More Guns- More Violence | Teen Ink

More Guns- More Violence

November 14, 2014
By Anonymous

Guns are ruining our generation and ripping the world apart., all the news I see on the television is about murders, or suicides. There will always be two sides of the story though, the sides of the argument are whether the amendment protects an individual’s right to own guns no matter what, or if the person should be infringed for owning a gun. This topic is a sensitive subject, but if we do not do something we will all one day pay the price. There should be stricter laws in regards to guns because there is an absurd amount of people dying from guns in America.


It is recorded that if there are stricter laws on guns then there will be results. Anonymous discovered, “compared to Japan, where gun laws are very strict regarding both ownership and punishment, only four people were killed by guns in 2012. Japan has a smaller population, but even counting that, the per capita death rate is 1,000 times higher in the United States” (On The Issues.org). If we put a cap on guns we can see dramatic numbers drop significantly. Gun control will save lives. If we allow the gun violence to occur with lenient laws what are kids going to think when they get older that it is okay to go around and kill people. What kind of example are we setting?  There could be a fix and we could do something about it but we have to act fast. This will work and save lives of innocent people in fact it already did. A reporter by the name of Helen Clark found out, “Around 650,000 automatic and semi-automatic weapons were destroyed and a whole  raft of checks and controls brought in. The end result? The first decade of the law alone saw a fifty-nine percent drop in Australian gun-homicides” ( World News). We have already two cases where gun control has been enforced and there success. Maybe America should take some tips on different parts of the world.


Guns equal more suicide. The debate on gun control is usually pertaining to murder numbers and protecting yourself if you are at harm. What most forget about though is the suicide factor of guns. The ratio of suicides and homicides is completely unacceptable, even more so more suicides. Writer, Leon Nathrakh stated, “In 2010, the last year for which complete numbers are available, the number of gun deaths by suicide in the United States outnumbered homicides 19,392 to 11,078” (The Boston Globe).  The amount of suicides is absurd  compared to  the amount of homicides, as shown guns do create more of an issue for suicides. No matter what we may believe about the Second Amendment, the debate over how to reduce the death toll from guns is basically a debate about suicide prevention.


Unstable people can easily buy a gun and misuse it. Mass shootings and school shootings come from a history of mental illness. A reporter for The Local News discovered,  “79% of mass shootings are attributable to a history of mental illnesses” (The Local News). This proves my point on gun control because more than 50% of shootings  were done by a person with a mental illness meaning that when you purchase a gun you are letting a person who is not mentally stable buy it and get the wrong idea. One example of a mass shooter with a mental illness is from the same reporter : “James Eagan Holmes; July 20, 2012; 12 killed, 58 injured – …  Holmes was seeing a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado prior to the shooting who later reported that he had made “homicidal statements” and said he a was a threat to others.  Holmes reportedly asked other students at the University of Colorado about dysphoric mania, a mental disorder characterized by simultaneous symptoms of mania and depression” (The Local News). There are many others with the history of mental illnesses. So it is proven that anyone can buy a gun regardless of mental state and use it.


Some argue that criminals will not stop at anything to get guns. I say that it will because it will make it very hard to get them that they will stop trying. Guns have gotten to the point of insanity in the United States, that anything will help. Another argument is that  the second amendment establishes our right to bear arms.

According to Jay Troop, “the very first sentence of the Constitution places the burden on the Federal Government to "insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty" for the citizens of these United States”( A writer and intelligence analyst).


Laws for guns will make America live up to the name United States. We are being ripped apart and one day in the future I feel the States will be separated. Laws I feel should be implemented are background checks every year. As well as to stop the outdoor gun shows all they do is flaunt guns so that you are intrigued to get one. This is America, we should be setting an example not making a bad reputation. Gun control is the best decision for us right now.

 


Works Cited
"Access to Gun Crime Statistics Is an American RIGHT!" Gun Control Facts. N.p., 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. .
Brody, Rachel. "Gun Control And Gun Rights." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 24 July 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014. .
"Fusion Center Study Finds 79% of Recent Mass Shootings Attributable to History of Mental Illness | Public Intelligence." Public Intelligence. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2014. .
"Gun Control Debate." Gun Control Debate RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. .
"The Gun Toll We’re Ignoring: Suicide." BostonGlobe.com. Ed. Leon Nehfakh. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
"Guns and Gun Control." - News. The New York Times Company, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. .
Troop, Jay. "The Conservative Case for Gun Control in America." Mic. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. .



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.