Condori-Teves 1

Ema Condori-Teves

Professor Rogers

English 2010

15 April 2018

Gun Control Debate

An issue that is always heavily debated in politics in the United States is gun control.

Although there are a lot of components to this controversial topic, a key topic in the debate is

whether the United States Government should control who should be allowed to own firearms

along with controlling the manufacture and sale of firearms. The key topic is heavily debated

with whether or not this government control is constitutional or not because it will violate the

second amendment that was put in place with the founding of the country. The United States

Government should have the authority to restrict and regulate the manufacture and sale of

firearms. Across the United States, guns have become a major issue with many more school

shootings, mass murders, and accidental death cases caused by the use of firearms popping up in

headlines on the news every week, with gun control and reform these incidents can be prevented.

The use of firearms has been the cause of many tragic crimes and mass shootings in the

United States of America, if fact, compared to other first world countries, the United States is the

lead when discussing the amount of mass shooting that occur within the country. It is important

that gun control laws be considered to prevent these horrific and tragic incidents from occurring.

In June 2016, the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando resulted in what was then though to be the

highest death toll in a single mass shooting in recent United States history with a total of 49

fatalities, but then the October of 2017 mass shooting in Mesquite, Nevada claimed it’s spot as

the deadliest recent mass shooting in America with a death toll of 58 (CNN). In just 2017, there
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was a three percent increase in gun deaths recorded by federal agencies with the exclusion of

most suicides caused by guns. In injuries alone there has been a tally of 31,157 firearm injuries

recorded which increased two percent from the previous year before that. As of April 14th 2018,

so far there have been a total of 16,090 gun incidents with 4,072 deaths as a result of those and

7,172 injuries caused by the use of firearms (GVA). These numbers alone indicate that gun

violence is a growing issue within the United States and it is an issue that needs to be addressed,

and that some sort of action needs to ensue to address and prevent many of these violent crimes

that occur within the United States. With numbers of incidents recorded being this high gun

control laws become necessary for the prevention of gun violence and the increase of

government protection.

Although gun control has always heavily debated not only across the United States, but

other countries as well, it was really the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting that brought

the topic back front and center to be discussed and debated on in the United States. The Sandy

Hook shooting was the case that brought gun control back into the headlines of news articles and

brought gun reform policies into discussion among lawmakers and politicians in United States

Government. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting came across as such a shock to not

only American citizens, but to citizens of other countries as well as it made headlines globally

and many questioned what actions America would take next after such a tragic incident occurred.

The Sandy Hook shooting took place in December of 2012 killing 20 children ages six and seven

and 6 school staff members before the shooter committed suicide himself (CNN). In the

aftermath of the Sandy Hook incident, “non-gun owners expressed support for stricter gun laws”

(Aronow). The Sandy Hook shooting brought into discussion who was to blame and what should

be done to further prevent this and is was reflected across most all articles that something should
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be done or addressed towards gun control. In fact “after each shooting, references to Sandy Hook

have saturated public discourse. The ubiquitous phrase “since Sandy Hook” has become

shorthand for an apparently broken system that allows unfettered gun violence…here, as in other

places, Sandy Hook is rhetorically codified as the moment where the gun debate stalemated.

(Eckstein). It was not only the sandy hook incident that brought gun control into conversation

though, since Sandy Hook there have been many more reported school shootings and mass

shooting in general.

School shooting alone have caused for a major debate to arise concerning gun violence

and the regulation of it. With easy access to firearms and the lack of regulation and restrictions

on who can purchase firearms, innocent student’s lives have been taken from them as well as

many students psychological health that has been affected by the aftermath of mass school

shootings that have taken place in the United States rather frequently in these past recent years.

Britannica Encyclopedia states under their section of school shootings that “Although school

shootings occur worldwide, the United States has been the scene of the vast majority of the

attacks, especially since the late 20th century.” These occasions and many more support why it’s

important that gun control be considered across the United States. Reinforcing punishments for

illegal actions involving guns as well as reinforcing the security of firearm storage both at home

and in public spaces are actions that can be taken to prevent mass shooting (Chapman) especially

in public settings such as school.

Compared to many other developed countries, The United States stands out as the

country with much political debate and issues surrounding gun control. Although other countries

have also has issues with mass shootings and gun reform, they have taken action to make

regulations and reforms to prevent further incidents from occurring. The United States in
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particular though struggles more with finding a solution to the issue with many disagreeing with

the government having access to control firearm distribution to American citizens with the

Second Amendment still in place and strongly supported by many. In Australia in particular, they

faced the issue of mass shootings as well, in fact, in 18 years they had 13 mass shootings, but it

was the mass shooting in 1996 that really riled up the citizens and lead the government to take

precautionary action (Chapman). The firearm massacre in Tasmania in which 13 people died

lead Australian governments to unite and “remove semi‐automatic and pump‐action shotguns

and rifles from civilian possession” (Chapman). As a result, Australia experienced “more than a

decade free of fatal mass shootings, and accelerated declines in firearm deaths, particularly

suicides” (Chapman). Similar to Australia and around the same time, the United Kingdom put

together parallel gun reform laws as well as “required shotgun owners to register their weapons”

and holding a buyback program in which the government purchased guns and ammunition back

from their citizens (Weller). As a result they have seen a decrease in gun related deaths. Japan

itself has placed very strict laws for their citizens to obtain firearms. In japan, their citizens must

go through a vigorous and lengthy process that includes: taking all-day classes, passing a written

test, achieving at least a 95% accuracy in a shooting range test, having a mental health

evaluation, having a background check done, and finally retaking classes and exams every three

years in order to obtain a gun. As a result Japan has had more than 10 gun related deaths per year

(Weller). Looking at how other countries have handled gun control and seen success has really

encouraged the United States to bring gun control into political discussion and American citizens

to express their concern over reform that should be taking place to prevent further gun related

incidents and deaths.

