ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: gun-control

Previous to the strategic realignment in 2010, Gunns typically ignored social pressures in favour of chasing productivity and profitability gains (Forestry Tasmania 2011, Gunns Limited 2010). This resulted in extensive conflict and climaxed with Gunns decision to withdraw from the native forest industry and instead use certified plantation resources to supply the pulp mill. This decision resulted from extensive discussion with community and environmental groups, and predicated the signing of the Statement of Forest Principles by both parties in September 2010 (Gunns Limited 2011a). This significant increase in the stakeholder engagement of Gunns is a result of the positive consequences that arise from a strategic change that identifies weak points and transforms them into strengths that complement the other core competencies of the business (Astrom et. al 2010)
Topic: gun-control

The decision to attempt to cater more sufficiently to social stakeholders can only reap positive consequences if it is implemented correctly and the sociocultural environment is thus manipulated in a way that Gunns is seen in a more positive light. Gunns commissioned Pox Populous (2011) to conduct a report into the social viability of the planned Bell Bay Pulp Mill that will form the base of the entire Gunns operations. The report found that overall community sentiment was positive based on the opportunities for economic benefits in the form of job creation and value added to the local economy, but there were some concerns that related to custodianship of the environment and greater ethical and social responsibility. In response, Gunns has set up a means of independent monitoring and reporting of social and environmental performance through the multi-stakeholder
Topic: gun-control

Gunns has effectively addressed the sociocultural myopia that was damaging the reputation and performance of the company by engaging more openly with the community. This management of the demographic changes the company has undergone has the potential to give the company a strategic advantage (Strack et. al 2008). The company must be careful, however, to not allow future sociocultural forces that are not commercially viable influence the company to the extent that any competitive advantage is lost. The current situation and the addressing of the problem by Gunns exhibits a positive management of this element of the PEST environment, though there is uncertainty in the future. As such, the outlook for this element of the business environment can only be deemed as neutral.
Topic: gun-control

But there it is again, and it’s louder this time. You’re scared, your pulse is racing and you cannot think of what to do. You don’t know whether to call 911 or just lay there and hope whatever it was will go away. But then you realize you have a 9-mm Smith and Wesson handgun in the nightstand. You quietly get it out, take off the trigger lock, and retrieve the bullets from on top of your dresser.
Topic: gun-control

The time has come, you raise from the side of your bed, instinctively assuming a marksman’s pose and fire just as the intruder is raising his weapon. He flies back against the wall and slumps into a lifeless pile. You then proceed to call 911. Now, that is not an uncommon scenario in the present state of society. Now what I ask you to picture is that same scenario, but this time only the intruder has a weapon because all guns have been outlawed and the criminal is the only person who can get their hands on them. It’s a rather scary thought, isn’t it. But that is exactly what some people want. Read why education is the most powerful weapon
Topic: gun-control

They want a ban on all firearms. But that is not the solution, the solution is the education of every person that purchases a firearm and required trigger locks, and stricter compliance by judges to the sentences mandated for crimes involving firearms. The “most recent attempt at federal gun legislation was the Gun Control Act of 1968” (Goldwater 183) and has done little if anything to lower the number of crimes committed using firearms. In fact, “the number of shooting homicides per year has climbed steadily since it’s enactment, while armed robberies have increased 60 percent.” (183). Now, this is a staggering piece of information. But it’s just one piece of evidence that shows that gun control laws are only marginally effective, if at all, in curtailing crimes involving firearms. Now, I am not saying that there should be absolutely no restrictions on who has a fire arm, because that is not true.
Topic: gun-control

“Most everyone will agree that felons, addicts, morons, juveniles, alcoholics, the mentally incompetent and others in whose hands even an ice pick or baseball bat becomes a deadly weapon, should be denied guns.”(Selib 202). But banning all hand guns is not the way to go about lowering the rate of crimes involving hand guns. As an example: . . . in the decade from 1960 to 1970, gun crimes in England increased some 750 percent – this in a country where there aren’t supposed to be any pistols in private hands. What is demonstrated forcefully in England is that in a place where guns are outlawed, only outlaws have guns. (202)
Topic: gun-control

