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Gun Control

Gun Control

Javier Escobar

University of Texas at El Paso

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 Gun control such a broad term that covers a lot of topics but what does it mean? We hear

it on the news on social media and a lot at school, but what is it? And why do we want laws to

make it stricter? According to Perez-Pena, R Gun control is a broad term that covers any sort of

restriction on what kinds of firearms can be sold and bought, who can possess or sell them,

where and how they can be stored or carried, what duties a seller has to vet a buyer, and what

obligations both the buyer and the seller have to report transactions to the government. (2015,

October 7 page 1) the term gun control is also used when discussing what attachments can be

used in certain firearms as well as the ammunition capacity in a magazine but in recent years the

debates on this topic have mainly focused on background checks for gun buyers, open carry, and

even if Americans should be allowed to own assault rifles or not, it is unconstitutional do carry

out such laws .

Although there are many people fighting for stricter gun laws we have learned time and

time again why that wouldnt work some even argue that our second amendment should be

repealed because our founding fathers never thought of a person owning a AR 15 assault rifle

because at the time it was written all they had were muskets so calming the constitution is

basically outdated. Other arguments include claims like guns are rarely used in self-defense,

more gun control leads to fewer suicides, the presence of a gun makes a conflict more likely to

become violent, and even countries with restrictive gun control laws have lower gun homicides

and suicide rates than the united states.

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Although some of these arguments may seem reasonable and maybe sound like they

could work we have been shown time and time again that more gun control is not the answer. For

example, right across the border in Mexico we have seen some of the most violent crimes

imaginable with cartels fighting for territory to smuggle drugs across the border to the united

states. Despite its strict gun laws and not to mention being one of the citys that border the united

states Juarez with its 1.3 million people population was known as the worlds most dangerous

city from 2008 all the way to 2012.

From these numbers, we can see people will always find a way to get access to guns

when theres a will theres a way so what good would it do to strip law abiding citizens of their

guns and protection? The United States has the highest gun ownership in the world with about 89

guns per 100 Americans thats almost 90 percent. There are states that have really strict gun laws

but also have the highest firearm murders a perfect example of this would be California with all

its gun laws and restrictions already in affect one would assume their crime due to firearms

would be significantly lower than those of a state with very lenient gun laws like Arizona, in

2016 there were a total of 1,220 firearm murders in California compare that to the 222 firearm

murders that occurred in Arizona that same year. From these numbers alone we can see that all

the gun laws are doing is giving criminals the upper hand.

We have all seen the tragedies that have happened across the united states as well as

around the world from the mass shooting in san Bernardino to the 2016 Orlando shooting at the

gay club pulse. Now president Obama had been calling for more gun control even before the

shooting in Orlando, but what would that have prevented? This goes to prove that no matter
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where if a person has intentions to hurt other human beings they will find a way to do so.

Imagine being stripped from your protection, your families protection, all because people

without proper training believe guns are bad.

Another county that has shown us how little affect gun control has is the UK. In 1997

they passed the firearms act which made almost a total ban on handguns as well as many

shotguns. But even after the gun confiscation law was passed homicide rates were going up.

Making my point again simply giving criminals the upper hand, cops cant be everywhere to stop

a crime they usually show up after its over.

We are Americans and its our right living in this country to bear arms. To protect

ourselves, our families, and our possessions that we have worked so hard to obtain. Because of

the actions of bad people and criminals that got their hands on a firearm one way or another a

whole county shouldnt be striped of that right. If you have a family and a burglar breaks into

your home, some people dont have security alarms even if you do manage to call the cops the

intruder is already inside. By the time police respond and arrive to the address the number of

things that could of happen in that time are endless.

Guns in school campuses are also a sensitive subject when talking about gun control.

People are usually never in the middle they either agree with it or strongly disagree. Some

peoples argument is that someone could get shot in an argument and a school shooting is more

likely to happen. But lets break this down school shooting have happen in gun free zone

campuses, if a person decides to do such act a sign isnt going to change their mind theyre not
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going to think oh its a gun free zone so I cant take my gun and do what I want . If I put a sign

outside my house

that states do not break in its not going to stop someone with the intentions to break in hurt me or

take my possessions. We are not worried about students that take a firearm to school when they

are told its ok. Because they are aware danger is everywhere and if a shooting was to happen

they could eliminate the threat potentially saving many lives in such event. We worry about the

people that will bring a gun to school without proper credentials and intentions to hurt other

people but whether or not the campus is gun free they will do it making it a gun free zone is only

making the rest of the students nothing but targets.

