Mullaney 1

Miller Mullaney

Professor McGriff

ENC 1102

2/19/20

The Push for Gun Control

The topic of guns in a discussion in the United States is bound to stir up some sort of

debate and controversy. Gun violence has always been a problem, but mass shootings have

become a common thing most recently. From news coverage to one-on-one talks, many have a

basic understanding and opinion on guns. When people begin to question the impact of guns,

they often start to discuss the topic of gun laws as well. Many have started to advocate for gun

laws and regulations to be a normal thing among the American people. However, some believe

that these gun laws will not have any impact and will strip citizens of their constitutional rights.

Gun regulations vary from state to state which creates much confusion and heated debates on

what is right and wrong. Yet, recent gun violence has led to the consideration of gun laws being

enforced at a national level because of the damage guns have on citizens, easy steps to enforce it,

and the wide support for it.

To convey these reasons in an efficient matter, the paper has been organized into five

main sections, three of which have sub-sections to them. The first section goes into detail on the

affects of guns on citizens. This main idea is broken down into sub-sections that cover the

damage on citizens: interviews of shooting victims, statistics on how gun laws have lowered

deaths, and how the absence of gun laws affects the safety of people. The second section covers

how gun control could be implemented. It is divided sub-sections that relate to enforcing gun
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control: gun purchasing restrictions on criminals, altering guns to be made safer, and the NRA’s

negative impact on gun control. The third section covers the popularity of the push for gun

control. This section is divided into sub-sections that all relate to the popularity of gun control:

gun control plans, surveys and data polls showing gun control opinions, and the contributions

lobby groups have made towards gun control. The fourth section goes over arguments made by

people who are against gun regulations and refutations disproving the arguments. The final

section is a conclusion and overall message of this paper.

To begin, what many people think of when the idea of gun control is brought up is either

how guns protect citizens or how they destroy them. Gun violence has contributed to detrimental

and devastating situations for many innocent people. From mass shootings to simple accidents,

lives are changed forever from the consequences of a gun. Take into consideration the personal

accounts of shooting victims, statistics on the correlations of gun presence and the number of

deaths, and how the absence of gun laws affect a citizen’s safety.

Luckily, many people have the privilege of never getting shot or affected by a gun in

some way. However, people have had their lives changed from this very act. Anthony Borges, a

fifteen-year-old Parkland shooting survivor, expresses how, “I’ve gotten skinnier, and when I

stand up, I have trouble breathing. The goal is just to be able to move my entire body normally. I

can’t run, and I want to run. I’m doing homeschooling now. I’m not sure when I’ll go back to

school. I don’t want to; I don’t feel safe. I don’t talk about it with anybody — I get really upset”

(Avedon). Anthony is facing the same experience a veteran would have after going through a

traumatic injury, not wanting to talk about it, barely being able to move, and having a fear of the

things he had seen and felt on that fateful day. The event that this fifteen-year old went through

will forever change how he looks and thinks about normal things. Furthermore, a survivor of the
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shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, Sean Graves, describes how everywhere he would

go, he would be recognized from his wheelchair. He still has a difficult time with the constant

recognition he gets (Avedon). Once again, life becomes a lot harder after a person is shot. Not

only is Graves still in a wheelchair, but he also had to suffer socially with the fact that people

would recognize him and the terrible thing he sadly was a victim of. Strong people like Sean and

Anthony are not the only people who have gone through this immense tragedy, there are

millions. If gun control was carried out nationally, people throughout the country would be saved

from being subjected to this hardship that so many unfortunately have to go through.

Just the presence of a gun has shown to increase the amount of danger possible. For

example, author of "Violence epidemiologists test the hazards of gun ownership", Gary Taubes

points out, how a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) had revealed

violence towards families or close partners with a gun are far more likely to die (about twelve

times more) than with using another kind of weapon. Increasing the likelihood of death by

twelve times is absolutely concerning. Families are put at such a higher risk with a gun that it is

basically certain that something bad will occur. Guns obviously standout as a major outlier in

terms of the amount of damage they could do to someone, yet people still argue that a knife or

etc. has the same possibility of affects. Guns should not be looked at as some sort of toy, they are

real and very capable of ending a life.

Without Gun laws present, the safety of a person can be easily jeopardized. For example,

the author of “Gun control really works — here's the science to prove it”, Kevin Loria, explains

how after a ban on assault weapons back in 1994 was set, there was a reduction in gun related

deaths and massacres by 43% and 37% yet they shot up by 239% and 183% after the ban expired

in 2014. Without them, there is an absolute certainty that massacres are going to happen and
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people will die. Gun laws obviously are effective and needed in order to keep people safe.