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There are many contributing factors that would needs to be reconsidered with the reform

of gun laws, but none which violate the second amendment. The Public Health Approach article

compares the addition to regulation and additive laws made towards gun control is comparable to

those made towards motor vehicles to prevent motor accidents for cars and gun violence for

firearms. They first claimed that “data and research are crucial for highlighting the problem and

for targeting and evaluating interventions” and discussed some ways that data and research can

be improved throughout the United States, then they discussed some of these additive measures

that should be considered. For example, some regulation includes but is not limited to:

manufacturers producing guns with unique serial numbers that cannot be easily obliterated,

semiautomatic pistols having magazine safety locks to ensure that the firearm will not

accidentally fire when the clip is remove, require those who distribute guns have a background

check, and require that gun owners be licensed (Hemenway). Many Americans were in support

of these laws according to a nationally representative survey through the 2014 Cooperative

Congressional Election Study, for example one of their studies stated that 77% of Americans

favored universal background checks for gun ownership (Aronow). Although these laws have

not been put into place, they are highly mentioned and argued across many sources when

considering what gun control laws should be put into place and whether American citizens

support these laws or not.

Many would argue against gun control claiming that the restriction and regulation of gun

control would be a violation of the second amendment which states that American citizen have

the “right to bear arms”. The reality of the conversation of those who support gun control is that

the government won’t dissolve the second amendment by regulating and restricting guns, but

uphold to it while also preventing unwanted acts of violence and deaths caused by the use of
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guns and enforcing government protection among United States citizens through additive

measures necessary for gun ownership (Joslyn). With a large population in the United States that

supports the second amendment, that second amendment isn’t going to be taken away from

American citizens anytime soon. The majority of those against firearms have claimed is that

there be regulation placed under what process those who wish to obtain a gun must be. They

argue that there needs to be better background checks, mental health screenings, and classes for

those who wish to own a firearms so that it is ensured that gun owners are mentally stable and

knowledgeable to own that gun. It is also argued that the government should prohibit the sale of

high capacity magazines and track the movement and sale of firearms (DeGrazia). A new law is

argued to also include the requirement that non-licensed individuals selling guns have undergone

a proper background check by the NICS (Hemenway). These restrictions don’t necessarily take

away your “right to bear arms” as the second amendment states, instead these restrictions are

meant to prevent possible gun violence crimes from occurring protecting American citizens as

well as supporting their second amendment.

The United States in particular has had many issues surrounding gun control and the

debate around it has heavily increased with the increase of mass shooting and gun violence in the

United States. Many sources discuss and highlight the high numbers of deaths and mass shooting

within the United States and how these incidents are caused by the lack of regulation with guns

within the United States. The Sandy Hook shooting in particular was a major shock to not only

United States citizens but many news articles highlighted the topic of gun control in the United

States globally after such an incident occurred. This resulted in the political discussion of gin

reform laws and the debate to arise again in conversation across America. School shootings in

general have had a huge impact in the discussion surrounding gun control and reformation laws.
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Other developed countries whose governments have taken preventative measures to restrict guns

from their citizens have statistically seen a major decrease in gun related deaths which has really

pushed the United States to make some sort of reform to prevent the high number of gun related

deaths within the United States each year. Many articles agreed on the same preventative

measures that should be regulated under gun control laws with a majority of the population

agreeing with them. With gun control highlighted as controversial topic in America, it has been

debated whether gun reform would violate the second amendment for citizens to have the right to

bear arms and it has been discussed how many American support the second amendment and gun

reform laws, although debated to become stricter and more regulated would not take away the

right to bear arms from American citizens, making gun control laws necessary to decrease gun

related deaths.

Sources Cited

Aronow, Peter M, and Benjamin T Miller. “Policy Misperceptions and Support for Gun Control

Legislation.” The Lancet, vol. 387, no. 10015, 2016, p. 223., doi:10.1016/s0140-

6736(16)00042-8.

Belknap, Joanne, and Tanya Greathouse. “School Shooting.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 May 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/school-shooting

Chapman, S, et al. Injury Prevention, BMJ Group, Dec. 2006,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2704353/?_escaped_fragment_=po

CNN, “Deadliest Mass Shootings in Modern US History Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News

Network, 1 Apr. 2018, www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/us/20-deadliest-mass-shootings-in-u-s-

history-fast-facts/index.html.
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DeGrazia, David. “The Case for Moderate Gun Control”. John Hopkins University Press,

Kennedy Institute of Ethic Journal, Volume 24, Number 1, March 2014, pp. 1-25 article.

GVA, “Gun Violence Archive.” Gun Violence Archive, www.gunviolencearchive.org/.

Hemenway, David Ph.D., and Matthew Miller, M.D., M.P.H., Sc.D. (2013), Public Health

Approach to the Prevention of Gun Violence, N Engl J Med 2013; 368:2033-2035

DOI:10.1056/NEJMsb1302631

Joslyn, M. R. and Haider‐Markel, D. P. (2017), Gun Ownership and Self‐Serving Attributions

for Mass Shooting Tragedies*. Social Science Quarterly, 98: 429-442.

DOI:10.1111/ssqu.12420

Eckstein, Justin & Sarah T. Partlow Lefevre (2016) Since Sandy Hook: Strategic Maneuvering in

the Gun Control Debate, Western Journal of Communication, 81:2, 225-242, DOI:

10.1080/10570314.2016.1244703

Weller, Chris. “These Four Countries Have Nearly Eliminated Gun Deaths - Here's What the US

Can Learn.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 18 Feb. 2018,

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/gun-deaths-eliminated-america-learn-

japan-australia-uk-norway-florida-shooting-latest-news-a8216301.html.