Essay on Gun Control

Submitted By nipppywipppies
Words: 779
Pages: 4

The Pros of Gun Control
Over the past decade gun control in America has become quite the topic in most households. “In 2011, over 400,000 people were victims of crimes that involved firearms in the United States”(National Institute of Justice).You would think that most people would support regulations or state mandates that would bring more order to gun control, but our society shows mixed reviews on how to approach the issue. Our country has bred a culture of people who believe that guns are essential and some individuals believe they should be kept handy for self-defense purposes. The intent and use of guns in today’s society has severely been altered and has resulted in multiple negative outcomes. The Columbine Massacre and the Maryland Mall shooting are just a few examples of how the lack of gun control can affect our everyday lives. Americans argue that it is their right to bear arms, but in reality the purpose of retaining a gun is nothing more than to kill or seriously injure someone; whether that is to protect their family or business. Gun control is a potential solution to the ongoing issues that America is facing every day. Establishing a gun control law will minimize deaths and reduce violence in the most urban communities.
Many people that disagree with gun control, argue that it is their given constitutional right to bear arms according to the Second Amendment. While the Second Amendment does state that we have the right to bear arms, it is being misinterpreted by society. Some Americans believe that the right to bear arms means that they can own guns for their own personal use, but they are mistaken. The amendment justifies the right to bear arms for a specific reason, in order to initiate a militia to protect and serve the country. Even though the constitution still allows Americans to own guns, many are simply using them for individual and personal reason. These reasons vary from self-defense to recreational hunting to even criminal activities. Creating gun control laws won’t stop criminals from obtaining guns but it can help by regulating and restricting the use of these deadly weapons on innocent civilians. So then why aren’t guns being administrated to avoid unnecessary bloodshed?
Over the course of the 21st century deaths and injuries have become a factor in the debate of creating gun control laws. “In 2010, guns took the lives of 31,076 Americans in homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings” (Statistics on Gun Deaths & Injuries) Homicides have been more prone to gang-related criminal activities like robberies, which have played a huge factor in the number of deaths. Every year Americans are being killed by shots from a gun that weren’t intended for them. Incidents, were innocent victims were killed, have become more common in our day by day society. In Watsonville, a 4-year-old girl and a 34-year-old man were caught in a crossfire of a shooting; they were killed due to the actions of gang members. By prohibiting the use of guns, issues like this could be resolved to avoid innocents from being