So, where do we stand on gun control today? There are many restrictions as far as who

can and cant own a firearm. Some of the people who are not allowed to possess a firearm

include but are not limited to those with criminal records, immigrants without proper legal status,

those with mental illnesses, veterans who were separated dishonorably as well as drug addicts.

As far as open carry most states will allow a person to do so without licensing or permit as long

as the gun belongs to them and some states even allow conceal carry without permits of any kind

to do so. But if a permit is required most states will grant one to any person with a license to

legally own a gun.

So where does the need for strict gun laws come into play? With so much danger and

threats all around us why would we want to vote against our means of protection. Americans

have the right and advantage of being armed unlike the citizens of other
countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.

James Madison a great quote by one of

our founding fathers. Theres another quote from a well-known man I

remember it goes in order to conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens

(Adolf Hitler 1933)

We are free people and our rights are protected by the constitution.

The same constitution that too many men and women have risked their lives

so the rest of us can live ours. Those husbands, fathers, sons and daughters

that have put their life on the line did it knowing how lucky they were to be

part of this great free nation. And while some paid the ultimate sacrifice they

did it so we could go to bed each and every night as fee men and women.

Let them not die in vain and let us keep up guns and rifles because its our

right , we live in America land of the free because of the brave and its our

right as such to own firearms and conceal carry its not dangerous is

American enjoy it .
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References

Bandler, A. (2016, July 28). 7 facts on gun crime that show gun control doesn't work. The Daly

wire. Retrieved from http://www.dailywire.com/news/7872/7-facts-gun-crime-show-

gun-control-doesnt-work-aaron-bandler
The author of this article has been a part of the daily wire writing about national news as
well as politics since September 2011.he has a Journalism degree as well as an Economics minor.in
the article the author gives several facts on why gun control doesnt help reduce crime as many believe it
does, he does so by giving stats on cities as well as countries that have tried this for example Britain and
he even includes a graph showing how the homicide rate went up after the ban of handguns. This helps
my research because it helps show the reader that even though there may be some arguments saying we
need more strict gun laws striping law abiding citizens of them will not reduce crime rates.

Fargo, R. (2015, December 2). Gun control is not the answer: Opposing view. USA

Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/12/02/san-

bernardino-gun-control-thetruthaboutgunscom-editorials-debates/76700270/
The author of this article has been writing articles for truthaboutguns.com since February
2010. In the article the reader really shows what side of gun control hes on he lets the
 reader know how he really feels and gives good reasons for it although its really biased
this article could help my research by persuading the reader to see that gun control wont
help to stop violent crimes.

Gillespie, N. (2016, June 13). Gun control isnt the answer. The daily Beast. Retrieved from

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/14/gun-control-isn-t-the-answer.html
The author of this article is the editor of Reason.com and Reason.tv he was also the editor
in chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008 and while under his direction Reason won the 2005
Western Publications Association "Maggie" Award for Best Political Magazine. In the article above
the writer manly talks about one incident the recent shooting that went on in the Orlandos gay
nightclub Pulse he gives a short background on the shooter and tells how people that knew him first
hand would describe him he talks a little about politics and makes the point that putting a gun
ban will not stop a will stop a jihadist bent on a suicide mission. This article also supports my
research because it backs up law abiding citizens on wanting to protect themselves against
unpredictable attacks.

Perez-Pena, R. (2015, October 7). Gun Control Explained. New York Times. Retrieved from

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/07/us/gun-control-explained.html?_r=0
The writer of this article has been a part of The Times since 1992, and has covered a
number of stories in several different topics to include but not limited to education,
politics, government, and even health care. In this article the author gives basic
information to the readers on gun control explaining what it is what law enforcement
authorities stand on the subject and even gives some reasons on why people are for and
against it. This helps my research because it gives a lot of basic information the reader
might want to know if its his or hers first time reading up on the subject.

Wilson, J. Q. (2007, April 20). Gun control isn't the answer. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from

http://www.latimes.com/la-oe-wilson20apr20-story.html
The author of the article above taught at Harvard University as well as UCLA. He as also
written several books but one of his most knows ones is "Thinking About Crime." In the article
the writer talks about several things he talks about the Virginia tech shooting and mentions how
other countries and how they have made false claims regarding our gun control laws.

Picture References

Crowder, S. (2013). Image 1. Retrieved from http://louderwithcrowder.com/2nd-

amendment-liberal-version/

Jones, M. (2013). Image 2 Retried from

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/31/the-true-meaning-

of-the-second-amendment.html