As I have pointed out, gun control legislation has only a marginal effect. I think that more headway in lowering handgun related crimes could be made through education. This exact point is made by Barry Goldwater: Gun education, in fact, can actually reduce lawlessness in a community, as was demonstrated in an experiment conducted in Highland Park Michigan. City police launched a program to instruct merchants in the use of handguns. The idea was to help them protect themselves and their businesses from robbers, and it was given wide publicity. The store-robbery rate dropped from an average of 1.5 a day to none in four months. (186)
Topic: gun-control

There is one other way of dropping the crime rate involving firearms, this is through stricter laws in respect to crimes that involve a firearm. “A study . . . revealed that in New York City, which has about the most prohibitive gun legislation in the country, only one out of six people convicted of crimes involving weapons went to jail.” (Goldwater 186). Statistics like this arise “because too many judges and magistrates either don’t know the law or are unwilling to apply it with appropriate vigor.” (186)
Topic: gun-control

The NRA has in the past, and are presently, supporting measures to increase the severity of the punishments of the “incorrigible minority who place themselves outside of the law.” (Cassidy 238). And “As a result [of such support] . . . violent crimes with firearms, like assault and robbery, have stabilized or are actually declining.” (238) It’s been proven in the past the “levels of firearm ownership cannot be associated with the levels of criminal violence. . . . On the other hand, tough laws designed to incarcerate violent offenders offer something gun control cannot: swift, sure justice . . . with no accompanying erosion of individual liberty.” (238).
Topic: gun-control

And for those of you out there who are not only concerned with the crimes committed with hand guns, but with the deaths due to accessibility of hand guns in the home, there is a solution. Most children will only play with a gun if they can find it and figure out how to use it or make it do something. Well, with a trigger lock on it, which will prevent it from doing anything and therefore make it uninteresting. And if the gun is kept in a safe spot, then it will no longer be accessible at all. Some people argue that crimes of passion happen mainly due the availability of hand guns, but “if a person is angry enough to kill, he will kill with the first thing that comes to hand a gun, a knife, an ice pick, a baseball bat.” (Goldwater 184)
Topic: gun-control

A trigger lock will also help to prevent the use of guns in crimes of passion, delaying, if not stopping, the person from using the gun. These might sound like simple solutions to a difficult solution, but they are solutions that will work. Nan Desuka put it best, “‘Guns don’t kill people – criminals do.’ That’s a powerful slogan, much more powerful than it’s alternate version, ‘Guns don’t kill people – people kill people.'” And I think that this is true. It has been proven repeatedly that gun control laws and bans on some types of firearms just do not work well enough. It’s time that we stop trying to keep guns out of the hands of criminals by taking guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. It’s time to start educating each gun owner on how to safely use and keep their weapon.
Topic: gun-control

Gun control has been a controversial issue in the United States, and nobody seems to have a solution. America has been experiencing numerous shootings and indiscriminate firing incidents in schools, malls, and churches. Most gun owners think that gun control is not a good option. However, laws that make gun ownership of any type to fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, regulating gun control laws could save peoples’ lives; the State laws will reduce mass shootings, and it will restrict the person who purchases it.
Topic: gun-control

In the US, mass shootings increased in the past fifty years. According to The Washington Post, 1, 211 people were murdered in mass shootings in the United States since 1966 (Berkowitz, Bonnie, et al.). One of the mass shootings took place in a high school on February 14, 2018 in Florida. A former student, Nikolas Cruz, shot and killed 17 people and wounded 17 others at Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School.
Topic: gun-control

Yes we should have better gun control laws, according to Brian Duignan, in the United States mass murders committed with guns are so frequent that the vast majority of them are not even mentioned in mainstream media outlets. Those that happen to be massive enough to gain national attention typically spark a short debate about the need for stricter gun control. If we define gun control’ it is the regulation of the sale and use of firearms. Fire arms as in rifles, pistols, or other portable guns.
Topic: gun-control

