Fighting for Gun Control
We, as part of a free country, naturally abhor violence. It is a factor that has risen and fallen over the years. In today's society, guns have become common weapons used in violent situations. They are an escalating problem that are only leading to more deaths over the years. However, Americans generally believe that gun control cannot do much to reduce these high levels of deaths. Many serious scholars have already accepted the argument that the huge number of guns already in circulation would make any gun control laws ineffective. But in the past few years, new research has demonstrated that some gun control laws do work, drastically reducing murder rates. I believe that even a small change for the better is reason enough to implement new gun control laws into our society, not only on a statewide level, but nationwide.Gun violence is a plague of such major proportions that its destructive power is rivaled only by wars and epidemics. During the Vietnam War, more than twice as many Americans were shot to death in the United States as died in combat in Vietnam. Besides the 34,000 Americans killed by guns each year, more than 60,000 are injured-many seriously-and about a quarter of a million A
In 1980 to 1986, a study took place in Seattle and Vancouver, comparing the number of aggravated assaults by weapon. Remarkably, these two cities were very much alike in many ways. They had populations nearly identical in size and the racial and ethnic makeup in both cities were very similar. As expected, burglary rates in both cities were also nearly identical. However, the rate of assaults with firearms was nearly 5 times higher in Seattle than the rate in Vancouver (McKenna 169). What could be the cause of such a dramatic contrast between two states that were very similar at the time? The one major difference between the two cities was their use of gun laws. People in Seattle may purchase a handgun for any reason after a five-day waiting period. Forty-one percent of all households have handguns. Vancouver, on the other hand, requires a permit for handgun purchases and issues them only to applicants who have a lawful reason to own a handgun and do not have a criminal record. Also, self-defense is not a valid reason to own a handgun. The penalty for illegal possession is severe-two years' imprisonment. Handguns are present in only twelve percent of households (McKenna 170). This is only one example that expresses the need for gun laws to become more strict. In conclusion, the standing argument is whether or not to have stricter gun laws. Although both sides may ar
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Approximate Word count = 937
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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