Imagine sitting in a classroom laughing at a joke your friend made, or planning on going to the movies after school, or even listening to someone’s persuasive speech essay. When suddenly someone bursts through the door with an automatic weapon in hand. You and your friends run and hide in the corner of the classroom, you are all afraid that you will never be able to see the faces of your friends, teachers, or family members ever again. How could something like this happen you may ask? It happens often because of how lenient gun laws are in America and something needs to change. To drink legally in most places in America you have to be 21 years old and have your ID present. However, to purchase a gun you only have to be 18. There is more control over underage drinking than owning a gun in America. Why is this normal? This is all due to the second amendment of the US constitution. According to this amendment, everyone has the right to …show more content…
Everyone here would probably be thinking that guns are more difficult to purchase then cars right? In fact, it’s the exact opposite. To get a car, you must first get a license, get car insurance, buy the actual car, get all the paperwork done, and finally register the car. Without including the training to get a license, this procedure can take over a month. However, to purchase a gun you need to go over to the nearest Walmart, answer some questions, and wait a couple of minutes to let the gun dealer make sure you haven’t committed any felonies and Voila! You are now the proud owner of a brand new semi-automatic assault rifle... If you have never committed a crime then the process to purchase a gun would take a maximum of ten minutes. This is way too easy of a process to purchase a gun, and there definitely needs to tighter regulations to earn the ability to kill
You do not need to register, obtain a permit to carry or purchase, a rifle or shotgun in Florida. ("Florida Gun Laws"). This is absolutely ludicrous to be able to buy a gun this easily. More common sense gun laws should be implemented to reduce gun violence. Daniel Webster Professor of Health and Policy Management at John Hopkins University suggested making data on gun sellers safety records publicly available.
Increasing the waiting period to purchase a gun gives the seller ore time to check the background of the buyer and for angry people to calm
If it’s purchasing one in person or online, it’s basically being handed to anyone. The legal age drinking age is 21 years of age. The legal age to purchase a firearm is 18 years old, even without a license or permit. There are more casualties with a person behind a firearm than a person intoxicated behind the wheel of a vehicle. 1% of 29 million gun crimes were legal intervention.
Every state has different laws on registering firearms, but the federal law actually prohibits National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Which means the states must decide on what laws they think are right. For example, Georgia does not require registration if you are a citizen unless they are characterized as a dangerous weapon. Dangerous weapons can be any type of machine gun. When in the United States you are not able to purchase or own a gun if you have: convicted of crimes and held in prison for over one year, abused narcotics, hiding from justice, illegal aliens, has been renounced of their citizenship, been discharged from the military, under the age of 18, under 21 that is trying to purchase a firearm other than a rifle or shotgun, and convicted of violence or
Mass shootings like the one that happened not too long ago in Vegas are not common to very many countries outside of the U.S. In fact japan has has zero mass shootings since the year 2000. Most of the threats to the United States are a lot different from the threats they faced in 1789 when the second amendment was written, and Americans were given the right to bear arms. The right itself has become the actual threat. No longer are guns being used to protect the citizens of this nation from the british, and any other country or place for that matter, but the second amendment has become the right to take lives.
With irresponsible gun owners and weak gun restrictions, the likelihood of an undiagnosed psychopath to purchase an automatic rifle and unload it on a public audience skyrockets. My proof of gun control’s effectiveness lies in the Pacific Ocean: Australia. Ever since their first major shooting, they refused to sell any more guns and offered a buyback to each citizen; ever since this law was put into place in 1996 after the Port Arthur incident, their collective death toll from massacres never reached anywhere close to our annual amount. Those who believe a black market will still dominate need to consider the real issue at stake here: the government is legally distributing them with a rather simple set of tasks to
The US should take some regulations other countries use into consideration. For example, Japan has some of the lowest death by firearm rates in the entire world. They have very strict regulations that limit people from even purchasing powerful firearms. The New York Times writes, “Under Japan's firearm and sword law, the only guns permitted are shotguns, air guns, guns that have research or industrial purposes, or those used for competitions. However, before access to these specialty weapons is granted, one must obtain formal instruction and pass a battery of written, mental and drug tests and a rigorous background check.
I get that people hunt and like to shoot recreationally, but do an 18 year-old student or adult need the power to buy an assault rifle? The last point I’ll state is that our country should change the legal age to buy firearms. In 1984 Congress passed a law stating that the states raise the drinking age to 21 or lose 10% of federal highway funds. They did this, because scientist believed that at age 21 you’re body has finally reached its peak in growth, so Congress passes a law to protect its citizens’ health and well-being. So why not take this kind of action with gun control?
Maggie Qiu Academic Writing I - WRT 110 September 15, 2015 CRN:46572 Gun Laws in the United States In recent years, there has been a major push to tighten gun laws in the United States. Events like, the Sandy Hook and the Batman theatre shootings, have spurred Americans to question gun regulations and if owning a gun should even be allowed period. It also has made Americans more aware that they don't know who someone really is and what they are capable of and when tragedy will strike. Thus, the extra precautions installed now in schools.
Guns are not for anyone. Certain individuals cannot handle a firearms safely, and some individuals choose to use firearms inappropriately, our society has passed laws regulating the ownership and use of firearms, and more legislation is being considered. The minimum age to be able to use a gun is 18 years old or 21 years old, 18 or 21 years old is the minimum age to use a gun because you become an adult and become mature, teens are not that mature to own a firearm, we must first understand why gun control was added to the amendment, the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution 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
Whether you like guns or you hate them, you must understand that the ownership of firearms is a right; A RIGHT…NOT a privilege. You must understand that America is a republic, NOT a democracy. That means that our rights cannot be changed or ended by a vote. ““The Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.” – Samuel Adams” It is your right (as protected by the first amendment) to oppose the 2nd amendment.
In recent years, gun control has become a prevalent topic in America. Americans have always had guns. Historians often say that men with guns on their backs founded this country. State laws once required men to own guns, and several colonies required that an able bodied man from each household should own a gun. A law passed in Connecticut in 1643 stated "at least one adult man in every house to carry a gun to church or other public meetings" mostly for protection and to protect the others in that area.
What these gaps in gun control mean is that purchasers of firearms who commit violent crimes have probably done so legally. Each year more guns are produced and purchased and more individuals go unchecked as they arm themselves for that point in the future where they will decide to use their destructive arms. It is estimated that over 300 million firearms are in possession of private US citizens, that is roughly one firearm per American (Horsley, 2016). This buildup in ownership only increases the probability of more firearms being sold off both legally and illegally to individuals with varying rages of motives, emotional states and situations that can combine into disastrous events such as those at Sandy Hook Elementary, Virginia Tech University
This will help keep the mentally imbalanced out of harm's way. Finally, the waiting period on purchased firearms should be extended to approximately a week. Four extra days should help cut down the number of people who “slip through the cracks” do to lack of processing. Gun control in America needs to be resolved. People need to have the ability to enjoy walking down the street without fear of being shot by people who should not even own a gun.
Ever since the inception of this country 240 years ago, guns have been an integral part of the American identity; a sense of lawlessness, individualism, personal autonomy and freedom. They were the tools that liberated us, and gave us independence over a tyrannical, unrepresentative empire. However, in more recent years, these tools have been used more and more frequently in mass shootings, some of which are occurring at schools, targeting teachers and children. Since the infamous shooting at Columbine High School 19 years ago, we have had several shootings at schools, and we tend to get “thoughts and prayers”, a gesture with good intentions, but little actual progress made. This problem can be contributed to the increasing power of guns, and a lack of mental health coverage, gun