Do We Need More Gun Control

Do We Need More Gun Control

            The problem of gun violence in America is viewed and supported from two sides. There are some people who feel that guns themselves are the problem and should be banned all together or should have more limited access to them, and others who feel like the laws are fine and that it is their right to own as many as they would like because the constitution states that it is their right to do so. This debate has been going on for some time because it is hard for everyone to agree on exactly what guns should be allowed to be owned. In this paper I plan to write about the possible causes of mass shootings and shed light on both sides of the argument in search of a solution that could satisfy the majority, if not all of Americans.

Smith, Aaron. “This Is How Easy It Is to Buy Guns in America.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 19 June 2015, money.cnn.com/2015/06/19/news/guns-background-checks/index.html.

This article discusses how easy it is to buy a gun in America despite how many mass shootings there have been. Smith talks about how people can go to their local Walmart and see many guns on display for sale, only having to do what seems like a simple background check. The background check consists of questions asking if the buyer is a felon, has a criminal record, if the person is on any drugs of any sort, or if they have ever been committed to a mental institution. After the background check the store then calls the FBI who then runs a background check on the person through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, also known as the NICS, which can take just minutes apparently. He also talks about gun shows are an easy loopholes for gun buyers, at gun shows buyers do not have provide any sort of paperwork or provide any reason/motive to why they want the weapon. The deal is strictly between the buyer and the seller.

I plan to use this source to get some sort of idea of how gun purchasing works in America. CNN is believed to be a very reliable source. They are more of a liberal news network so I assume that I would get more of an anti-gun approach from this source.

Carey, Benedict. “What Experts Know About People Who Commit Mass Shootings.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/health/mass-shootings-mental-health.html.

In this article the author Benedict Carey talks about we know about mass shooters. He talks a little about if one mass shooting can inspire another, if violent video games play a factor in the role of creating mass shooters, the link between mental health and mass shootings, and id drugging and confining people who show “red flags” prevent massacres. According to police mass shootings can encourage many more, they have found that shooters often mimic killing tactics and gestures as if they were paying homage to previous shooters. Studies have found that violent video games do cause a small change in mood to encourage aggressive behavior but these effects are very small. Video games are way more popular in Asian countries than in America and they experience way less shootings so this argument may not be that valid. Carey believes that mental illness barely plays a factor in the determining a reason for a mass shooting, he says this because he believes when a person does something such as kill innocent people, people are instantly assuming the person is “crazy”. The action itself is crazy, yes but the person the person could be different mentally. Carey says that no one for sure knows that drugging and confining suspicious is a good idea. You run the risk of profiling people when you take this approach, but you could also potentially save many lives this way also.

I plan to use this source on the side of the argument of how to stop mass shootings, the author provides multiple ways that could possibly help. The New York Times news is a very reliable source because they have been around since the 1800s. They are a very liberal news outlet so I can expect to get some strong anti-gun supporting facts from this article.

Cranley, Ellen. “How to Stop Shootings in America: 10 Strategies Proposed to Stop Gun Violence, and How Likely They Are to Work.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 5 Aug. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/how-to-stop-gun-school-shooting-america-2018-11.

In this article Cranley writes about some solutions that could possibly stop gun violence and how likely that they would work. She talks about there being an assault weapons ban, high capacity magazine ban, and more. She says the assaults weapon ban is likely to work because, “The last federal ban on assault weapons was passed by Congress in 1994 to combat mass shootings, which fell significantly over the 10 years the law was in place.” (Cranley 2019). The law was not permanent only temporary so at the end of the ten years the guns were able to be produced and sold again. She also say that a large capacity magazine ban is likely to work also, because obviously with less rounds a suspect could injure more people.

This article could help me support the side of why and how Americans can have more gun control. It presents many possible solutions that could counter a mass shooting.

Gramlich, John, and Katherine Schaeffer. “7 Facts about Guns in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 22 Oct. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/22/facts-about-guns-in-united-states/.

In this article two authors give seven facts about the ownership, knowledge, and laws of guns. It gives the statistics of gun ownership. Some of the facts are: many Americans agree gun laws should be stricter, protection being the top of the list of reasons most people own guns, there are some gun laws that republicans and democrats agree on, and more.

I can use this source to support both sides of the argument on whether there should be more guns or less. Ultimately I think this source will support the side saying that gun laws are fine.

“Since 1982, 74 Percent Of Mass Shooters Obtained Their Guns Legally.” KUNC, 13 Aug. 2019, www.kunc.org/post/1982-74-percent-mass-shooters-obtained-their-guns-legally#stream/0.

In this article, it shows how the weapon used in the mass shootings from 1982 to 2019 were acquired. In most cases the weapon was acquired legally and just used wrong. The other small percentage of the incidents the weapons were either illegally acquired, stolen from family members or friends, or built by themselves. In some cases we have not found out how some acquired the weapon at all.

I plan to use this source to support the side of the argument saying that gun laws are not strict enough. There is plenty of evidence here to support this statement, because it shows clearly that all guns used in mass shootings are not illegal weapons. KUNC is reliable because they link provide statements on how they base some of their information off of The Washington Times, which is a reliable source people use every day.

I believe all of the sources, if not most of the ones I have chosen are all legitimate and trustworthy. In my final paper I plan to add to the argument of needing more regulation over which guns that Americans can freely own. I do believe in the right to bear arms, but I do not think that when that law was written it was intended for AR-15s and AK-47s. I am a little bit more on the side of guns being alright but I also think there should be a few more limits. My argument would fit on likely both sides on the problem.