National Crisis | Teen Ink

National Crisis

October 30, 2015
By Anonymous

\At the 2013 homicide poll, about one in every 285 Americans will be murdered over the course of their lives(Gun Control In America). There were roughly three hundred million firearms owned by civilians in the United States as of 2010(Gun Control In America). Of these, about one hundred million were handguns(Gun Control In America). The number of people affected by gun violence in the United States is devastating and there needs to be a drastic change. Research shows that the more guns brought into the picture, the more death and injuries from gun violence there will be. With the climbing risk of violence from a firearm, Guns are stripping U.S. citizens from their safety and security. Some people use the second amendment as their argument. However, those people have manipulated the second amendment for their own benefits, instead of their country’s.


The United States has 8.8 guns per 100 people, or about 27,000,000 guns, which is the highest total per capital in the world(Gun Control In America). Since 2013, there have been 153 school shootings, and unless we make a change the number will only grow exponentially(What Does Gun Violence Really Cost?). If access to firearms was less accessible, there would be less violence and more likely fewer killings. This theory has been proven in the past by many other laws. Some say owning a gun is a right due to  the second amendment which says, “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”. Although during early America this amendment was necessary, in modern american society, this amendment has changed its meaning and now is irrelevant in its traditional form. People that don’t support gun control also use the argument that the guns are for self defense, and about 45% of households own a gun for just that(What Does Gun Violence Really Cost?). Studies have shown that adding a gun to a robbery will only make it more dangerous because the owner most likely does not know how to use the firearm and could end up severely hurting the other person or even themselves(What Does Gun Violence Really Cost?). I wouldn’t qualify that as good protection would you?


Gun control laws should be stricter. The main reason for this is because guns are the preeminent, and simplest tool that you can use to take a life. Guns are threatening people's rights to their lives and their security. Recently, the rate of gun injury and death are climbing. A team of doctors stated that, “It does not matter whether we believe that guns kill people or that people kill people with guns – the result is the same: a public health crisis.”(qtd. in What Does Gun Violence Really Cost?). Would you agree with this? Each year more than 11,000 people are killed with a firearm, and more than 20,000 commit suicide using one(Gun Control In America). Creating stricter gun control laws would keep guns away from people who intend to harm themselves or others. We as a nation need to come together and find a way to solve this crisis.


If everybody would acknowledge how huge this problem is then there could finally be progress made. Communities can get involved with different movements and sign or create petitions that will make gun control laws stricter. Our nation can be cured of this epidemic if we start demanding safety. If people would stop arguing that guns are “fun” and actually start looking at the facts, then we might be able to solve this crisis as a whole. Together we must demand safety for the next and following generations, for our communities, and for our nation.

 

Works Cited
Collier, Charles W.” Gun Control In America: An Autopsy Report.” Dissent (00123846) 60.3 (2013): 81 MasterFILE Premier. Web. 25 Oct. 2015
Miller, Ted.”What Does Gun Violence Really Cost?”(cover story).”Mother Jones 40.3(2015): 18. MasterFILE Premier.Web.21 Oct. 2015.



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