| Guns In America Essay, Research Paper
For
my discursive essay I have chosen ?Guns in America? and will look at the
licensing laws and some reasons behind all the gun-related deaths.America is in a deadly love affair with firearms
which kill nearly 35 000 people every year. Many blame the ?blood soaked
statistics? on the world?s weakest gun laws, while others blame it on the guns,
the culture or even just bad parenting.America is one of the world?s richest countries but
it has the world?s weakest gun laws. Some people blame this for all the
gun-related deaths. Gun related deaths in Great Britain and Australia have
decreased dramatically as a result of stricter gun laws following the Dunblane
and Port Arthur massacres. This shows that countries not as rich and powerful
as America have done something to prevent it from happening again where as one
of the richest and most powerful countries has done nothing to prevent
massacres happening again.It took 12 years after President Regan narrowly
escaped an assassination attempt for Congress to pass the Brady Bill (A 5-day
waiting period and background checks of prospective pistol purchasers). As a
result of the ?Brady Bill? it has prevented some 250 000 people from purchasing
handguns and probably prevented a lot of fatalities. If it took this long after
the president narrowly escaped an assassination attempt to devise this law how
long will it take to sort out simple everyday shootings across the nation?Most Americans want stricter gun laws as a
recent Harris poll found out that 69% of
all Americans and 57% of the nations gun owners WANT stricter gun
laws. With around 200 ? 250 million guns in America and 10 times as many
licensed gun dealers as Mc Donald?s restaurants, it is no wonder, they want
stricter gun laws and want to reduce the number of gun fatalities.But all of America is not as obsessed with guns as
Kennesaw in Georgia has shown, as they have done something to decrease gun
related deaths as it passed a law to allow heads of households to keep at least
1 firearm, except those with criminal records and religious objections in 1982.
7 months after it took effect the residential burglary rate dropped by 89% and
there have been 2 murders since 1982 and both were by knife attacks. Only if
the rest of America could have the same laws as Kennesaw regarding holding guns
then there would be much less gun-related deaths and also not be as many guns
circulating in America.In Texas there are 68 million guns and there are
only 17 million Texans which is 4 guns for every man, woman and child. For that
reason that is why America is in the mess it is in now. With this simple
statistic it is no wonder the gun situation is as bad as it is at the present
time. The only solution to decrease the number of
gun-related deaths is to tighten gun laws and make it harder for people to
purchase guns.The gun death toll in America is substantial
compared to other countries. More Americans are killed in gun homicides in ONE
DAY than in an ENTIRE YEAR in Japan, with almost 35 000 gun-related deaths every
year (an average of 96 per day). As mass production of firearms in America
continues then the high gun death rate will also sadly continue. The main question everyone wants the answer to is
?Would stricter gun laws help reduce America?s extraordinary firearm
death-rate?? I think it would as if it is harder for people to purchase guns
legally with a criminal record and a past conviction, reducing illegal sales
would decrease the firearms total and also reduce the firearm death rate. Although many states in America have toughened their
licensing laws, many people can purchase guns through illegal channels. To
obtain a gun license is much like obtaining a driver?s license, where you must
pass a thorough, extensive background check. This will disqualify any potential
buyer with a past conviction or any violent misdemeanor or any gun-related
crime, also they have to show that they can handle and use a gun safely. When
they get their licensee they must register any gun they purchase and report if
their gun(s) are stolen or destroyed so they can stop any illegal sales on
these guns.The one thing I am puzzled about is how can young
people get hold of lethal weapons such as rifles, machine guns etc. As we have
seen on the news many school massacres that have been carried out by pupils.
The most recent mass murder was in Littleton Colorado where two pupils killed
12 fellow pupils and one teacher. On any normal day on average 13 children are
killed every day were 12 were killed in one day in a school. With crimes like
this happening across the country and young people getting hold of these lethal
weapons then sadly deaths will continue to rise and rise.If 16 and 17 year olds can get hold of such lethal
and dangerous weapons and kill 13 people then I can only wonder what the future
holds for America as far as gun related-deaths are concerned. I would like to
see America in 20 or 30 years time to see if the current firearm situation has
got better or has got worse and I think it will probably get worse unless they
change their gun laws and decrease mass production of weapons.The one and only way I agree with the use of guns,
is that they are a sense of security for people, but if people go around
carrying weapons it is a disaster waiting to happen as it can make the simplest
of arguments or confrontations turn into another fatality.THE ENDDISCURSIVE ESSAY ?GUNS IN AMERICA? CIARAN HURL
12B MISS REID
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