Persuasive Essay On Gun Control

In the U.S, a string of violent mass-murder shootings have occurred, most recently in San Bernardino California, that has revived interest in a national debate on gun control. President Obama has come out in support of increased gun control, but reassured pro-gun rights advocates by maintaining that “We 're a nation that believes in the Second Amendment, and I believe in the Second Amendment” (Perez-Pena ). The overwhelming majority of the Republican party, backed by the five million member National Rifle Association, vigorously defends the rights of Americans to own firearms, including the infamous AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which has been used in many of the recent tragedies, including Sandy Hook, Aurora Colorado, and San Bernardino (McMahon).

In a groundbreaking study for the Journal of American Medicine, researchers investigated gun crimes as a public health issue, and concluded ”people with guns kill people much more often and efficiently than people without guns” (Cotton 9). Nevertheless, “gun’s don’t kill people” has become a mantra, slapped on shirts, bumper stickers, and all over the comment sections of news websites. In a ridiculous entry on Debate.org entitled “Do Guns Kill People” %78 of respondents believe that guns do not kill people. Because the premise of the debate, the arguments are all over the map. One respondent, MorganJB96 wrote: Guns do NOT kill people. People kill People. It 's the person behind the gun that *pulls the trigger* that kills people. People kill people. If this is the fact that guns kill people then knifes do and so does hammers, and anything that could be used to kill someone. I think this

For example, Professor Jeff McMahon has a podcast on philosophybites.com where he talks about gun control from a philosophical perspective, where he compares private gun ownership to the nuclear arms race and argues that gun ownership is immoral, because as a consequence of the second amendments, everyone is much less safer. As a result of this arms race, the U.S. is the homicide capitol of the developed world (“Philosophybites – Jeff McMahon”). He concludes that there should be no private gun ownership, except perhaps for single shot hunting shotguns. He published a similar opinion in the New York Times (“When Gun Control is not Enough). Whether or not a person agrees with his argument, it has a premise, logical reasoning, examples, arguments, data, and a