There has been a very intense debate in regards to gun control regulations and all of the gun violence that has been going on throughout the nation. Gun control is an issue that the entire nation has had to deal with for many years and will most likely continue to face in the future. In recent discussions of gun control, a controversial issue has been whether we as a nation need to strengthen our gun laws and regulations. On the one hand, some argue that if every gun law does get refined, it still may not stop any mass shootings incidents from transpiring.
Topic: gun-control

Gun control is an issue that has been brought to the public’s eyes in recent years. Until 1968, guns were available over the counter, at stores and through mail catalogs to just about any adult in America. This is an example of how loose gun regulations were. In America today, the National Rifle Association has stepped up to take full responsibility of gun regulation. The question is, are they really stepping up as the real deal or are they just another organization out to make money and in the process make things worse.
Topic: gun-control

I completely disagree with the NRA’s view that doctors should not be involved in advocating gun control. The NRA says that they are doing their best and yet, in Jillian Banner’s article published on Atlantic documentaries ‘How the NRA sparked a medical rebellion’, we see trauma surgeons predict that one million Americans will be shot in the next decade. This sad prediction is enough to show how poor the NRA’s gun policy is. In America, gun ownership is seen as a culture. People believe that it is their duty to exercise their right to bear arms in accordance to the second amendment. To show how deep a culture this is, North American reporter, Anthony Zurcher writes an article titled ‘Gun Culture in America’.
Topic: gun-control

In this article, he presents a survey which was carried out in 2017 that shows that about 40% of Americans say that they own a gun or live in a household with a gun. To support this claim, he points out that there are 120.5 guns per every 100 American residents. He then compares these statistics with countries such as England, Canada and Wales which have stricter gun control laws. And a negative result appears. Ultimately, out of these three countries, the United states had a whooping sum of 73% more murders and homicides due to gun violence. So ask yourself, how did the guns used for these murders come into circulation in the first place? Well, the answer is obviously the NRA. The NRA sees this culture as an opportunity to exploit the peoples’ belief and make monetary gains by letting guns loose. They also claim that guns are needed for protection which is true to some extent. For this reason, they let almost anyone get guns regardless of their past records or mental state. While doing so, they forget that not only can guns be used for protection, but they can also be used for destruction.
Topic: gun-control

On the other hand, the doctors who treat the wounds inflicted by these loose guns are the ones who truly understand the effects of guns on the life of the individuals who have been shot and also the lives of the people who are closely associated with these gunshot victims. Due to this understanding that they possess, doctors should be allowed to help create and advocate preventive measures in regards to gun control. I also agree that they should play a major part in gun control because they have proved themselves once before in the past when they were dealing with the issue of road accidents.
Topic: gun-control

Greater gun control is unnecessary. Having a gun does not necessarily that the majority of deaths that occur in the United States is from injury related to using one. As gun control is already regulated, firearms are essential in the reduction of crimes. Furthermore, having ease of access to firearms makes a defense of ourselves and others easier, thereby curbing the crime rate. People may feel safer having access to a weapon such as a gun in order to protect themselves from future threats like robbery or assault.
Topic: gun-control

This chart clearly shows that despite over 80 guns are owned per 100 people (Fig. 1) in the United States (bringing in a total of 8,000 firearms), the mortality rate due to guns is low. There are under 20 deaths from gun-related incidents shown on this chart. This demonstrates a lack of connection between gun ownership and gun deaths. As such, why would greater gun control laws be needed when the death rate is so low? As a final point, it has been proven that gun control laws themselves have little to no impact on the rate of violence that results from gun use. Lost gun control restrictions generally have no net effect on violence rates.” (Kleck and Patterson, p. 249).
Topic: gun-control

