Editorial: Firearm and Key Point Essay

Submitted By mstoll
Words: 1116
Pages: 5

Is Gun Control Necessary? One of the main issues in America today is gun control and whether people have the right to own a gun. Throughout the years, there have been many shootings and crimes due to people owning guns. Due to gun violence many people have unfortunately lost their lives. One of the most horrific tragedies our country has faced was the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 After this disaster our airports became much safer, but what exactly took the government so long to address the evident problems that our country struggles with? After many of the tragedies that have happened many Americans agree that there should be much stricter laws concerning guns. Another common belief amongst most Americans is that if we restrict gun control it will reduce the number of deaths and crimes throughout the country. People in the United States mostly own a gun because they want to protect themselves, and know that they have the right too. They don’t know what negative consequences follow there reasoning. One key point that I think is important is the 2nd amendment. It protects the rights of the individual and gives them the right to bare arms. Anyone has the right to own a gun and protect themselves, their family, and their country. If they ban guns it will be a violation on those second amendment rights. The 2nd amendment allowed us to have a gun in case our government started to become overpowered. Yes “its our right” but the government has the United States military at its disposal. Giving everyone a gun will not help especially when the government has much more money, power, and other weapons. Another key point is that it gives you the real sense of security and protection. With a gun you have the opportunity to protect yourself and your family. By having this sense of protection, a person may be able to scare away potential burglars or attackers simply by brandishing a gun (Johnston, 2012.) Owning a gun in your house could be for an individual’s protection, but do you know how many little kids have found a gun and thought it was a toy? Michael Luo said in his article, “Cassie Culpepper, 11, was riding in the back of a pickup with her 12-year-old brother and two other children. Her brother started playing with a pistol his father had lent him to scare coyotes. Believing he had removed all the bullets, he pointed the pistol at his sister and squeezed the trigger” (Luo, McIntire, 2013.) It is never safe to own a gun, and especially let your child hold it because what happened to Cassie will ultimately happen to any other child who finds a gun. Even if there are no bullets in it, they will still handle it as a toy and think that it is okay. These two points are very important and I think if you need protection you can find safer ways to protect yourself other than owning a gun because you can only put your family at risk. In America there have been many crimes and shootings that cause a number of deaths due to people owning guns. Guns are the one of the main causes of death in children and teenagers. The amount of deaths will only increase if they don’t restrict gun laws. The more guns they allow people to have, the more homicides and crimes will increase. An estimated 478,422 firearm-related violent crimes occurred in 2011, including 11,101 homicides (Mantel, 2013.) The amount of homicides and crimes is probably the highest it has been and it will not get lower unless there are some restrictions about owning a gun. If guns are left in homes they can often lead to suicides as well. There have been many suicides over the years, and prevention reports that 83% of gun-related deaths in the home are the result of suicide (Johnston, 2012.) This should be taken to consideration when someone wants to own a gun in the house because not only the gun owner can commit suicide but a family member could think about it as well. Over the past few years, there has been many tragic school shootings and