Should ordinary people be allowed to own guns?
By Sebastian Turton
The issue of gun ownership is always in doubt. The American public has debated for decades (maybe centuries) about gun control and gun rights. On one side are pro-gun groups and gun owners who favor more gun rights. On the other side are gun-control groups who favor more gun control laws. Lets examine both sides on the issue.
During the 1960s and 1980s, a number of gun control laws were introduced after the high profile assassinations of John Lennon, J.F Kennedy, and an attempted assassination on Ronald Reagen. More laws were added after Waco Siege and Ruby Ridge. Occasional school shootings in recent years have recieved plenty of media attention. The Assault Weapons Ban, for example, was enacted in 1994 after Waco, but the ban ended ten years later and was replaced by a lesser strict assault weapon law. Seventy-five percent of homicides using firearms were handguns.
Gun rights groups claim that many crimes have been thwarted by use of firearms by ordinary people. According to estimates by gun rights groups, 2.5 million crimes have been thwarted annually. Gun owners also use their guns for hunting. Many gun owners also use guns for self defense. Guns are usually associated with American popular culture.
Gun control groups have said that there is a need for stricter gun laws due to recent mass shootings such as the Virginia Tech massacre. For example, during Luby's massacre in 1991, one of the victims had a gun but it was in the car, if everyone had a gun there, they would have certainly cause more injuries or even deaths. About two thirds of all gun shoot victims are accidental.
Afer reviewing all the arguments by both sides of the issue, I believe Americans have a right to own firearms, but there should be more gun control laws to prevent more gun violence. I hope this issue will be resolved soon.
1 comment:
Guns have been a part of the American heritage since the Founding Fathers started the country. It was important for them to feel safe from the pitfalls of government.
when I was growing up in the 40's and 50's, every dad had rifles and taught their young sons the fine arts of hunting.
Now, government has made it more and more impossible to own guns and go hunting.
When I lived in Taiwan, noone had any guns. But then again, there is nothing to hunt there anymore.
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