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Gun control literature review
Mass shootings and mental illness essay
Gun control literature review
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“It is estimated that there are 310 million non – military guns in America” (O’Brien and Stanton). Many people that own a firearm usually have more than one gun. Also, a majority of gun owners feel that owning a firearm is the best way to protect themselves at home. With the large number of guns said to be in America, there needs to be a way to prevent the number of frequently occurring mass shootings. The solution to this issue is called gun control. Gun control needs to be implied more in our society because gun related crimes are mostly committed by those diagnosed with mental illnesses, there is no contradiction with the second amendment, it has the ability to lower the amount of mass shootings in the United States, and universal background checks help prevent mass shootings. Many shootings sere committed by those diagnosed with a mental illness. “Laws cannot regulate responses to emotions, mental illnesses, or past events that foster the concepts and motivations of a killer” (O’Brien and Stanton). What causes these laws to not regulate certain people is that they have a certain mental illness or emotion. Laws cannot regulate the internal emotional force. Laws can only imply to those who are capable of understanding and complying with them. “Emotionally unsound people who wish to find weapons will find weapons through any means necessary” (O’Brien and Stanton). A person who happens to have a certain mental illness may not realize that what they are doing is wrong. Usually the mentally ill find their weapons through taking them from their family members or from purchases that they have made. People that have a mental illness or are on a medication are just one reason why gun control needs to be implied more. A person that hap... ... middle of paper ... ...egistered guns in the United States will decline and the number of mass shootings will also decline. Works Cited Bash, Dana. "Leading Senate Talks Falling Short of Universal Background Checks." CNN.com. Cable News Network. 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Hamilton, Matthew. "Gun Maker Will Limit Sales in Protest of California Law." New York Times. 24 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. O'Brien, Dan and Betty Stanton. "Gun Control: Exploring the Issues." Inside Homeland Security. 2013: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. “Statement of Senator David Vitter As He Introduces A Bill to Help Protect against the United Nations Interfering with Second Amendment Rights in the United States.” Gun Control: Restricting Rights or Protecting People? Detroit: Gale, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.
Fields, Gary. "New Washington Gun Rules Shift Constitutional Debate." Wall Street Journal. 17 May. 2010: A. 1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Richman, Sheldon. "The Seen and Unseen in Gun Control." The Freeman 1 Oct 1998: 610-611
“Gun Control.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints In context. Web. 15 Sep 2013.
“Guns don’t kill people, people do.” This is a well known statement that is oftentimes considered true. However, it is not completely true. Someone who is mentally ill may be unable to make logical decisions and the perception they receive of reality may be tainted by the illness. Gun laws pertaining to those suffering mental illnesses should be more restrictive. Weapons such as guns make committing an act of violence, especially when there are multiple victims, much easier. It is difficult to assess the probability of a person to commit a violent act that harms anyone including himself/herself. Therefore, gun laws need be monitored very closely and made more consistent throughout each state in order to prevent violence that could occur in the future. To make any system effective, every state must have the same laws and regulations, as it is easy for a person to travel to a state more lenient on gun control and purchase a gun from a store that will sell firearms more openly.
The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms, but only in cases of self-defense and hunting for food. However, the use of guns has drastically changed since 1791 when the amendment was implemented. Today, guns are not solely used in their intended ways. Since 2010, over eighty-seven school shootings have occurred within American grade schools, high schools, and universities, resulting in approximately 107 injuries and 109 murders of innocent students. The two most deadly shootings in the world occurred in the United States: the Virginia Tech University Massacre which left thirty-two dead and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which left twenty-eight dead. Each new shooting prompts a debate about gun control laws and leaves citizens wondering about the accessibility of guns; any United States citizen over the age of twenty-one that does not have any previous felonies is able to easily receive a gun license. Forty-nine out of the sixty-one school shootings that occurred between 1982 and 2012 legally obtained firearms. The statistics become even more outstanding: seventy nine percent of all shooters have been diagnosed with a mental illness or disability, including the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shooters, Seung-Hui Cho and Adam Lanza. Cho and Lanza were diagnosed with mental illnesses and disabilities, depression and autism, respectively. Even so, they were still able to acquire the guns they needed because extensive mental health background checks did not and still do not exist; Cho purchased his own weapon and Lanza stole his mother’s guns. Although the case studies of Lanza and Cho are only two out of the many school shootings, they should be considered prime examples to illustrate the necessity to add stri...
