Stricter Gun Control Research

"Over the past few decades, there have been, on average, nearly 20 mass shootings a year in the United States" (Fox and DeLateur, 2013). The interesting thing about that statement is that one may only hear about 6 of those mass shootings on the news, so it is astonishing to have research that backs up the claim that there are about 20 mass shootings a year. Many mass shootings can be prevented with stricter gun control laws and regulations. If one can limit who buys weapons, then they can limit the weapons from getting into the wrong hands. A mass shooting is an incident involving (four or more) multiple victims of gun violence. Gun control is laws that aim to restrict or regulate the sale, purchase, or possession of firearms through licensing,

"For 15-year olds to 24 year olds, firearm homicide rates in the United States were 42.7 times higher than other countries" (Richardson, 2011) This is probably linked to the lack of strict gun control laws in the United States. "Among these 23 countries, 80% of all firearm deaths occurred in the United. States" (Richardson, 2011). Almost all of the other countries have harsh gun control laws in place, whereas the United States does not and as a result has a higher number of total deaths. "87% of all children aged 0 to 14 killed by firearms were US children" (Richardson, 2011). When being compared to other countries, the United States does not have any excuses as to why so many of our children are being killed by firearms. The simple solution would be to pass and enforce stricter gun control laws. This would ultimately reduce the number of unnecessary deaths that happen in the united

"Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Fla. (June 12, 2016) Police say 29-year-old Omar Mateen opened fire at the club that calls itself the city's hottest gay bar. He took hostages, and after a three-hour standoff, police moved in. The gunman was killed, but not before perpetrating the deadliest mass shooting in recent United States history" (2016, List). This recent shooting is just another example that could have been prevented with stricter gun control laws that restrict people from buying military grade assault rifles. "Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. (Dec. 14, 2012). Adam Lanza went into Sandy Hook Elementary and killed 26 people — mostly children — before killing himself. He also killed his mother, Nancy Lanza" (2016, List). Adam Lanza had my undiagnosed psychiatric disorders like OCD and Anxiety. Gun control laws should be stronger to prevent those with mental illness, like Adam Lanza, from getting ahold of mass weapons of destruction. "Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. (April 16, 2007) Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old English major from Centerville, Va., entered the campus of Virginia Tech and opened fire. Thirty-two people were killed, and 17 others were injured. Cho also killed himself" (2016, List). In this case, students continue to protest 10 years after the incident for change on its schools gun control policy. From these mass shooting we can