Argumentative Essay On Gun Control

Contrary to popular belief, gun related violence is not one of the main causes of death in the United States. In fact, gun violence does not appear in the top ten leading causes of death. Nonetheless, gun violence is still a major problem in the U.S., and one that could be reduced with a fair bit of concern and better decision making. In 2014, the United States had a population of roughly 319 million people. A recent study revealed that an estimated 55 million American citizens are gun owners (Jervis). Based on production data from firearm manufacturers, there were roughly 371 million firearms owned by private citizens and domestic law enforcement in the United States in 2014. Of these, about 146 million were handguns (Agresti & Smith). This

There are now more guns than there are people in the U.S., and the manufacture rate is not slowing down but in turn speeding up. Gun control is at an all-time low in the United States, with guns being stolen, ending up in the wrong hands, and being fired on poor judgement. It has been argued that there could be a tighter strain on gun control, by background checks for all gun sales, the prohibition of guns, mental health treatment, etc. On the other hand, it seems America’s only hope now is to tighten up on gun laws, in which case perhaps first time offenders would serve a rigid prison sentence for owning an illegal firearm, or making it harder for individuals to obtain one. This change would invariably decrease gun violence and would improve the American society as a

Those shootings are often made by civilians with guns. A 1980s poster reads as followed: “Last year, Handguns killed 48 people in Japan. 8 in Great Britain. 34 in Switzerland. 52 in Canada. 58 in Israel. 21 in Sweden. 42 in West Germany. 10,728 in the United States. God Bless America. Stop Handguns Before They Stop You” (God Bless America). According to Gun Violence Archive, 13,286 people were killed in the U.S. by firearms just last year, a percentage increase of 23.8% within the last 40 years. There are a vast number of firearms in the U.S., and it’s possible that the government may have lost the ability to control which characters wound up possessing a gun, due to the reality that there are several ways to acquire one, and the disturbing fact that it is not so difficult. Guns can be purchased at chain stores (e.g. Walmart), regular retail stores, gun stores, and on the black market. On the aforementioned grounds, gun laws could be the only cause for help and could undoubtedly decrease the number of deaths. In the state of Illinois, lies one of the biggest cities in the U.S., Chicago. Chicago is also ranked among the U.S. cities which have the highest gun violence, and shockingly has one of the most strict gun laws. A case can be argued that having strict gun laws increases gun related violence; or that restrictive gun laws are ineffective. On the contrary, it screams the need for more widespread laws. So