Without them, gun massacres are limitless and have no end. Society needs gun laws for the

prevention of such terrible acts.

To continue, gun control is a very possible and bright idea. The question of how gun

control could be enforced is another topic of discussion that is brought up when considering the

legitimacy of gun control. The many ways that gun control could be enforced include stronger

convictions of gun violence, personalizing guns, and the drawbacks of pro-gun lobby

organizations.

A method that is popular in certain states that favor gun control is the practice of placing

stronger convictions on criminals who use a gun in an unlawful manner. Kevin Loria describes

how within the last fifty years thirty laws were created to add longer sentencing for convicted

people of robbery or assault with the use of a firearm. Convicted criminals who used a gun began

to get longer sentencing, meaning longer time ordered in jail. Because of this law, robberies

with guns began to decrease since people realized the risk of robbing with a gun. Not only did

robberies decrease from these sentencing laws but, people were put at less risk from getting shot

and killed. If these laws were implemented on a national level with stricter sentencing, they

could reduce the amount of gun violence tremendously.

Another method that has been on the rise in popularity, is personalizing guns to make

them safer. According to Stephen Teret, author of the article “Making guns Safer”, numerous

amounts of devices allow for the personalization of guns; an example of a device would be the

Magna-Trigger [TM], which only allows for a gun to be shot when the handler is wearing a

magnetic ring that aligns with a magnet inside of it. These technologies can have a tremendous
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impact on gun handling and safety by controlling the process of firing a gun. This prevents the

gun from firing when no one is handling it or when someone other than the owner holds it and

hurts somebody, like a child. If guns were required to be personalized in this matter, then it will

cause a rapid decrease in the amount of accidental injuries and deaths in many people, especially

young children.

Though, there are numerous amounts of methods that can help enforce gun control, there

are organizations that prevent it. According to Gary Younge, the author of "Gun Ownership Is a

Dangerous Part of the American Identity", he discusses the influence of the National Rifle

Association (NRA) and its ability to lobby politicians at any level which has prevented many gun

control laws from being put into place. The power of the NRA has prevented gun control from

reaching its full capability. Its large funding and wide reach have allowed it to have influence in

swaying Congress. If politicians were to shy away from the lobbying of such groups like the

NRA, it would make enforcing gun control a much easier task.

In addition, many have a wide opposition towards using guns. This has never been more

relevant than in such recent history. The push for gun control has become a massive movement

of many people since young people are involved, surveys and data polls prove it and amounts

lobby groups have contributed to support gun control.

Students who prevailed from the horrific incident at Parkland have been involved a

number of protests for the greater good of America. Most recently, they created their own gun

control plan. According to Adeel Hassan, the author, “The sweep of the Parkland group’s plan is

indicative of how young progressive activists have rejected the incremental approach seen in past

legislation.” Young people have taken charge in expressing their discomfort on the current

regulations of gun control. They are standing up to have a voice on the matter and they are doing
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it in an unorthodox way. Reform is not just wanted by older people; the future generations of this

country want change in guns and they are willing to do whatever it takes.

The popularity of gun control can be easily seen through surveys and data polls.

According to David Walker and Anna Greenberg, the authors of “Perspective | America Is

Turning against Guns”, Harvard and Northeastern University in 2015 conducted a study that

found that out of the twenty-six million guns owned by America, half of them belong to three

percent of the American population. Only three percent owns nearly half of all the guns owned

by America. Guns are slowly starting to decline for past-time usage. They are not being used to

hunt or for sport as often as they did back in earlier American times. The popularity and usage of

guns is not nearly as high as many people most likely suspect. Walker and Greenberg also state

later in the article how, “The share of voters very dissatisfied with the nation’s gun laws has

nearly doubled from 2008 (21 percent) to 2019 (40 percent).” In most recent years, people have

become more frustrated with the America’s gun laws. A little more than a decade just shows how

much the movement has grown in recent times. It is safe to assume that this statistic is going to

keep growing unless something is done to help meet the demands of many Americans eager for

change.
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Since gun control has grown fond among many American people, lobby organizations

have begun to pick up momentum. The graph above details the amount of money, in thousands

of dollars, that has been spent by pro-gun control lobby organizations from years 2010-2019

(https://www-statista-com.db23.linccweb.org/statistics/955847/amount-spent-gun-control-lobby-

organizations-us/). In most recent years, these organizations have started to spend millions of

more money than compared to earlier times. This proves that there is a larger effort for gun

control than ever before, and that gun control lobby organizations are finally getting enough

money to soon have some powerful influence in legislation. They are finally getting the needed

momentum to really make a difference.

