Every fourteen minutes someone dies from a gun shot wound. Tourists are being gunned down at rest stops. Exchange students are shot to death for knocking on a wrong door. A standoff by a religious cult in Waco, Texas turns into holocaust. Madmen with heavy artilery blow away innocent victims in restaurants, schools, and places of business.
Kids shoot each other and their teachers in schools.
We read about local drive-by shootings, suicides and domestic disputes exploding into fatal gunfire. In 1989 Patrick Purdy opened fire on a schoolyard in California, killing 5 and wounding 30. In 1993 we read about Colin Ferguson shooting commuters on a Long Island railroad for 3 whole minutes, killing 6 and injuring 19 more. In looking at the severity of this issue, Americans debate the cause of handgun violence. Advocates for gun control, such as the Coalition Against Gun Violence and Handgun Control, Inc. argue that firearms are too accessible and regulation is too limited.