My essay

Gun Control By: Yasmin Umar Guns don’t kill people- People Kill people. Or at Least that’s what the National Rifle Association says (N.R.A) says. But I’m not entirely sure if that’s true. According to the FBI, there were 17,000 homicides in the USA alone. And aproximentally 68% of homicides are committed with firearms. That means there are about 11,600 homicides by firearms per year in the US, or about 32 per day. This statistic doesn’t include the 75,000 non-fatal shootings per year, and 17,000 self inflicted suicides. You can do the math, that’s an estimate of 284 deaths per day in the United States. It doesn’t take a genius to purchase a gun, in fact Gun laws in the United States regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition. And as for age, you can purchase a BB gun at 16, 18 for a shot gun or riffle, and 21 for a hand gun. So it’s not that difficult for a psychopath, minor, or someone with a mental illness to get their hands on a gun. My thesis is, based on these statistics and anecdotal evidence I believe that if guns are readily available that crime will go down. Today, I’m here to tell you about why I’m oppose to guns. Although the right to own a gun is secured by the 2nd constitutional amendment, prohibiting guns would provide a safer environment. My three arguments on my I’m opposed to guns are; 1. In countries like Japan, Canada, Sweden and Australia less than 300 people are killed with guns annually. By having stricter gun laws, less violence occurs. Second, In a moment of anger, there is a likely chance that someone would purchase a gun. If this person has no previous criminal history, they can purchase a gun at a low fee, from a Walmart or pawn shop. Finally, recently guns have gotten into the hands of minors, providing a unsafe environment, and killing innocent lives. Let me delve deeper into my 3 reasons on why guns should be illegal. My first argument, is crime rate in the countries that have ban riffles, have a lower crime rate. For example, in 2011 598 homicides in total occurred in Canada. In total, stabbings accounted for 35 per cent of homicides, firearms for 27 per cent, beatings for 22 per cent and strangulation for seven per cent. And most commonly in Canada, shootings are gang related, rather than someone intentionally wanting to kill. I believe, guns lead to increase violent, and in general if they weren’t that accessible it would be more difficult for people to purchase them. By having a more lenient law on guns, every american citizen has a 2.6% chance of being killed over the course of their lifetime by a firearm. Secondly, having guns around the house creates the opportunity for lethal violence. In fact, Firearms are the third leading cause of death among young people. Recently, guns and gun control have come up in the news due to the fact of the overwhelming amount of children accidentally shooting someone. On May.9th, a texas boy, 5, fatally shot his brother, 7, with rifle as they played in the bath. Exactly a week before, a 5-year-old Kentucky boy shot his 2-year-old sister, to death. These are just the many examples of the violence occurring daily in the United states. And while every week more innocent lives are lost, millions of Americans still support and own guns. In fact 270,000,000 people in America own guns to this day. These include families with young children, and teens. The owners of guns assume that their children will know not to play with guns, and the dangers that come with it. But at 5,6 you can’t possibly understand the permanence of shooting someone, and the consequences that come with it. And with social media and television glamorizing guns, and the use of it, which tends to influence a child to play with one. So it’s understandable that young children, believe that it’s alright to use a gun. They believe ‘cause if bugs bunny gets shot and survives, why can’t they? My final argument is in a true moment of anger, there is a probable chance that many people would shoot someone, if they had access to a gun. And while they may regret it later- in the heat of a moment they may not be thinking clearly. If there wasn’t guns, people would need to find another way to deal with their situation. And since other methods of violence are rare in the United States, odds are they wouldn’t do anything violent and would forget about their issue. Some people in the US, have the mentality that even if you put in stricter gun control criminals will still find a way to access them, but so many shootings have occurred that didn’t happen by known criminals, and people without a prior criminal history. If we look at the Columbine Massacre, Sandy Hook Massacre, and Colorado Massacre, none of these individuals has a record, nor did they ever commit a crime. By banning guns, not only would it be more difficult for a criminal to access guns, but it would be more difficult for people to purchase guns in a heat of the moment. To conclude my paragraph, gun control is a highly controversial topic with a long list of pros and cons, but in conclusion I believe that guns should be ban from sale. And the evidence that support that is overwhelming: Countries that don’t allow guns have a lower crime rate, banning guns will prevent them from getting into the hands of young children and finally that in the heat of the moment someone could get their hands on a gun, who don’t have a criminal history. And based on these statistics and anecdotal evidence I believe that if guns are readily available that crime will go down. If Americans want to stop crime rate and want to stop innocent lives from being lost, maybe they should reconsider if they really need a weapon.