Gun Control

As we all know, gun violence is at an all time high.  But what can our government do to help control these crimes?  Nearly three months after the Sandy Hook shooting, in December 2012, there had been 2,244 gun related deaths in the United States.  That’s outrageous.  25% of all of the gun violence sprouts from guns that can hold 30 or more bullets in each magazine.  So with astonishing figures like this, why is our government not looking out for its’ citizens?  Gun violence is only becoming worse in the United States and it is not being controlled properly because of our split government, previously passed legislation, and an unrealistic fear of our economy being hurt.

            The truth of the matter is, Obama really wants a gun control law to pass, along with some other fellow democrats.  “Obama supports banning all forms of semiautomatic weapons and tighter state restrictions generally on firearms, including a failed effort to limit handgun purchases to one per month,” says Connie Cass of the Huffington Post.    But Republicans feel as though this would infringe upon our second amendment rights.  There are no real helpful, thorough laws that the government has in place to ban assault weapons.  I think the government isn’t doing enough.  I agree that we should protect our second amendment right, but do we really need assault weapons?  I really don’t even like the name: assault weapons.  It makes no sense for Americans to even own weapons made primarily to kill. Congress has touched on this issue in the past, but they have yet to do anything when we need it most.

           

In 1994 Congress passed an assault weapons ban that was extremely vague.  Although gun violence declined, the manufacturing and production of magazines with 30 or more bullets and assault weapons did not skip a beat.  The ban was only to last ten years, but congress decided not to extend the ban.  I feel that this issue will continue to be a problem in the United States.  This photo from the Huffington Post ( middle) is of a loaded handgun that would not be included in a ban of weapons.  The Republicans want their second amendment rights, while the rest of us just don’t want another tragedy.  Are the rights of Americans more important than 2,244 deaths every three months?  This issue

            These guns should never be available to civilians.  I know that people may be nervous about our economy without assault weapons being produced.  The truth is, most of the guns that are produced are pistols, handguns, and shotguns.  This photo from the Huffington Post (above) shows an assault weapon that is legal in the United States.  The government is not not doing anything about it because they are afraid a potential ban would hurt our economy.  I believe that these tragedies can be avoided with a specific assault weapons ban.

            Gun violence is an issue that gets worse every day and the government isn’t doing anything about it.  There are too many deaths in relation to gun violence that are caused by weapons with 30 or more bullets per cartridge. “Obama can only place that restriction on guns regulated under the National Firearm Act, a 1934 law that only deals with the deadliest weapons, like machine guns and short-barreled shotguns. For the majority of weapons, there is no federal gun registration,” says Josh Lederman of the Huffington Post.  Even though people want this issue to end, the Republicans are holding to their second amendment right.  This issue should be ended with legislation and the government is not doing enough.      

Cherkis, Jason. "One Nation Under The Gun: Thousands Of Gun Deaths Since Newtown." The Huffington   Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

Goyette, Braden. "Gun Violence Study Links State Levels Of Gun Ownership And Homicide." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

  Calderone, Michael. "Obama Administration Has Gone To Unprecedented Lengths To Thwart Journalists, Report Finds." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

 Gentilviso, Chris. "Supreme Court Declines To Hear Maryland Gun Law Case." The Huffington Post.  TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.