Gun ownership reduces crime. “Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year or 6,849 every day. Most often, the gun is never fired and no blood (including the criminal’s) is shed[·]Every year 400,000  life-threatening violent crimes are prevented using firearms[·]60% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed. 40% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed.” (Smith, p.1). The following chart illustrates these points further.
Topic: gun-control

The chart above shows the statistics from 2017 when people were surveyed about their motives for buying a gun. As seen in the chart, 67% possessed a gun “For protection.” (Fig. 3) Safety is a priority held by all people. Buying a weapon such as a handgun ensures safety against threats that a knife or a blunt object could not always be relied on to stop. As such, if gun control laws were made more strict, people would not be able to defend themselves and their loved one with such assurance and ease as they have now. Furthermore, as shown previously guns reduce crime so the ability of guns to make people safe are very real.
Topic: gun-control

In 2018, seventeen students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) were killed by a former student armed with an AR-15 rifle. Four days later, students of MSD began an activist movement known as Never Again with the goal for stricter background checks for gun buyers (Witt). Since then, #NeverAgain has emerged as a broader movement on social media for “genocidal remembrance and awareness” and “human and civil rights” (NeverAgain). A current overview of Twitter reveals that the #NeverAgain movement is now most concerned with various human rights issues such as the immigrant detention centers near the border of Mexico, as well as other general resistance to right-wing agendas that are sometimes labeled as fascist.
Topic: gun-control

For instance, the activists of #NeverAgain, who are primarily young people, have used their saavy internet and media skills to be very interactively influential online and also to bring their cause out into the real world. While some may argue that Twitter-based movements are merely echo-chambers for people isolated from meaningful action, this view is contradicted by the #NeverAgain movement’s success in rallying meaningful protests and campaigns, which are still relevant today despite less of a Twitter presence.
Topic: gun-control

There appears to be an immediate split between left groups such as the @TheDemCoalition as well as various politicians such as Senator Bob Menendez (#SenatorMenendez) on one side, and groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and conservative politicians such as Marco Rubio on the other side. In the first weeks of #NeverAgain, the posts are overwhelmingly reflective of the agenda to enforce gun control, most from Illinois and Florida based Democratic groups. On March 1st, the #NeverAgain movement apparently won a decisive victory in that a number of legislations were passed limiting access to highly dangerous assault weapons, such as the HB1465 to ban bump stocks and HB 1467 which enforced a policy for a minimum age of 21 years for one to own an assault weapon. The most popular posts appearing for #NeverAgain gained wide popularity, with the political activist group @Quandrants4Chang receiving 4,800+ likes, 1,700 shares, and 136 comments on the post detailing the political victories mentioned above (Twitter).
Topic: gun-control

By the end of 2018, #NeverAgain had dramatically expanded from its specialized focus on school shootings to encompass the wider frame on genocidal themes. On November 30th, 2018, Guy Verhofstradt, a Belgian politician and member of the European Parliament, posted a link on Twitter about how a full one-third of Europeans know very little or nothing about the Holocaust, and more than a quarter surveyed said Jews have too much influence in business and finance. Verhofstradt’s point is that modern Europeans and others should be well aware of the 20th century’s sad legacy of genocide so that we may “never again” repeat such appalling catastrophes. This post achieved similar levels of popularity as the most popular #NeverAgain from earlier in 2018 which were focused on the MSD school shootings and stricter gun control laws. In November 2018 there were some posts on Twitter related to gun control and school shootings, but the popularity of the wider genocide focus had greatly taken over #NeverAgain, likely due to the remembrance of Nazi actions taken in late November of 1941 (Twitter). However, on November 28th a woman, reportedly a mother of a five-year-old children, gained a lot of attention from her post about her son’s “code red” drill in school (Twitter). Interestingly, aside from these two posts, the #NeverAgain movement had lost its traction on Twitter during this time.
Topic: gun-control

