Guns Don't Kill People, Crazy People Kill People

1374 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Should guns be allowed on campus

Imagine this scenario. You are sound asleep and you hear a loud noise and voices that should not be downstairs. You look across your dark room to your clock and it is 3:00 AM and then you realize that your home is being invaded. Your room seems to get darker and your heart starts beating even faster and louder that you feel like the assailants themselves can hear it. The voices begin to get louder and so do the sounds of their footsteps and you begin panicking and start to sweat profusely. You think about calling the police, but it is too late the invaders are already upstairs. You stand wishing you had purchased that AR-15 that Congress banned not too long ago. You start praying for your life and the lives of your children down the hall and there is nothing left to do. This is an utterly dreadful scenario that could have been dealt with if it were not for the rising cry for gun control in the United States. The government wants to amend or abolish a right that has been a part of our history for over 200 years and was given to us by our founding fathers. The government should not abolish the rights of the U.S. citizens to bear arms because, fewer guns do not necessarily mean a safer country, firearms are not the problem but the mentally ill people that use them, and firearms are not simply killing machines but a means of protection and recreation. Gun control and fewer guns in the right hands do not necessarily mean a safer country. Gun free zones have become magnets for mass shootings such as the recent Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The Gun Free Zone Act of 1990 prohibits individuals from carrying firearms in certain institutions such as schools. It seems we have a fixation that no defense is a good defense and it simpl... ... middle of paper ... ...rks Cited Chastain, Mary. “15-Year old Boy Uses AR-15 To Defend Himself, Sister Against Home Invaders.” Breitbart. N.p., 10 Jan 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. DeMar, Gary. "England's Crime Rate Nearly Four Times Higher than United States." Political Outcast. N.p., 12 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Nov.. 2013. Edelman, Adam. "Georgia Mom Shoots Home Intruder in the Face Five times with a .38-caliber Revolver." NY Daily News. N.p., 7 Jan 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. McLaughlin, Michael. "James Holmes Asked About Dysphoric Mania, Sent 'Bad News' Message Before Aurora Shooting." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Poe, Richard. The Seven Myths of Gun Control: Reclaiming the Truth about Guns, Crime, and the Second Amendment. Roseville, CA: Forum, 2001. Print. Spitzer, Robert J. The Politics of Gun Control. Boulder [u.a.: Paradigm Publ., 2012. Print.

Show More
Related

  • America Needs Background Checks for Gun Purchases

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tragedy after tragedy, people find themselves mourning over the lives lost. And over and over again, they look back to see how they could have prevented it. People continue to argue and constantly debate what actions should be taken, and while doing so, more and more people lose their lives at the hands of gun violence. It’s clear to see that not much has been done to keep these weapons out of the wrongs hands: the shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech have shown that. What would happen if there were to be another devastating shooting to occur? How would people react? Or would they just argue some more, while the wrong people can still easily get a hold of guns? The only way they can ever gain control of anything is by controlling the source of the problem, where people are able to freely purchase guns without restrictions. In order to reduce gun-related crime, unlicensed gun sellers should be required to run background checks on their customers.

    Read More

  • Gun Control versus Gun Rights

    1430 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Gun Control: America Needs Better Background Checks

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Gun Control.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints In context. Web. 15 Sep 2013.

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Gun Control

    1769 Words  | 4 Pages

    Opposing sides have for years fought over the laws that govern firearms. For the purposes of this paper "Gun Control" is defined as policies enacted by the government that limit the legal rights of gun owners to own, carry, or use firearms, with the intent of reducing gun crimes such as murder, armed robbery, aggravated rape, and the like. So defined, gun control understandably brings favorable responses from some, and angry objections from others. The gun control debate is generally publicized because of the efforts of the Pro-Gun Lobby or the Anti-Gun Lobby.

    Read More

  • Gun Control: American vs the NRA

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    The debate over firearms has been polarized for too long. Gun law is a never-ending issue because there hardly is any true debate. Americans (and even gun owners) do support the governments efforts to make sure guns are less dangerous in violent hands, but that is the main problem-the guns getting in the wrong human hands. Millions of law-abiding Americans do own and do enjoy their guns. But criminals and sometimes-disconcerted kids often use firearms to kill. The use of firearms has increased tremendously. An average day in Los Angeles is four people dying in a gun related crime and the United States faces approximately 87 deaths a day. There are more than 200 million guns in circulation in the United States and if you don’t own a firearm, chances are that your neighbor or friend does (Fineman 27). Sure, the Founding Fathers incorporated the Second Amendment as “the right to keep and bear arms,” but it did not give the distinction of using guns to kill more children and people than anywhere in the world.

    Read More

  • Gun Control Will NOT Stop Senseless Gun Violence

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    Riczo, Steven. "Guns, America, and the 21st Century." EBSCO.com. USA Today Magazine, n.d. Web. Mar. 2001.

