Pro Gun Control Essay



In the U.S. about 88.9 guns are owned for every 100 people (Zakaria, "The Case for Gun Control." ). How many of those people are actually qualified to have a gun? That is the question we, as Americans need to be asking. Gun laws eliminate the people who aren’t qualified to possess a gun. People who aren’t qualified could have mental issues or a history of criminal acts. They help protect citizens from people like James E. Holmes, who went into a movie theater, on July 20, 2012 and shot and killed 12 people, and injured 58 (Mother Jones, "US Mass Shootings, 1982-2012: Data From Mother Jones' Investigation."). Twelve innocent people were killed, 58 were injured and 70 could’ve been saved if we had gun laws. Gun laws provide safety and structure so innocent people aren’t killed. These laws prevent incidents like Sandy Hook (December 14, 2012), Wisconsin Sikh Temple shooting (August 5, 2012), and Tuscon shooting (January 8, 2011) from happening (Mother Jones, "US Mass Shootings, 1982-2012: Data From Mother Jones' Investigation."). I am pro-gun control because not everyone deserves to have a gun, and too many people have died because the law has allowed them to possess a gun.

Society has changed and so should the gun control laws. During the time when the 2nd amendment was written, there were gun laws. Since there were gun laws when the second amendment was created, having gun laws now isn’t anything new, or going against the 2nd amendment. The amendment states that a “well regulated militia” is necessary for the security of a free state(Constitution). The amendment calls for regulations, but groups similar to the NRA and other anti-gun control people, focus on the part in the amendment where it states that everyone has “the right to bear arms” (Wrinkler, "The Second Amendment Is All for Gun Control." ). They ignore the part where it says that there should be some kind of regulations for who can and can’t possess a gun. Therefore if, “everyone has the right to bear arms” then young children are qualified to have guns. . By saying children can’t have guns is setting rules and regulations, exactly what gun laws are made to do. They are made to protect children and adults from dangerous people with guns.

Recently, in many cases guns have gotten into the wrong hands due to lack of an effective system. Guns are dangerous and have gotten into the wrong hands too many times. Now anyone can get their hands on guns, as long as you have money and a supplier. According to the 1977 Justice Department, they surveyed more than 18,000 convicts and reported that 39.6% of criminals obtained a gun from a friend or family member, 39.2% of criminals obtained a gun on the street or from an illegal source, 0.7% of criminals purchased a gun at a gun show, 1% of criminals purchased a gun at a flea market, 3.8% of criminals purchased a gun from a pawn shop, and 8.3% of criminals actually bought their guns from retail outlets (Olmsted, "The Daily Caller." ). As you see, most criminals get their guns from someone they know. People also can buy guns off the internet and the black market, it’s just that simple. Easier access to guns is allowing more unqualified people to get possession, and more people, including children killed. There is close to 300 million guns owned in the U.S.(Tucci, "The Daily Caller." ). Imagine your child getting hold of a gun and harming themselves or another person. Would making stricter gun laws then sound like a good idea?

Countries other than the U.S. have been successful with their gun laws. The gun violence rates in America are higher than every country. Since guns are becoming more available, more crimes are being committed. From 1982 to 2012, the U.S. had over 62 mass shootings, 49 were using legal weapons (Morris, "10 Arguments for Gun Control." ). The homicide rate in the U.S. is 30 times Britain and Australia’s, 10 times India’s, and 4 times Switzerland’s homicide rate (Zakaria, "The Case for Gun Control." ). Yes, sometimes guns are used to protect people and for self defense, but only 1.6% of all mass shootings since 1980 were successfully intervened by and armed civilian (Morris, "10 Arguments for Gun Control."). That percentage is not high enough to justify the use of a gun.
People should have the right to bear arms. Gun laws aren’t taking away that right. Whether you’re pro gun control or anti gun control, we all know that there’s certain people who should never have guns. Stricter gun laws protect everyone good or bad. Gun laws prevent the use of guns for certain people, so people don’t feel the need to protect themselves with guns. Nobody wants anymore kids to die. No more unjustified homicides, no more incidents where guns get into the wrong hands. Making stricter gun laws is taking a step forward into a safer world, where kids can go outside and play without their parents worrying if they will come back alive. Lets live in a safer world.