Jumping forward to May of 2019, #NeverAgain once more positions itself with the cause of gun control due to a Virginia Beach shooting, as seen by Representative Elijah E. Cummings’ post which gained 8,700 likes, about 2,000 shares, and over 400 comments. Another issue of relevance in late May was brought to light by Kingsley Moghalu, who posted a popular message about his memories of suffering in Biafra as a child during the war in the 1960s and 70s (Twitter). This post was issue was brought to the fore by Moghalu because of the memorial date of May 30th to remember the Biafra War. In the present time range, from June 2019 through to the end of July 2019, a look through Twitter’s #NeverAgain shows that the movement has morphed into a general trend resisting various forms of repression such as antisemitism and human rights violation such as the brutal conditions faced by undocumented migrants being held in detainment camps. Democratic Representative Steve Cohen has the most popular #NeverAgain post on Twitter for the month of July with a focus on comparing Trump’s administration to Hitler based on racism and xenophobia.
Topic: gun-control

The analysis of the progression of #NeverAgain from 2018 to the present shows how an idea as the foundation of a movement can morph based on the context. The popularity of #NeverAgain posts change based on the present current events. When there has been a shooting, #NeverAgain reflects a widespread spirit for gun policies; when there is a memorialization date for a genocide or war, the #NeverAgain posts reflect remembering and supporting human rights initiatives. We can also note that the most popular posts are frequently made by politicians who are pushing certain agendas which are most often from the left of the political spectrum. In the U.S., this usually means a resistance against the Trump administration or conservative groups such as the NRA. Last, we can observe that #NeverAgain achieved a global popularity, with various European politicians using this hashtag to spread awareness of their causes.
Topic: gun-control

The #NeverAgain movement on Twitter has received a lot of attention from popular web publications and political and media theorists. For instance, Nick Bilton writes for Vanity Fair that this movement has proven that the youth, primarily those in “generation Z,” have proven there is great promise in internet-based political work during the present and future to come. Bilton points out some of the most popular tweets of the online movement, such as Carly Novell, a 17-year-old student at M.S.D. who wrote a critical tweet of a Fox News host’s anti-gun limitation tweet and received almost 900,000 likes on Twitter. #NeverAgain has demonstrated the very responsive and influential power of social media as a means of rallying support and raising awareness. When we recognize that certain opinions and viewpoints are being seen and engaged with in the range of hundreds of thousands of times, then there is no doubt that political positions are being strengthened. As Bilton says, “the Parkland students have done an astounding job preventing the news cycle from forgetting about their tragedy.” Without a constant dialogue about a political issue, it tends to fall by the wayside, which prevents any movement to make meaningful changes. Through Twitter, the #NeverAgain activists have ensured that the world doesn’t forget about what happened, and also of the necessity for political change.
Topic: gun-control

#NeverAgain has also been recognized as a victory for online mobilization of political action, which is important considering the possibility for internet activism to remain only on the screen rather than out in the real world. Critics of online activism call it “clicktivism” and insist that it is defined by “weak ties” rather than “strong ties,” which means that the connections and communications online are more superficial and hold less reliability than face-to-face relationships in the world. For instance, on Facebook, many people may say they will go to an event, but the commitment is based on weak ties. The #NeverAgain movement however immediately brought their protest into the world, as seen in “social-media campaigns urging people not to vote for politicians who take millions of dollars from the N.R.A.,” as well as in marches, protests, rallies and a presence on radio and news broadcasts (Bilton). One journalist says reading these activists’ on Twitter “has so far been a sheer masterclass in how to make change happen” (Tang). Indeed, there can be no doubt that the #NeverAgain activists have made a difference, as seen by how numerous major companies, under the pressure of the movement, severed their ties with the NRA (Tang). This list includes Delta, United, Hertz, Avis, Budget, and Met Life among several others (Tang). Further, the fact that so many politicians became involved directly in the Twitter conversation is also proof about the mainstream relevance of this movement.
Topic: gun-control