However, as the popularity of gun control has evolved, many are still in favor of gun

rights. There is still a percentage of Americans who do not appreciate the idea of adding gun

regulations. Some argue that gun control will not even have a huge impact on the overall safety
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of America. According to the National Review’s “Gun Control Isn’t the Answer”, the banning

of, “most small arms and the seizure of millions of firearms already in private hands might be a

lot of things, but it is not ‘moderate’ or ‘common sense.’ It would be a radical step, and one that

almost certainly would be found to be unconstitutional.” The prohibition of firearms would most

definitely cause controversy and debate among the American people most certainly for the

reason of the constitution. But that does not mean the that gun control will not work, banning

guns is not the only option when it comes to gun control. It also can mean enforcing stricter

regulations on purchasing guns or regulating them.

To continue, others bring up the argument that the Second Amendment should not be up

for interpretation or changed in any way to fit the needs of gun laws. According to Steve Byas,

author of "Presumed Dangerous, NO GUNS", he explains how there is nowhere in the

Constitution that says an American citizen’s rights can be taken away from popular vote. Though

nothing in the Constitution says a right can be taken away, amendments can be altered. The

American Constitution can be changed and updated to meet the moral beliefs of current society.

In addition, the passage of gun control would obviously go through the process of legalizing a

new law, which if passed, would legitimize gun control as a constitutional law.

So, affects of guns on citizens, easy steps to enforce gun control, and the wide support for

it are all reasons why gun laws should be enforced at a national level. Guns have the possibility

to ruin an innocent person’s life forever. Gun control can be enforced in a matter of ways such as

new technology, stronger convictions of gun-related crimes and etc. The popularity of gun

control continues to grow, as more people become more aware of the potential it has as. Along

with the fact that gun control lobby organizations continue to increasingly pay more for the push

for gun control. Though some argue that gun control will not have any impact, or that it goes
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against the Constitution. But gun control will decrease levels of violence through the variety of

ways in which gun control can be enforced and the United States can create gun control laws that

qualify as constitutional. Overall, the United States passing gun control nationally will allow for

a safer place to live and grow up. It will let people feel safe to walk around in public, even

school. Be a part of a peaceful America and get involved. Contact your local government bodies,

start peaceful protests and show that gun control is possible.

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Works Cited

Avedon, Michael. “School-Shooting Survivors Bear Their Scars, and Bear Witness.”

Intelligencer, 29 Oct. 2018, nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/10/school-shooting-

survivors.html.

Byas, Steve. "Presumed Dangerous, NO GUNS." The New American, 7 Oct. 2019, p. 10+. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-

com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A604003234/OVIC?

u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid=OVIC&xid=b4102099. Accessed 9 Feb. 2020.

The Editors. “Gun Control Isn't the Answer.” National Review, National Review, 17 Feb. 2018,

www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/parkland-florida-school-shooting-gun-control-not-

answer/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2020.

Greenberg, Anna, and David Walker. “Perspective | America Is Turning against Guns.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Aug. 2019,

www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/08/09/how-americans-are-supporting-gun-

control-wake-mass-shootings-like-el-paso/?arc404=true.

Hassan, Adeel. “Parkland Shooting Survivors Release Ambitious Gun Control Plan.” The New

York Times, The New York Times, 21 Aug. 2019,

www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us/march-for-our-lives-gun-control.html.
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Loria, Kevin. “Gun Control Really Works - Here's the Science to Prove It.” Business Insider,

Business Insider, 27 Aug. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/science-of-gun-control-what-

works-2018-2

“Amount Spent by Gun Control Lobby Organizations in the United States from 2010-2019.”

Statista Research Department, 2020. Statista.com, www-statista-

com.db23.linccweb.org/statistics/955847/amount-spent-gun-control-lobby-organizations-

us/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2020.

Taubes, Gary. "Violence epidemiologists test the hazards of gun ownership." Science, vol. 258,

no. 5080, 1992, p. 213+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-

com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A12814599/OVIC?

u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid=OVIC&xid=7481aad1. Accessed 3 Feb. 2020.

Teret, Stephen P., et al. "Making Guns Safer." Issues in Science and Technology, vol. 14, no. 4, 1998,

p. 37+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-

com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/A20988908/OVIC?

u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid=OVIC&xid=75dba7dd. Accessed 16 Feb. 2020.

Younge, Gary. "Gun Ownership Is a Dangerous Part of the American Identity." Gale Opposing

Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://linkgale-com.db23.linccweb.org/apps/doc/KAKNBU766087799/OVIC?

u=lincclin_sjrcc&sid=OVIC&xid=03c5e07d. Accessed 21 Jan. 2020. Originally

published as "Why Americans won’t give up their guns," Guardian, 6 Oct. 2017.