Mya Wilder

English II
12-7-17

Do you Believe Gun Control Laws Should be Stricter?

Many people believe that there should be gun control laws to reduce violence in the

United States, other people believe that there should not be any gun control laws because of our

rights. First, gun control laws are needed to protect women from stalkers and domestic abusers.

Second, there needs to be more gun control laws because they will reduce death by guns. Lastly,

with more gun control laws, suicides will become less. Gun control laws should be around in

order to protect women, lower the number of deaths and lower the amount of suicides by gun.

To begin, gun control laws need to be stricter in order to protect women from stalkers and

domestic abusers. During domestic disputes, women are in more danger when guns are involved.

With gun control laws that restrict convicted stalkers and domestic abusers from owning guns,

women will be more protected. In the article “Evaluating Gun Policy: Effects on Crime and

Violence” by Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook, it states, “Vigdor and Mercy find that laws that

prevent those who are subject to a restraining order from owning or purchasing a handgun reduce

rates of homicides of intimate partners.” Thanks to the laws that restrict abusers from obtaining

guns, women are more safe and are less at risk of getting injured. Those who have a restraining

order should not a own a gun because they obviously have something wrong with them, and they

are unstable. Therefore, gun control laws are needed to restrict domestic abusers and stalkers

from obtaining guns and harming women.

 Another reason is that there needs to be more gun control laws because they will reduce

the death by guns. Between 1999 and 2013 there have been 464,033 total gun deaths. Gun

control laws will lower this number and not allow just anybody to own a gun, especially since

the leading death by homicide is by gun. In the article “After Texas Shooting, FBI Reviews Gun

Background Check System, But Gun Control Group Say Senate Bill Still Needed” by Josh Saul,

it states, “The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will

review whether the military and other federal agencies are properly reporting information to the

national gun background check database after the Texas shooting earlier this month, the Justice

Department announced Wednesday.” Due to mass shootings and many deaths occurring because

of guns the FBI is making sure that background checks and the correct information is reported

for when guns are being sold. Those that have a bad history should not be sold a gun because

they can do something such as shooting up a school or a concert. Therefore, gun control laws are

needed to reduce the death by firearms.

Lastly, with more gun control laws, suicides that happen by a gun will lower. Between

1999 and 2013 there were 270,237 suicides by gun in the United States. When the gun ownership

numbers went down the suicide rates decreased as well. With gun control laws, guns would not

be sold or available to unstable people who may want to commit suicide. In the article

“Evaluating Gun Policy: Effects on Crime and Violence” by Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook, it

states, “He argues that if access to guns causes some people to attempt suicide who otherwise

would have used other means, or perhaps would not have attempted suicide at all, one would

expect local gun prevalence to be positively related with gun suicide rates and have a negative
(or at least null) relationship with non gun suicides.” Suicide rates are high due to guns being

purchased by those who want to attempt suicide. If guns were not accessible to everyone, they

would not be used as a method of suicide, or the person would not have even thought about

suicide at all, but since guns are available to them, the risk of them having suicidal thoughts

increases. Therefore, with more gun control laws the the firearm suicides will lower in numbers.

Some people believe that gun control laws do not need to be stricter because background

checks and microstamping are invasions of privacy to the person buying the guns. Many people

do not want their privacy to be invaded, even by the Government. So having background checks

done are making people upset about having their pasts being known. Many believe they should

be able to exercise their right of owning a firearm without being subjected to Government

surveillance. This reason is illogical because it is the Government's job to choose what is right

for their country. So if that means looking into the past of someone to see if they are eligible to

own a gun, then the Government will do a background search on you. In the article “FACT

SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer”

from the Office of the Press Secretary, it states, “ATF is finalizing a rule to require background

checks for people trying to buy some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a

trust, corporation, or other legal entity.” Background checks are now required to make sure a

person is not a threat to society with a dangerous weapon. This is to ensure that the community is

safe, which is what the Government wants. Therefore people being upset about their privacy

being invaded is illogical because the background checks are needed to ensure the safety of

everyone.
 In conclusion, gun controls is an important issue with everything that has been going on

in the United States lately, with all the mass shootings. Gun violence should be addressed by gun

control laws to reduce the deaths caused by guns in our country. A strategy to solve this issue

will be to strengthen gun control laws and to make sure background information of the person

buying the guns are updated and make the person eligible to own a firearm, and to ensure they

are not a threat to our nation. Once again because of women needing to be protected from

stalkers and domestic abusers, the number of deaths by gun needing to be lowered, and the

suicide by gun needing to be lowered as well, gun control laws need to be around and stricter.

