Mass Shootings In America

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With some of the worst mass shootings in America since 1980, it is evident as to why controversy surrounding gun control has continued to reappear at the forefront of America’s policymakers. Federal and state laws regulating the private ownership of firearms dates back as far as 1791. During this time, The Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment was ratified. This stated that ‘’ a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Through the eighteen and 1900’s, various gun laws were passed by U.S. Congress, controlling the sale, possession, and use of firearms. The Gun Control Act of 1968 was enacted for the purpose of “keeping firearms …show more content…
The Violent Crime Control and Law enforcement Act of 1994 further regulated the sale, manufacture, importation, and possession of specific kinds of assault weapons for ten years. However, by 2004 U.S. Congress failed to reauthorize it. It is interesting that laws regulating guns have been around since the 1700’s, yet there is still a great deal of debate over whether America’s right to bear arms should continue to be a constitutional right. With the increase in public mass shootings with unknown bystanders since 2000 , would stricter gun control laws reduce the number of mass shootings in the United States of America? Would banning the sale of high-capacity magazines for assault weapons reduce the number of people killed or injured? When 20 children and six adult staff members were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut on December 14th 2012, the debate about gun control was at the forefront once again. This debate focused on the requirement of background checks on all firearm sales, and on the passage of new and expanded assault weapon and high-capacity …show more content…
I would like to investigate a) the financial gain of not imposing stricter gun control laws, b) whether or not mental health is a significant contributing factor in America’s mass shootings c) whether or not accessibility of assault weapons plays a role in mass shootings c) whether American culture plays a role in mass shootings, and d) how America’s mass shooting statistics compare internationally to other countries in the world. I plan to investigate these possible correlating factors involved in mass shootings to determine whether imposing stricter gun control laws will have a positive effect on reducing the number of mass shootings in the USA. If there is validity in my research, I plan to seek out proposed solutions and examine their