Gun violence is a major problem in our American culture that must be addressed. It affects every American and how we choose to live our daily lives. With the amount of appalling mass shootings that occur frequently in the United States, the federal government has an obligation to its citizens to help prevent these reoccurring tragedies. This obligation from the government should come in the form of universal background checks, restrictions on specific guns, and mental health tests. For the purpose of clearness, I will use the AR-15 as the primary example of weapons that government should increase regulations upon. The AR-15 has no useful purpose other than to help aide individuals to commit horrific mass shootings of innocent citizens.
The AR-15 at its core is a military gun meant to take the lives of humans. According to Slate the origins of the AR-15 date back to 1957 in which the United States Army was looking for a weapon that was able "to penetrate both sides of a standard Army helmet at 500 meters rifle" (Peters 1). This
Additionally, as of today each state has their own gun laws and requirements to obtain a firearm. Federal universal background checks would streamline the process of purchasing a fire arm and ensure only responsible individuals obtain the right to bear arms.
Secondly, the federal government should implement legislation that restricts the sale of assault rifles. The argument of using assault rifles for hunting does not stand up to the great disadvantages and public safety issues the guns cause. According to the hill 61% of Americans support a ban on the AR-15 (Easley 1). Politicians should have no fear outlawing the AR-15 or similar guns. If the United States government implemented a ban on assault weapons it would drastically decrease the chances of the devastating mass shootings that are becoming far too