Critical Thinking Paper: Gun Control in America Camille Estrin Red Group April 2013

Critical Thinking Paper: Gun Control in America

There should be countrywide if not worldwide gun control laws to prevent mass shootings, gun accidents, and to save the lives of innocent Americans, by having gun drives, controlling the passing out of gun licenses and creating protection and gun laws. Gun control is a widely debated topic that has been disputed over generations. When people are able to have guns in their possession, it increases the likelihood of gun injuries, and fatalities, which we can no longer continue to ignore. There shouldnt be an increase in injuries and mass shootings, when a simple solution is just to create gun control laws that control the possession of guns.

The second amendment in the Constitution states that, one has the right to bear arms, but that can be interpreted in many different ways. This constitutional ambiguity has created the ongoing dispute on gun control and this is why it is still a prevalent issue in todays civilization. Even during Ronald Reagans presidency there were protests regarding gun control. There have been decades worth of discussion over this topic. There have been many protest walks such as the one in Washington DC in January, right after the massacre in Newton, Connecticut according to Elena Scotti. There were debates between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Malcolm X taking the side of violence, and Dr. King taking the side of peace. Dr. King thought that having guns would only harm more people instead of protect them. Many people idolized them both; even in

the 1950s there were protests and speeches trying to sway the public to one side or the other.

There have been past efforts to try and create gun control laws, but none of them have worked. The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban was one of the most recent significant attempts to create changes, but it expired in 2004. Recently after the tragic Sandy Hook massacre in December, President Obama gave a speech about gun control. The president said that as president he needs to, reinstate and strengthen the assault weapons ban. (John Gettings and Catherine McNiff) Ever since the Constitution was written in 1791, there has been debating over the second amendment stating that one has the right to bear arms, and this year or in the near future, the government needs to take action and create laws that restrain the use and ownership of guns.

Guns are one of the most dangerous weapons available for use when one has a license or without a license. Owning guns, legally and illegally, has created a huge problem resulting in a significant increase in mass shootings over the past twenty years and many of the guns are purchased illegally. The average of killing four or more people annually has increased by two since the 1990s; from 161 to 163. Since 1982 there have been at least 62 mass shootings in the country, and 25 of them have occurred since 2006. (Ron Dicker) This provides stunning data that recently the number of deaths has increased dramatically. In order to own a gun legally, one must have a license to own the gun. However only about a quarter of the mass shooters have a license to have the gun, and the rest were stolen or taken illegally. The rules and

regulations may vary from state to state regarding how many guns you can own, and where and when you can use them. With regulations and even the prohibition of guns we would be able to avoid shootings. Many lives have been taken through these terribly tragic mass shootings, and they need to come to an end.

Even if some people want to have guns for their own protection, or for hunting, guns should not be allowed to be in possession to ensure the safety for everyone around them and the safety of the greater community. After the Sandy Hook shooting in December, in President Obamas speech he also mentioned that there should be more restriction on who can purchase guns, especially for those that are mentally ill. The mass shooter in Connecticut was mentally ill, however it should not take killing 20 children and 6 adults for one to realize that they should not have possession of guns. To eliminate all risks of mass shootings, the government needs to take a stand, and get as many gun-owners as possible to give their guns away. If there are fewer guns, there can be less reason for any more massacres.

If the government is able to collect guns, it leaves the question of what to do with them? Since our military should be the only ones allowed with guns, we could donate the guns to them, therefore not making them have to pay for the majority of the weapons. This would lessen the crime rate, and reduce the amount of mass shootings. In many conservative areas, the majority of their population has guns, and restricting them from having guns will be quite challenging. If the majority of gun owners have guns in their houses just in case of an emergency, why resort to the use of guns? One

should not have to live knowing that the people around them have guns which makes them feel unsafe. However, if the government sets down many laws controlling the use and possession of guns, sooner or later they will have to give in. Owning a gun should be illegal and for the protection of our next generation, guns should be out of the question as a tool, protection or sport.

Also, for people who are mentally ill and can get unlimited access to these weapons, there needs to be certain restraints for them before they are able to receive a gun. Once someone who has a mental disease has a gun, they are able to do anything they please with it. There should be protection especially for people with these mental illnesses because they are not completely in control of their actions when they have a gun. The Sandy Hook shooter, and the Virginia Tech shooter, in 2007, both had mental diseases, and killed in total 58 people and injured many more. As long as the government creates a law that says controls gun ownership, the only guns are for military purposes. In general, to reduce the number of gun accidents, mass shootings, and increase protection overall, there should be laws that control the civilian use of guns.

Overall, many people in this country live in fear, and many have lost lives through these horrible mass shootings. The world comes together after horrible incidents such as these, but why does there even have to be horrible incidents like these that happen? There are so many other issues in the world that have much more difficult solutions and affect the world even more, and with an issue like gun control, to fix it all

we need is a set of laws that prohibit the use and possession of guns, we should be able to make that happen. There should be no protests against saving the lives of innocent people, kids, who have the right to live in peace without fear. To save the lives of these innocent people, for the elimination of mass shootings and gun accidents, there should be gun control laws that save our country from anymore awful shooting tragedies.

Works Cited

1. Winkler, Adam. "The Secret History of Guns." The Atlantic. N.p., n.d. Web. 4
Mar. 2013. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/ the-secret-history-of-guns/308608/>. -The protests in Ronald Reagans time -The debates over gun control even back then

2. Scotti, Elena. "America's Gun-Control Debate: The Dueling Protest Signs."

The Week 23 Jan. 2013: n. pag. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://theweek.com/ article/index/239078/americas-gun-control-debate-the-dueling-protest-signs>. -Dates of recent protest/walks

3. "Mental Health Solutions Alone Can't Thwart Gun Violence, Experts Say." Huffington Post: n. pag. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/31/ mental-health-gun-violence_n_2583986.html>. This article informed me more on what the President said at his speech after the Sandy Hook shootings, and about the regulations that he will be making about the laws for gun control and possession, especially for the mentally ill. 4. Gettings, John, and Catherine McNiff. "Federal Gun Control Legislation." Infoplease. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/guntime1.html>. This website gave me information on recent attempts to figure out what to do with gun control laws.
5. Follman, Mark, Gavin Aronson, and Deanna Pan. "A Guide to Mass Shootings in America." Mother Jones: n. pag. Mother Jones. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map>. Gave more statistics of recent events and shootings. 6. Find Law. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://injury.findlaw.com/ product-liability/ gun-laws.html?DCMP=GOO-INJ_DefectProdBoardModifierGun&HBX_PK=+gun++license>. 7. Dicker, Ron. "Mass Murder Rate Still Rising, Experts Say." Huffington Post 14 Dec. 2012: n. pag. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/ 12/14/mass-murder-rate-rising-newtown-shooting_n_2302590.html>. Gave statistics on the increase and decrease in shootings and mass shootings.