Guns are a threat in unseen ways

Kelsey Powell
English 11
Social Issue Persuasive Essay
March 10, 2013

I love my guns. But I also love my country. And for my country, I would give up my guns. Being as over half of the guns in the Unites States are illegally obtained, our country isn’t the safest place to be. But still, just as unsafe as any other place on the planet. So, for those few law-abiding citizens out there, if you wish to purchase a gun, you must do it completely legally. You must undergo written tests, submit fingerprints, undergo and pass background checks and submit letters of reference. And though it doesn’t seem like there is much more that the people and the government can do; there is. There are always possibilities. Some just have to be strived toward with more courage and determination than others. The Unites States definitely needs to up the anty on gun control and management. With the standards on gun control that we have now, it still seems as if children’s lives particularly are in danger. And unfortunately, they are. Innocent children, that deserve a full shot at reaching the full potential of their lives, are being harmed, and killed. The potential of the next generation is being practically thrown away because of one or few people’s incriminating acts. Now whether it is an intentional act, or an act of cluelessness - such as a mentally ill person - we must still do as much as we can to prevent this from happening. Though it may seem as discrimination of some sort against the mentally ill, it would be safer if we kept guns out of their hands and their reach. Even if they believe that they may need them for some sort of protection, guns should not be used as protection. Such as cases where people believe that they are in danger, but they really aren’t. So they take action on that and they end up harming or killing someone that didn’t deserve the punishment they were unknowingly delivered. It isn’t fair; it isn’t justice in the states that made a promise to have justice. Something must be done. Some sort of effort must be made to stop gun crimes; we don’t want to put children’s lives in jeopardy by allowing mentally unstable folks to get their hands on assault weapons and allowing citizens to purchase guns for only protection.
Well, what we have seen of the oncoming generation of children isn’t something that we always want to be proud of. But there are always those one-in-a-million children that will strive to meet life’s full potential. Those go out and get ‘em kids! These few children that have the will to succeed are not being given a full chance to make their dreams happen. While if some misconceiving choices could have been avoided, many lives could have been saved. One interviewer who made a statement in the book Gun Control commented; “The Public often buys guns without taking into account the risk factor.” –Dr. Mercy (26). This here has been proven. How many Americans actually take the time to sit down and write out and Pro’s and Con’s T-Chart on the benefits and risk factors of owning a gun? Well, I don’t know one. People speculate that there is no danger in buying guns. Here is one way to look at it. Would you let a six year old child purchase a gun? Or would you feel safe knowing that there is some teenager walking around your neighborhood packing an automatic assault weapon under his or her clothes? I know I wouldn’t. And I know that I would not want my child or any of my loved ones around anything like that. Children and guns DO NOT mix. Whether they be handling one, or be the victim of a screaming bullet released from the chamber and sent hurdling towards them. Nobody in society should ever be put in the path of destruction of a gun! Now-a-days, United States citizens do not know who has the legal rights and has passed all the tests to own a gun and who has simply stolen a gun from somewhere near-by. Though we cannot tell personally, or even by physical looks, it seems to