Gun Control Argument
Gun Control
The gun control debate in the US is often contentious and politically divisive. And with upcoming elections always looming in the near future, we will continue hearing a great deal from the media as well as politicians about what should or should not be done about “too many guns” in our society. Unfortunately, too many Americans do not take time to truly understand the issues and the reasoning behind both sides of the controversy. To help get a clearer perspective of the problem, there are two very short, but well written pro/con pieces, regarding the debate, by Mitch Albom and Thomas Sowell. Each presents his own rationale for what should be done about gun control.
According to Albom’s “Don’t Shoot Holes in Gun Control Bills,” gun control is something that is needed. He cites several episodes between Los Angeles and Detroit where the availability of obtaining a gun is so easy, that people roll up to someone, roll down a window and start spraying bullets. The argument being made here is that with guns being so easy to obtain, anyone is capable of carrying one. In a lot of cases, self defense is not the issue with them. A lot of gun crimes are out of “hair trigger tempers with a hair trigger weapon.”
The big point being made is that most of these violent crimes with guns are a result of someone blowing off steam. It is not only gang members doing the shooting either. One man was cited as not liking a hamburger he received so he threw it at the clerk at the drive through window. She in turn threw a soda at him so he returned moments later and shot her. He states that contrary to the belief that guns don’t kill people, people kill people, that the weapon that kills is the gun being used. It is the weapon that does the killing. There are some very valid points as to how lack of gun control can allow crime to run rampant, but not everyone sees it that way.
On the other side of the argument is Thomas Sowell. His essay “Mass Shootings
The gun control debate in the US is often contentious and politically divisive. And with upcoming elections always looming in the near future, we will continue hearing a great deal from the media as well as politicians about what should or should not be done about “too many guns” in our society. Unfortunately, too many Americans do not take time to truly understand the issues and the reasoning behind both sides of the controversy. To help get a clearer perspective of the problem, there are two very short, but well written pro/con pieces, regarding the debate, by Mitch Albom and Thomas Sowell. Each presents his own rationale for what should be done about gun control.
According to Albom’s “Don’t Shoot Holes in Gun Control Bills,” gun control is something that is needed. He cites several episodes between Los Angeles and Detroit where the availability of obtaining a gun is so easy, that people roll up to someone, roll down a window and start spraying bullets. The argument being made here is that with guns being so easy to obtain, anyone is capable of carrying one. In a lot of cases, self defense is not the issue with them. A lot of gun crimes are out of “hair trigger tempers with a hair trigger weapon.”
The big point being made is that most of these violent crimes with guns are a result of someone blowing off steam. It is not only gang members doing the shooting either. One man was cited as not liking a hamburger he received so he threw it at the clerk at the drive through window. She in turn threw a soda at him so he returned moments later and shot her. He states that contrary to the belief that guns don’t kill people, people kill people, that the weapon that kills is the gun being used. It is the weapon that does the killing. There are some very valid points as to how lack of gun control can allow crime to run rampant, but not everyone sees it that way.
On the other side of the argument is Thomas Sowell. His essay “Mass Shootings