Adarien Jones
MW 11:00
Essay 3/Draft 4
Everyday Lives.
Everyday gun violence is a major issue in the united states. Each day people
die of gun violence. People don’t understand that its not the guns that kill other
individuals, it’s the person that’s behind the gun. Gun violence is getting worse by
the day and it’s so hard to stop it. Nowadays you can purchase a firearm
anywhere. Gun violence can be examined on many levels however, our focus
should be on age requirements, mental health, and criminal history.
Mental health is a major reason behind gun violence and mass shootings. The
overall contribution of people with serious mental illness to violent crimes is only
about 3%. When these crimes are examined in detail, an even smaller percentage
of them are found to involve firearms. However, it is true that some mass
shootings and other atrocious acts of violence are committed by people who are
seriously mentally ill. In 1998, for example, Wendell Williamson, a law student
who was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, fatally shot two strangers
on the street in Chapel Hill in North Carolina. In the United States, popular and
political discourse frequently focuses on the causal impact of mental illness in the
aftermath of mass shootings.
Criminal history should always be checked before a purchase of a firearm. In the
wake of the shooting, people across the political spectrum from President Donald
Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to Senate Democrats and the Moms
Demand Action advocacy group have called for the strengthening of background
checks on individuals looking to purchase firearms. However, a national system is
needed, as porous state borders mean that individuals denied a license in one
state could still obtain firearms in nearby states with lower standards. In
addition, individuals can seamlessly transport weapons across state lines without
having to deal with border controls.
A person age should be the determination if they are allowed to
purchase a gun. Most mass shootings and gun violence happen at schools from
kids 18 or younger without a license to even own a gun. Even though you have to
be 21 to purchase a handheld gun from a licensed dealer, you can be only 18 to
purchase a long gun such as a shotgun and AR in certain states. Most mass
shooters are 18 or younger using a long gun.
Gun violence in today’s society is really getting out of hand. People should stop looking at small things and start looking at the real cause of gun violence and mass shootings. Mass shootings and gun violence can never go away for good but there is a way to stop a lot of it from happening. Nobody should have a fear of guns if anything people should have a fear of who gets the firearms and how. The way to decrease these shootings is by finding a way to stop certain people from getting their hands on such powerful weapons and not banning the weapons as a whole.
