Stop the Massacres: America Needs Gun Control

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Recommended: Opposing sides of gun control

“The breadth and complexity of the problem of gun violence is great, but it is not an excuse for inaction” (Kelly 24). By being inactive, like Captain Mark Kelly of the United States Navy said, our nation is allowing the problem of gun violence to continue. Mass shootings are occurring more and more every year in the United States. As a whole, this nation has not taken the proper procedures in preventing this gun violence. This is because we have divided our nation into two different groups: one that is pro guns and the other group, who is against guns. But many people have lost the overall cause of these mass shootings because they are too busy fighting each other. One group is focused on banning guns entirely and enforcing stricter background checks, while the other is focused on their 2nd Amendment rights not being taken away and wanting to protect their freedoms. However, this is not the true problem. Our problem in the U.S. is that we are allowing regular civilians to purchase assault rifles and high capacity magazine guns in some instances without any background checks at all. Assault rifles are military grade weapons designed for killing large groups of people. High capacity semi- automatics are anything capable of shooting more than eight rounds. Many may say that a semi-automatic pistol is not capable of killing large amounts of people; however, if you put a thirty round magazine clip to that specific pistol, then it can inflict damage to thirty innocent bystanders. These guns are what have been used most often in mass shootings in the last 10 years (Nutter, Schlesinger). Right now all of these guns are available to almost anyone over the age of 21. Guns on their own are not bad, and in many instances are necessary too...

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...001. 1-3. Web. Feb 2014. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf.fuo.pdf

Johnson, Jim. “Should Congress Pass Stronger Gun Laws?.” Congressional Digest 92.3 (2013):

28-30. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

Kelly, Mark E. “Should Congress Pass Stronger Laws?.” Congressional Digest 92.3 (2013):

22-27 Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Jan. 2014

Kydd, Andrew. “Why Does Anyone Need High-Capacity Magazines?” Political Violence @ a Glance. 5 Feb 2013. Web. Feb 2014. http://politicalviolenceataglance.org/2013/02/05/

why-does-anyone-need-high-capacity-magazines/

Nutter, Michael and Schlesinger, Robert. “Should Congress Ban High-Volume Ammo Clips?.”

U.S. News Digital Weekly 3.6 (2011): 11. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.

Schered, Michael. "THE NEXT GUN FIGHT. (Cover Story)." Time 181.3 (2013): 24-33.

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