can save Lives." USA Today. Gannett, 25 Dec. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
In recent years a great deal of attention has been centered on youth violence. Numerous studies have been conducted on children of all races who are subjected to gun violence. However, violent behaviors start from within the environment where children have been exposed too. Household, poor communities and school as well have put children at risk. Yet the problems of violence relatively are increasing according to Children’s Defense fund that gets their information from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, and other government statistics. It should be examined further since multiple acts of violent behaviors with guns continued to plague our society. In what ways can we stop gun violence from killing our children? Psychologists are interested in this question, and one answer is stop protecting firearms.
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...
Guns in America are a problem as bad as the drug problem: 43% of households that have children have handguns in them; 10 children die every day from handguns, approximately one every 2 ½ hours. That is the same of a classroom of children every two days. Parents do not realize that children get the physical capacity to reach and discharge a firearm long before the ability to understand the potential consequences of these actions. Parents who insist on keeping guns in the home should be urged strongly to store their firearms unloaded and locked in a secure place. Actions like these will reduce the probability of children being killed by a firearm. The presence of handguns in households with children frequently leads to fatal accidents, suicides, and murders.
Unsecured guns have turned thousands of toddlers into killers and much more into victims. “Children younger than three have gotten a hold of guns and shot someone at least 59 times in 2015”; a trend first reported by Christopher Ingraham add the Washington Post in October. A solution to this would be proper gun storage; adults owning a gun must be more aware of the fact of toddlers or children being at the risk of obtaining weapons and causing mischief. They should place their firearm in a safe place where a child cannot reach it or find the way to create themselves or anyone else an injury or further tragedy including unwanted accidents. For example “Caroline Starks was two years old. Her 5-year-old brother was playing nearby with his birthday present: a .22-caliber Crickett rifle. His mother stepped outside for a moment; confident the gun had no bullets, therefore, wasn’t loaded. She was wrong. Caroline was pronounced dead a few hours later at the Cumberland County Hospital in Kentucky”.The action of misusing guns can affect children mentally and physically; “youth can also be influenced to take or make the wrong decision. Some kids may develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can affect brain development. The psychological trauma of gun violence may lead some children to arm themselves "for protection," or desensitize them so that they feel less hesitation
McInery, Thomas K. "Keeping Children Safe from Gun Violence." Vital Speeches of the Day 79.7 (2013): 209-211. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
More than 20,000 children and youth under the age of 20 years old are injured or killed by guns in the U.S. The easy accesses kids have to getting their hands on guns are a major reason why firearms are the second leading cause of death among the youth. The majority of deaths by guns in the youth are homicides. About one-third of them are suicides. Seven percent are unintentional. People living in urban areas such as, older teens, males, African American youth, and Hispanic youth are more likely to be involved in gun homicides. People in rural areas like males and Caucasian youth are more likely to commit suicide. There were 2,711 infant, child, and teen firearm deaths. That’s seven deaths a day.
Statistics on the National Safe Kids Campaign Website reveals that “Americans possess nearly 200 million firearms, including 65 million handguns. Approximately one-third of families with children (representing more than 22 million children in 11 million homes) keep at least one gun in the home. Gun owners keep firearms in the home for hunting and recreation (60 percent) or for protection and crime prevention (40 percent)”. Although 40 percent seems to be on the minority, households with guns are at higher risk of homicide, and there are few beneficial effects of gun ownership; as a result, alternative methods for crime prevention and protection should be adopted.
Gun safety is a subject that has been a main topic in the past few years among many, especially within politics. It is something that has become a substantial topic in the past few years due to many shootings and accidents that have occurred with today’s youth. It is a topic that needs to be addressed.