Karen Field
Granite State College
A man carrying two revolvers and two 9mm semi-automatic handguns calmly entered into the Dunblane Primary School. Two people quickly saw the firearms and tried to tackle the man; he shot them, and left them wounded as he continued his journey down the hall of the school. Finally the man had reached his destination, the gym, where a class of kindergarteners where having Phys. Ed, he pulled out his guns and started picking off the five-year olds one by one. The room was splattered with blood as young children broke like little porcelain dolls under the power of the guns. The blood continued to flow like a river of water, but the intruder never stopped shooting, he took careful aim to make sure he didn’t miss. The final result came when he shot the teacher who was shielding the children from his bullets with her own body. Once he killed her he killed the children that she was protecting. When he was finished in the gym he turned around and walked out, while passing another classroom he paused and started shooting again, as he walked through the hall to the courtyard. In the courtyard this cold-blooded killer ended his shooting spree by taking his own life. (Pederson) In the final count, there where sixteen children that lay dead along with their teacher, another twelve children were wounded, along with the first two adults who met the shooter at the entrance of the school. Only one little boy in the gym made it through this horrific ordeal physically unharmed but sure he was mentally scarred because he was found hiding under the dead bodies of his best friend and another classmate this child’s name was Robbie Hurst (Pederson). Gun Control is a very delicate issue with many different sides and viewpoints. On one side you have those who feel gun control is a necessary item for safety. Others feel that it is unjust to take away a person’s right to own a firearm. Those people also feel that gun control will not help stop crime either. Any way you look at it, guns have become one of the main causes of death in the United States. Firearms are first among young black men. This makes gun control an issue that must be taken care of. Gun control will not help, for it is the people that should be punished not everyone else. “The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” This says the people, not the militia, so it is unconstitutional to take away a person’s right to own a firearm. The Second Amendment of the U. S. Constitution states “all 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.” For over a hundred years this has been interpreted to mean that everyone has the right to own a gun, but lately many people have come to believe that it means the right of the militia or military to bear arms. The Amendment is really saying two things at once. In the first part it talks about maintaining a militia to protect the freedom of the country, but that has nothing to do with the second part. The second part specifically states “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” This says the people, not the militia, so it is unconstitutional to take away a person’s right to own a firearm. Another point often made by those for gun control is the safety of kids who find guns. The kids end up accidentally shooting themselves or others. This is true, but it has been proven that it is kids that are around guns are actually safer than those who are not. This way the kids know how to handle a gun safely, if they find one. They are less curious and are less likely to play with it then, because they have been around guns, and they know what to do when they come in contact with one. In a study done by an ABC News Station, the kids who shot the guns were the ones who were never around firearms. The kids who were around guns knew what to do and how to handle the gun (ABC). Along with kids’ safety, there is also people’s safety with guns because accidents do happen. Those for gun control say the safest gun is no gun. They feel it is better not to come in contact with guns at all. How can something be safe if you are not around it and do not understand it? If a person is not around guns they will have no knowledge of how to handle the firearm. No matter how much people don’t like guns, they will never be able to get rid of all the guns in the United States. There are over two hundred million firearms in the U.S. alone (Gun Control). No matter how much gun control there is, and there will always be guns in society. That is why it is better to teach people to use firearms properly; this will prevent accidents from happening, not gun control. It has also been stated that gun control reduces crime. Is that true? It has been founded that on average, countries with the most gun control have the higher crime rates (Kleck). If it is looked at objectively it can be easily seen. Those people who want guns can still get them illegally. This leaves the honest people defenseless against an attack (Tomlinson). Who is going to break into a house if the owner has a gun too? The answer: not many. It has been seen throughout different states. California has some of the strictest gun laws in the United States, and California also has one of the highest crime rates too (Kleck). The Midwest has a lower crime rate than the Midwest of Canada, even though Canada has stricter gun laws. It is also thought that the United States has the highest crime rate in the western hemisphere. That is not true. The highest crime rate actually belongs to countries like Jamaica and Mexico. Their crime rate, especially in murder, is almost twice that of the United States, and Jamaica and Mexico have virtually prohibited gun ownership by citizens (Kleck). Up to 1981, Britain had one of the lowest crime rates involving guns in the world, but that year they started gun control. That gun control limited the access almost completely to handguns, and assault weapons. From 1981 to 1992 their crime rose almost 200 percent (Kleck).On the other hand Switzerland, they have one of the lowest crime rates in Europe, and Switzerland has laws that make every man age eighteen to fifty-six own an assault rifle. Men that age, are forced to serve in the military. The Swiss government makes them keep a rifle at home so they will practice with it and know how to use and handle it the right way. Their owning assault rifles are what keep the crime rate low. Imagine breaking into a house when it is a fact that the man owns an assault rifle; it would be kind of scary trying to break in (Tomlinson). Doesn’t this show people something? How does gun control help? The countries that do the best are the ones who punish the criminals. The best way for the United States to fight crime is to increase the punishment of convicted criminals. Make the people not want to commit the crime for fear of the punishment they’ll receive. No matter how much gun control there is, these criminals will always be able to find a gun to commit their crimes whether it be murder, rape, robbery, or assault. There are just too many guns on the streets to be able to get rid of all the firearms. It can already be seen that the crime rate is rising; gun control is not doing its job, so there needs to be a new approach to fighting crime. Gun control is unneeded and not the answer to our problems. Especially for what recently happened in Connecticut 12 innocent children and teachers lost their lives with no explanation for why it happened like the shooting in the Columbine School in Colorado. (telegraph.co,uk) More gun control or putting limits on how many bullets to a clip is not going to stop crime “people kill people” not just guns alone. “The right to the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Bibliography
ABC News, A. c. (1997, November 6). "Kids and Guns".
ABC News, A. C. (1997, November 6). "Kids and Guns". Denver.
Dye, T. (1969). American Government. In T. Dye, Theory, Structure, and Process. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing. encyclopedia, G. M. (1995). "Gun Control". Connecticut.
Guterl, F. (1996). Gunslinging in America. Discover.
Kleck. (1997, November 10). Point Blank. Retrieved from Research paper.com http://nfa.ca/research/observations/chapter/2/4.html.
Kleck, G. (1997). Defensive Gun Use is Common. san diego: leono,bruno.
Penerson, D. (march 25, 1996). "Death in Dunblane". news week, 24-28.
Tomlinson, D. A. (1997, November 10). Research paper.com. Retrieved from http://yoda.sscl.uwo.cal/~eric/cfa/NFA/column. www.telegraph.co.uk 2009
Bibliography: ABC News, A. c. (1997, November 6). "Kids and Guns". ABC News, A. C. (1997, November 6). "Kids and Guns". Denver. Dye, T. (1969). American Government. In T. Dye, Theory, Structure, and Process. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing. encyclopedia, G. M. (1995). "Gun Control". Connecticut. Guterl, F. (1996). Gunslinging in America. Discover. Kleck. (1997, November 10). Point Blank. Retrieved from Research paper.com http://nfa.ca/research/observations/chapter/2/4.html. Kleck, G. (1997). Defensive Gun Use is Common. san diego: leono,bruno. Penerson, D. (march 25, 1996). "Death in Dunblane". news week, 24-28. Tomlinson, D. A. (1997, November 10). Research paper.com. Retrieved from http://yoda.sscl.uwo.cal/~eric/cfa/NFA/column. www.telegraph.co.uk 2009
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