    Read More

  • The Second Amendment

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” This quote from Benjamin Franklin illustrates how an emphasis on safety can drastically reduce the freedoms enjoyed by citizens of the United States, especially the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states that “...the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” However, with active shooter situations such as Columbine; the Tucson, Arizona shootings, which nearly killed former Representative Gabrielle Giffords; and recent situations at Newtown, Connecticut; Los Angeles International Airport; and Westfield Garden State Plaza mall in New Jersey, the federal government has questioned this right guaranteed to us as U.S. Citizens. In Congress, it is a back-and-forth battle between the Republicans, who favor less gun control legislation and a literal translation of the Second Amendment, and the Democrats who would like to see more gun control legislation to protect the safety of citizens. However, more gun control legislation would punish law-abiding citizens, be a direct violation of the Second Amendment, and expand the power of the federal government into areas where the Founding Fathers never wanted it.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness and Mass Shooting

    1777 Words  | 4 Pages

    Weber, Paul. “Fort Hood Gunman Sought Mental Health Treatment.” The Associated Press News Service [Texas] 3 Apr. 2014: n. pag. NewsBank Special Reports. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Mental Illness And Gun Violence

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    The authors state their stance on the issue that mental illness has very little to do with gun violence. Throughout the article the authors use information from other sources such as PsycINFO and PsychiatryOnline and their findings from their own study in order to support their position. They state four claims that followed by their own investigation they did by collecting data and information from previous research that addresses connections between gun violence and mental illness. Metzel gives examples of mass shootings that happened in America that shows if the shooter to had some sort of mental health issues. One of the examples is the recent school shooting, Sandy Hook Elementary, caused a big debate about gun control and if people should have screenings for any mental health problems. The authors later say that the screenings would not reduce the chance of having another mass shooting later on and would add a lot of pressure to therapists. What caused a big issue was that the media diagnosing the shooter due to this many questions arise if the media has been using mental illness as a scapegoat since majority of the mass shooters tend to be white men and if race also played a role in this issue. This has misdirected people on the bigger issues on what we can

    Read More

  • District of Columbia v. Heller: The Use and Permit of Handguns

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    Carter, Gregg. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.

    Read More

  • The Second Amendment

    1716 Words  | 4 Pages

    As violence and murder rates escalate in America so does the issue of gun control. The consequence of this tragedy births volatile political discourse about gun control and the Second Amendment. The crux of the question is what the founding fathers meant when they wrote, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Since the writing of the Second Amendment the make and model of firearms has changed dramatically and so has the philosophies of the people. A rifle is no longer defined as a single shot, muzzle-loading musket used to primarily protect families or solely for food. Should the weapons we use today be protected by an amendment written nearly 222 years ago? Should the second amendment be rewritten? Does the Second Amendment apply to individual citizens? These questions spark extensive debates in Washington D.C. regarding what the founding fathers intended the amendment to be. The answer to this question lies in the fact that despite hundreds of gun control articles having been written , still the gun control issue remains unresolved. History tells us gun control debates will be in a stalemate until our judicial system defines or rewrites the Second Amend. This paper will examine the history of the Second Amendment, and attempt to define the framers intent, gun control legislation and look at factors that affect Americans on this specific issue...

    Read More

  • Informative Essay: The Debate over Gun Control

    2111 Words  | 5 Pages

    Crime and guns. The two seem to go hand in hand with one another. But are the two really associated? Do guns necessarily lead to crime? And if so do laws placing restrictions on firearm ownership and use stop the crime or protect the citizens? These are the questions many citizens and lawmakers are asking themselves when setting about to create gun control laws. The debate over gun control, however, is nothing new. In 1924, Presidential Candidate, Robert La Follete said, “our choice is not merely to support or oppose gun control but to decide who can own which guns under what conditions.” Clearly this debate still goes on today and is the very reason for the formation of gun control laws.

    Read More

  • Poverty and Crime in America

    3673 Words  | 8 Pages

    Wilson, H. (2007). Guns, gun control, and elections. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

    Read More

  • Gun Control in America

    1914 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the most controversial topics of the year is the argument on guns and the government attempting to ban and control certain guns. This topic has always been in disagreement among the American public but has recently become much more popular after several large-scale shootings such as the infamous Sandy Hook. Despite gun control appearing to be the solution to these tragic events, controlling and banning guns will simply not work. Why will it not work and why is it so bad? Because it has not worked before, current gun control laws and attempted laws target the wrong guns, banning the targeted guns or any guns for that matter will not prevent mass shootings, and it infringes on our constitutional rights as Americans. Together, we will not only be addressing these issues, but we will provide well thought out answers to many arguments that pro-gun control advocates can retaliate with.

    Read More

  • The Effects and Consequences of Gun Control

    2071 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lott, Jr. John R. More Gun Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print.

    Read More

More about Guns Don't Kill People, Crazy People Kill People

Open Document