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Stricter Gun Control measures will prevent mass shootings in America
Stricter Gun Control measures will prevent mass shootings in America
John Paulo Redublo de Jesus
University at Buffalo – Bachelor of Communications
10198836
50293246
ENG 105
There have been many gun-related crimes in America especially in recent years, anti-gun activists protest that current gun legislations are inefficient and insufficient in preventing gun violence while on the opposite spectrum, many gun activists are quick to defend their constitutional right to bear arms and deny any claims that gun control will further prevent gun violence. It raises some questions, are guns the main attributing factor? Or is it the gun users themselves? Or possibly it is the legislative system? In every form of media and news outlet, the ferocity of gun control debate runs rampant with political agendas mixed in with social concerns. The second amendment states that “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” (Chemerinsky, 2006). This constitutional right, which was established in 1791 by the founding fathers back in the day, certified the license for private citizens to distribute and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense, hunting and accountability of a free sovereign state. Fast forward to today, that right is still held on tightly by most Americans today, especially those in the Republican party which is backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) a pro-gun capitalist lobbyist with a very strong public backing and heavy influence in congress. However, there is a rising trend in gun-violence in America and the common factor in all of these is the access that these shooters had to firearms necessary to carry out these acts.
Heavy debates on gun control have resurfaced following the recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida. On 14 February 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz carried an AR-15 Semi-automatic assault rifle into his old high school and started firing at his school mates and teacher’s classroom by classroom, killing 17 and severely injuring 14 others (Chuck & Siemaszko, 2018). It was revealed by the Broward County schools superintendent Robert Runcie that “Cruz had recently been expelled from Douglas for disciplinary reasons and was enrolled elsewhere in the district.” (Chuck & Siemaszko, 2018). Also, six months ago, The FBI was actually alerted of this potential threat after a YouTube user named "Nikolas Cruz" posted the statement "I'm going to be a professional school shooter”. Yet it was still relatively easy for him to purchase and obtain his firearm despite multiple ‘red flags’ of suspected behavior. That is absurd. A 19-year-old should not be able to easily acquire a powerful firearm like an AR-15,
17 students & staff were killed & many others wounded. Following the tragedy, the usual response has always been “it is ...