Gun control laws should be around in order to protect women, lower the number of deaths and

lower the amount of suicides by gun.

 
 Annotated Bibliography

“Evaluating Gun Policy: Effects on Crime and Violence” by Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook,

2003: <“​http://home.uchicago.edu/ludwigj/papers/Brookings_Pragmatic_Gun_Chapter1.pdf​”>

This source is talking about gun control and what should happen with guns. It is telling

both sides of whether there should or should not be gun control. This source relates to my topic

because I am going to be writing about Gun Control and how we should have gun control where

we live. It gives me information that I can use to support my position in my argumentative essay.

In the text it states, “The goal of gun control is thus to increase the effective price of guns to that

segment of the market that is at highest risk for misuse, while doing little to the price facing most

other people.” I plan to use this piece of evidence to show that gun control is a good thing that

we need and what the goal of it is, and what how we plant to introduce it.

“Going National With Concealed Guns.” by The Editorial Board, Dec 5, 2017.

<”​https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/opinion/concealed-gun-laws-national.html?rref=collecti

on%2Ftimestopic%2FGun%20Control&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=st

ream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection​“>

This source talks about how their needs to be strong gun safety, but the Government

thought it a good idea to make broaden the concealed gun law. It also mentions the number of

deaths that occur by people who own a concealed weapon licence. This source relates to my
topic because it gives reasons why there should be more gun control and gun safety in the world.

It gives me data and links to other sources that have to do with gun control/safety. In the article it

states, “It’s hard to believe that congressional Republicans would react to the nation’s latest mass

shootings by advancing a measure that would allow travelers to more easily carry hidden, loaded

handguns across state lines.” I plan to use this piece of evidence to show how bad it might be to

keep this new law in allowing concealed gun to be more easy to carry.

“Gun Control Explained” by Richard Perez-Pena, Oct 7, 2015.

<”​https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/07/us/gun-control-explained.html​”>

This article talks about gun control, what it does and what it requires people to do. It talks

about those who are not allowed to own a gun, or concealed weapon, it also mentions the

loopholes there are that the type of people who shouldn’t get the guns can get the guns. This

article supports my argument because it discusses how not everyone should be allowed a gun,

and gun control is what's making that happen in a way. “Gun control” is a broad term that covers

any sort of restriction on what kinds of firearms can be sold and bought, who can possess or sell

them, where and how they can be stored or carried, what duties a seller has to vet a buyer, and

what obligations both the buyer and the seller have to report transactions to the government.”

This quote will help me explain gun control and what it does, why it is useful.

“The Pentagon’s Indifference to Gun Safety” by The Editorial Board, Nov. 29, 2017
<”​https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/opinion/guns-pentagon-kelley.html?rref=collection%2F

timestopic%2FGun%20Control&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&

module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection​”>

This article discusses why guns should be kept away from those who are dangerous and

will use the gun for dangerous things. This supports my argument because it just shows that gun

control is strongly needed so mass shootings don't happen from dangerous people because they

can obtain a gun. “It would also reward states that improve reporting, and would provide more

federal funding toward those efforts.” This quote will help me to show what is being done to

make gun control stronger.

“After Texas Shooting, FBI Reviews Gun Background Check System, But Gun Control Group

Say Senate Bill Still Needed” by Josh Saul, Nov 23, 2017

<”​http://www.newsweek.com/gun-control-background-check-texas-church-shooting-fbi-review-

721060​”>

This article talks about how the FBI is going to make sure reports are being made to the

background check system and they are correct to prevent guns being put into dangerous peoples

hands. This will help support my argument because with a stronger gun control system we can

prevent guns getting placed into the wrong hands. “The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will review whether the military and other federal

agencies are properly reporting information to the national gun background check database after

the Texas shooting earlier this month, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.” This
quote will help me because it explains what is being done to make gun control stronger to avoid

mass shootings (such as the Texas shooting) from happening again.

“FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make our Communities

Safer.” Office of the Press Secretary, January 4, 2016.

<”​https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/04/fact-sheet-new-executive-a

ctions-reduce-gun-violence-and-make-our​”>

This article talks about what is being done to lower gun violence. This is from the

government, so this is there rules that they want to put up towards reducing gun violence. This

article will help me support my argument because it is listing rules that need to be done for gun

control and such. “The President and Vice President are committed to using every tool at the

Administration’s disposal to reduce gun violence.” I will use this piece of evidence to show that

two higher up people of our country are wanting to make sure that anything that could be done

against gun violence happens.