Persuasive Essay On Gun Violence

Guns are objects given power and necessity by people who are scared, people who are cowards. The amount of gun violence present in our society today is appalling. In a society such as this, it is amazing for anyone to be able to feel safe here even though anyone they pass on the street could be armed. The Constitution established by our founding fathers grants the American people the right to bear arms. This right was given to our country in order to make us feel safe and give us the ability to protect ourselves and our families from criminals. Mass amounts of shootings, such as we have seen increase over the past century, compromise this American right, and the beautiful portrait of America’s ideal society our founding fathers dreamed of has

Sarah Brady addressed the Democratic National Convention meeting in August 1996, stating that every year nearly forty thousand Americans were killed with firearms and every two hours another child dies from gun violence (DeConde). This was when Clinton was running for office, and other then recruiting Mrs. Brady to rile up the Democrats, and passing a couple of minor laws, not much else was able to be accomplished in regards to the violence of guns. During the Clinton administration, a lot of the blame for the school shootings was placed on the entertainment industry (DeConde). With all of the new violent videogames kids were playing and the movies they were watching, it was assumed that they were the catalyst for the rise in gun violence. Clinton did, however try to make some significant strides in ending these killing sprees. He increased prison sentences for felons committing a crime with a gun, passed a bill allowing lawbreaking kids to be treated as adults, and prohibited gun sales to anyone who had committed a violent crime as a child (DeConde). These strides took the legislation in the right direction, however, it never fully reached the laws our nation needed to stop the

Having regulations for each individual state has the potential for terrible things. A gun can be smuggled across state boarders and if it is illegal in one state, it is easy to go to another to purchase it. Background checks should be required no matter where you by a gun, even at gun shows. All weapons must be registered in the United States, because as of now, there are no laws preventing anyone from going to another country and bringing firearms back. In addition, it should be illegal to have a gun in a public place, because schools are not the only targets. Think of it this way: it is illegal to yell “Fire” in a public place, so it should also be illegal to have a firearm in public. Lastly, guns that are military grade, such as snipers, automatics and machine guns, should not belong to anyone, there is no need for such heavy artillery. A world with stronger restrictions on guns and a more careful process of distribution, will be a safer place for everyone. Hopefully those in charge of our country can realize the severity of the crisis at hand and pass legislation to end this evil. Over the past sixteen year, there have been over two-hundred and sixty five school shootings in the United States (Roberts). This alarming average of almost seventeen school shootings a year since the spring of 1999, should be enough to warrant a claim for some serious gun regulations in