Shortly after
dusk, a sixteen-year-old boy stands on the street corner talking with a friend
about what happened at school today between himself and another student. He nonchalantly stands there sipping his
Pepsi when all of a sudden a black Honda with tinted windows drives up to the
corner. The window rolls down, a voice
calls out, and the boy walks up to the car.
He bends down to peer into the car to see who it is when three rounds
from a .38 caliber pistol rip through his chest and neck. The other boy frantically runs off into the
distance. He stumbles backwards and
trips on the curb behind him and falls to the sidewalk the car speeds off into
the dark alleyway across the street.
The
young boy struggles to breathe as he coughs up blood. He chokes to death with every effort to
breathe. He dies a minute or two
later. These kinds of events are all too
familiar to us and perturb us as we see an increasing number of handguns fall
into the hands of the young. I am
shocked at the sight of these events where innocent children are being gunned
down on the street because of petty little arguments over something so
minuscule as a pair of shoes, a particular type of jacket, or simply just a
misinterpreted look. I believe that more
strict handgun regulations are a must in today's society. I'm not saying that we have to ban handguns,
but we have to take legislative measures in order to limit the possibility of
handguns falling into the hands or youths.
Peter Annin and Tom Morganthau state that according to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report, murders committed by persons
under the age of eighteen who were arrested jumped from 1,193 in 1985 to 2982
in 1994. [1] This report shows a substantial increase in
the number of killings by people who are under the age of eighteen. Most of these people are often participants
in gangs and involved with drugs. Many
of these people find that guns are a much easier method to defeat his or her
opponent in a quarrel. This problem is
made worse by the increasing availability of guns. Residents of gang-ridden areas are afraid to
leave their homes for fear that their children or themselves might fall victim
to a gunshot. I believe that many people
feel we need tighter control over the sale of handguns while many others
believe that we shouldn't. Many people
say that it is a right to own firearms and handguns in this country because it
is guaranteed by the second amendment of the United States Constitution. The second amendment 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 infringed." First of all, very few states today in the U.
S. have militias because we have the five branches of the U.S. Military, the
Army, Navy, Marines, Airforce, and Coast Guard.
The military provides this country with enough support to fend off any
war levying or belligerent nations. That
is the military's obligatory purpose today.
There is no necessity for a state run military. The U.S. Military's purpose is to keep this
land free. Second, the Bill of Rights
was designed to protect the people from our government should it transcend to
tyranny. These laws and rights were
established in the period of colonial times when monarchies and dictatorships
were common place in society. Today,
they're just about non existent except for subtle hints of them in communist
governments which exist in areas such as the People's Republic of China. We have no need to protect ourselves from the
possibility of a dictatorial government materializing from our democracy
because it is highly unlikely that this would occur. The United Nations, which the United States
is a member of, would not allow this because their main function is to stop the
spread of communism. We are not living
in that era anymore and that is why I believe that guns aren't really needed
that much by civilians. As I mentioned
before, I'm not suggesting that we, the people, totally ban guns. Firearms and handguns still have their
recreational purpose in society. For a
lot of people, the sport of hunting wild game is an enjoyable pastime and
tradition that has been passed down through the ages. People have always hunted. From Paleolithic man to the Middle Ages and
to the present, hunting has and provides us with food even though that same
food can be purchased at the local supermarket.
Other activities such as target shooting and enrollment in gun clubs are
also enjoyable. They are sports, just
like any other sports, that give men and women a sense of pride and
satisfaction that fulfills the primitive instinct of competition in our minds. Another important argument among civilians
of the country is that if more restrictions on firearms and handguns are
passed, this would gradually lead to a total ban on all guns sometime in the
future. In an article written by Robert
J. Blendon, John T. Young, and David Hemenway, they include a Gallup/CNN/USA
Today poll which show how gun owners, non owners, and the nation as a whole
were surveyed. Sixty-five percent of all
people, including owners of guns and non owners, believe that stricter
legislation would gradually lead to a total ban of all guns. In addition, a majority of gun owners,
approximately fifty-five percent, believe that these laws would violate the
second amendment of the U. S. Constitution while non owners don not believe
this. The survey was asking about how
stricter laws would reduce certain aspects related to guns. The national figure is sixty-nine percent for
those who believe that stricter laws would reduce the number of people killed
by guns in arguments. Sixty-eight
percent of the nation believe that laws would reduce the number of accidental
deaths and suicides attributed to guns. Fifty-eight percent of the nation
agrees that more laws would reduce violent crime. However, in both cases of
owners and non owners, the difference of agreement is over twenty percentage
points in favor of non gun owners. [2] I
certainly agree that stricter legislation would definitely reduce the number of
gun related deaths and that if handguns were restricted from the hands of
minors and criminals, the rate and recidivism rate, the rate of repeat
offenders, of violent crime would be reduced. I believe that we need more
strict laws to curb some of the violent crime that is being committed by
America's youth. I also believe that the
National Rifle Association of America (NRA) will not let the government ban all
fire arms since the NRA is the biggest lobbyist in the gun control debate today
because it has so many active members.
Finally, most people feel that
they need handguns for protection of their property and themselves. I believe that protection of your own
property, such as you home, is perfectly fine, but if you carry a gun around
for protection, that can become dangerous.
For example, gang members who carry guns are an enormous threat to
others. If someone should irritate or
annoy them, they might possibly resort to using his or her gun on that
person. Innocent children and bystanders
could fall victim to a stray bullet.
Minor arguments could erupt into bloodshed on the street corner or in a
dark alleyway. Other people are also a
possible threat, especially to police officers.
If for some reason, a gun toting civilian was pulled over for a traffic
violation, that person could decide to shoot that police officer in an attempt
to get away. This would cause major
problems in society. Another thing is
that people under the influence of drugs or alcohol might use their guns on somebody
with out reason because of impaired reasoning and judgment associated with
inebriation. Now I'm not saying every
person would be and is like that, but there are some people that are. I believe that this presents a danger to
society and why handgun access and sales should be restricted. I believe that we need tougher legislation on
handguns. Citizens should be registered
for each and every gun he or she owns and that they should be obligated to pay
a high fee for that registration. Also,
juveniles and convicted felons that have already served time should not be
permitted to purchase or possess and handgun.
I believe that if someone who has purchased a handgun, should be
required by federal law to take a safety and training course in order to lawfully
possess a handgun. This course would be
directed by the federal government and would ensure that a handgun purchaser's
record would be checked out. This country should have tougher laws in order to
restrict handgun access and sale. I'm
not saying this will work, but it will be a step forward in the direction of
effective gun control. If we and the
government can work together on it, we can slowly minimize the problem and keep
guns out of the wrong hands. [1] Annin, Peter; Morganthau, Tom. "The lull before the storm?"
Newsweek 4 December 1995: <
http://sbweb2.med.iacnet.com/infotrac/session/993/36/2172572/62?xrn_14
> 03/24/97 19:29:23
[2] Blendon,
Robert J.; Hemenway, David; Young, John T.
"The American public and the
gun control debate"
The Journal of the American Medical
Association 12 June 1996:
< http://sbweb2.med.iacnet.com
/infotrac/session/993/36/2172572/16?xrn_1 >
03/24/97 18:54:01
No comments:
Post a Comment