Gun Violence And The Consequences

Many of us have heard many times, “Guns don’t kill people on their own, it takes a person to pull the trigger. ” Even if people find this statement to be true, guns are an issue that needs to be addressed. A gun is simply an easy tool that people can use and manipulate with hardly any thought. Many suggest taking away guns and promoting peace through government help while others think that the guns are what keep them safe. Situations arise everyday where people have witnessed, or know someone who has been effected by gun violence.

Sadly many of the cases result in death or severe injuries. Even though this is a very controversial topic, many people would agree with the fact that guns are an easy means to commit a crime. Guns in general are too easy for people to obtain and use for violent deviant acts. Not only are guns responsible for violent deaths, but a considerable amount of accidents take place every year do to improper equipment or even placing them in unsecure places. There needs to be better ways to regulate and control gun distribution around the world.

If not, people run the risks of witnessing these acts or even being part of them. Guns are a very touchy topic of discussion. The differing opinions dealing with the control of use can often lead to even bigger discussions of the reasons for owning them. In the forefront of the pro-guns argument is a feeling of self-defense. Being able to protect oneself in the event of an altercation with an armed individual is a very valuable piece to the freedoms given to citizens as members of the United States. Some feel as though if no one owns them, the problem is completely alleviated.

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There is a bit of debate surrounding both stances but for the most part it is understood that a complete eradication of arms is rather improbable. Last year, a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found more than 1. 7 million children live in homes with loaded and unlocked guns (momlogic). This, however, sparks multiple instances in the minds of those with the anti-gun mindset that having no guns at all would have caused no one to be injured and possibly given someone another chance to live.

In the case of children, there is no ability to distinguish what is harmless and what could potentially hurt them. When guns are brought into the picture, that mental incapacity seems to grow exponentially. In 2009 around fourteen million guns were sold in the United States legally. However there are about four hundred million guns owned legally in the United States. With that being said, thirty-five percent of American homes have at least one or more guns that are legally owned.

However, back in 2007 officials confiscated about seven hundred illegal guns from people and bought about five hundred and fifty six from many dealers through out the country. These facts alone show that there are a lot of guns in the states and measures are being taken to help lower the number of illegal guns. Guns are tools that have many issues and problems that follow them. Guns have been used in many untraceable murder cases, adult and child accidents, and even have been used as a means to hide the real evidence.

With respect to the child deaths, many of these could have been prevented. In July of 2008, it was reported in Jackson Mississippi, that a three year-old toddler fatally shot himself while finding a gun in his parents car while waiting in a gas station parking lot (momlogic). There has also been a case where a 10-year-old son of a New York City police officer died after shooting himself in the face with his father's loaded revolver. The boy found the weapon on a shelf in the basement while looking for a ball his mom had hidden (momlogic).

The Children's Defense Fund report on children and gun violence shows that the number of children and teenagers killed in one year dropped below 4000 for the first time since 1988. The number, 3792, equals just over 10 children every day (sbcoalition). Some may feel that these accidents are due to sheer chance and misfortune on behalf of the child. That may hold some bearing but in the case of how well these guns were hid from the children, the weight is greater. Sometimes the incident doesn’t involve children. Teens are often targets just as easily as children are for gun misuse. Sadly, they sometimes know what they are doing.

Whether they are showing off their dad’s new handgun to a friend and forgetting its loaded and blowing their friend’s head off or even playing “games” such as Russian Roulette, they usually have some idea what they are getting into in comparison to the younger aged kids. The overall national rate of child handgun homicide victims was 1. 20 per 100,000 (sbcoalition). Many people wonder if there is a way to fix these issues, sadly a way to resolve them hasn’t been put in to action yet. Even though there are no rules officially in effect, preventive measures are probably the best way to combat a problem as this.

To ensure that children don’t endanger themselves by what seems to the youthful eye to be a toy, guns should be required by owners to be stored in a gun safe if they have, or expect to ever have small children in their home at any time. This alone can effectively lower the number of these mournful incidents that we hear about in the news and media. Although none widely implemented, there are many ways that can fix these problems that have been overlooked. By taking all the guns that are being sold and making them subject to annual inspection, those who own guns will be forced to keep on their toes.

By having them inspected, it allows trained individuals to access the guns determine the uses and how often the gun is being used. Also harsher punishments could be implemented to keep people in line. By doing this, we are scaring people into making appropriate choices with their guns. A trade in program ran by the local authorities could also be a good way to keep tabs on guns. By offering people new guns if they trade in ones that are illegal, we gain the means to being able to conduct and make people subject to inspections.

Within the trade in program, there could also be an option to restore or give new serial numbers to “black-market” guns. This option would benefit those who wish to keep the same gun and will also give the authorities a way to identify what was once an unknown in the gun databases. Even though these are great ideas, there are always people who will say that it is not far and an unjust way of managing guns within the nation. One person might argue that these new ideas infringe upon their rights, specifically their right to own firearms.

What these people seem to overlook is that, their rights are still being honored. These ideas to regulate guns simply make people subject to inspection if they want to own them. In some cases, it even offers people guns. In some cases someone might also argue that their privacy is being taken away. People could consider guns private property and being forced to show them and have them inspected is in fact invasion of their privacy. With that statement being said, people have got to understand that by allowing their privacy to be invaded for solely that reason is in fact making their lives much safer.

There are always going to be those people who are going to argue that it takes away their dignity, but many would agree that giving up their dignity in respect to helping reduce gun violence is worth it. However, people can obtain them too easily. With this being said, people should focus on ways to let people keep their rights while at the same time, regulate how they are obtained and used. During a one-year study, researchers have found that about 88,649 people died due to a gun related incidents. People’s lives are valuable and deserved to be protected.

People have came up with numerous amounts of ideas as to regulate gun control but, non have really focused on concealed weapon license, extra education classes, or even finding ways to track people and their use of their gun. This is a very controversial subject and people have many different opinions that all are valid and relate to the topic as a whole. There are some arguments that people have as to their right, safety, and some even go as far to say altering their rights is taking away their dignity. ( this I stop and the rest of the info is information that needs to be placed in somewhere. )

References

http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/2amteach/SOURCES.HTM#TOC1

http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?cat=2&sub=32&rgn=35

http://www.ammoland.com/2009/09/04/1000000-guns-added-to-american-homes/

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/27/2/214

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2672531

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