Johnson, Fawn. "The Silver Lining in the Gun-Control Defeat." National Journal. (2013): Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web 31 Oct. 2013
America is the most well armed nation in the world, with American citizens owning about 270 million of the world’s 875 million firearms (Marshall). Indeed, this is more than a quarter of the world’s registered firearms. The reason why Americans own so many guns is because of the Second Amendment, which states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (Rauch) This amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to have firearms. Since this amendment is relatively vague, it is up for interpretation, and is often used by gun advocates to argue for lenient gun laws. Hence, gun control is a frequently discussed controversial topic in American politics.
Wilson, H. (2007). Guns, gun control, and elections. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The right of all Americans to bear arms is a right the Founding Fathers held to equal importance as the Constitution itself. Gun control laws directly violate this right and therefore should not even be under consideration. Even if that issue is overlooked, gun control advocates state that in order to reduce firearm related violence, gun control laws must be implemented to remove the violence caused by firearms. Although this may seem reasonable, the consequences of such laws are ironically counterproductive; they exacerbate the problem instead of fixing it. Besides the fact that the American Constitution guarantees its citizens the right to bear arms, the idea of restricting gun ownership in order to reduce firearm-related violence would ultimately fail given the previous experiments of gun control in England and in numerous states.
have shown the firearm homicide and suicide rates in the US are several times higher than that of any other industrialized country” (Towers 2). The automatic reaction people have to mass shooting is talking about gun control and mental illness policies. Every time a mass shooting occurs both the people and the government go crazy trying to find a solution yet there is no solution. The United States needs to set up mental illness awareness programs to decrease the number of mass shootings.
The second amendment to the US Constitution shows that it is unconstitutional to have complete and total gun control. The second amendment states that “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” This means that it is the right of an American citizen, abiding by the constitution, has the right to bear arms. Currently, there are over three hundred and seven billion people residing as American citizens. Within the homes of these Americans, forty five percent have a registered gun in their household. As a diverse nation, there are many reasons why there are guns located within a household. Sixty percent stated the gun is used for protection against int...
Central in the arguments against gun control is its ability to restrict any citizen of the United States the right to own guns which is protected under the constitution. Specifically, due recognition is made to its connection to the 2nd Amendment wherein it seeks to protect the individual liberties of people. This facet also applies to gun ownership regardless of the original objective and intention. “The second amendment from the Bill of Rights grants private citizens the right to bear arms. Thus, people who stand firmly against gun control insist that no legislation, technically, should have the right to take away a citizen’s guns without first repealing the amendment in question” (Groberman 1). A good approach to consider in highlighting this part comes from depriving the citizen of his basic right on the basis of specific presumption that it would be used for violence or crim...
Gun control is an awfully big issue in the United States today. Many people in America don’t agree with the gun control laws that they have today. Gun control laws only take guns and freedom away from law-abiding citizens. Many citizens have their own reasons for owning a gun. Why would the government want to make it harder for people to own a gun? People that own guns aren’t very likely to be attacked by criminals. Owning a handgun is one of the best ways of protection when used correctly. The second amendment states “the right to bear arms”; does this grant everyone the right to own a gun? Gun control laws have not been proven to do anything for citizens. Gun control laws just make it harder for the good guy average Joe to own a gun. Gun control laws are not a good idea, and are taking part in the loss of our freedom that was given to us.
People who have mental health issues are allowed to purchase weapons and live in houses where there are guns readily available and not under a lock and key. Take a look at the recent Fort Hood shooting, where Ivan Lopez had been receiving mental health help after coming back from a four month tour in Iraq, and he shot eleven people, killing one. Lopez then killed himself, proving how unstable he was. Then there is Adam Lanza. He shot twenty children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He also shot six adults at the school and murdered his mother before he went to the school. Adam Lanza shot himself as well. James Holmes is another mass shooter that had seen three mental health professionals before he killed twelve people in a movie theatre in Colorado. If these people would not have been allowed to purchase guns or be in homes with guns, these shootings would have not been as likely to occur.
The Crux,. 'If You Believe In "Gun Control," This Is Probably Not For You... '. N.p., 2014. Web. 30 Oct.