From a more critical perspective, much of the above positive aspects of the #NeverAgain movement were strongest in the immediacy of the Parkland shooting event. As observed above regarding the shifting meanings of popular #NeverAgain posts, it appears that the movement has run out of steam, at least compared to its early days. However, even though this is true, that the movement receives far less attention today than it did in the weeks and first months of its founding, the movement has made substantial foundational work needed to maintain its effectiveness into the future. For instance, the protests have been seen as influential in helping Democrat Lucy McBath win a congressional victory in a Georgia district that had been Republican for decades (Meyer). David S. Meyer, author of The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America, looks positively at the #NeverAgain movement, insisting that it reflects in some ways the Civil Right Movement longer preparatory work that was essential for the movement to be effective. Though Twitter has been the central hub of communication for this movement, there have also been great steps taken by #NeverAgain such as coalition building and showing up in the physical world (Meyer). The movement away from Twitter as the primary location of the movement to the real world can be seen as a sign of the movement’s success.
Topic: gun-control

#NeverAgain demonstrates how a movement that is sourced online can be more than an isolated echo chamber for people who are stuck behind their screens. Indeed, the movement has, by its very nature, been very engaged from its beginning. For instance, the conversation has often included a dialogue between the #NeverAgain activists and opponents from conservative news sites or organizations like NRA. As discussed above, some of the most popular tweets came from direct responses to opponents. Therefore, the movement online has been more interactive rather than simply an echo chamber. Second, the presence of the movement in the world through protests, rallies, and campaigns to elect politicians or disempower groups like the NRA show that it is certainly not simply an isolated online arena where people are agreeing with each other. Rather, the #NeverAgain movement has raised millions of dollars, deeply affected the consciousness of the public, influenced certain elections, and have discredited the NRA and conservative positions that are aligned with harmful gun freedoms. The fact that the movement directly concerned young people by virtue of the crisis of school shootings has allowed a young generation of very media literate people to show the power that political engagement can have online. In the future it will be interesting to see how #NeverAgain evolves, and if it can maintain its presence and focus on gun issues while the movement’s label continues to be co-opted for other causes.
Topic: gun-control

What would life in the U.S be like without all the protests and disobedience? Since the start of our nation, our society has faced many hardships such as racism, gun control, and religious freedom. However, our society has taken it into their own hands and have begun protests to fix these problems in our nation. They have also gone as far as to be disobedient towards the law to fix problems that our government ignores and takes forever to fix.
Topic: gun-control

In 1891, an Irish poet named Oscar Wilde observed and believed that “Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and rebellion”. The main point of this quote was to explain that change doesn’t always happen on its own, it sometimes takes a spark of rebellion or rule-breaking to commence some change. This matters a lot to our society because without people protesting or being disobedient towards the law, we would still be facing problems our nation was facing at the start.
Topic: gun-control

In the past years, many shootings have lead for more controversy about gun control. The most recent shooting, which took place in a Walmart in El Paso, was a horrific seen that shook Texas. This shooting, caused by Patrick Crusius, resulted in the deaths of 20 people. Karma Allen, in her article Mass shooting that killed 20 in El Paso investigated as ‘domestic terrorism’: Officials, states that the Department of Justice and local law enforcement had identified the shooting as one “motivated by hate”.
Topic: gun-control

This means that this shooting was clearly influenced by hate and is also a sign of domestic terrorism. Allen also urges all Americans to support legislation and funding that will deal with the gun violence epidemic as well as the hate epidemic that is plaguing our country. On February 14, 2018, another mass shooting took place in Parkland, Florida. This shooting was caused by Nikolas Cruz and resulted in 17 deaths and 14 injured and 5 facing life-threatening injuries. In Peter Burke’s article 17 killed in shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Burke goes on to quote one of the parents that was waiting for her son who said, “I’m so angry,” “How many times does this have to happen?”. This goes on to show that many of the parents are also urging for gun control laws to go in order because of the many recent school shootings. Many of the parents are wanting protection for their kids and to do this they want gun control to be more strict.
Topic: gun-control

Racism in America has greatly influenced many protests and civil disobediences across the nation. It has taken on many forms ranging from slavery to police brutality and also segregation. These racial acts have been protested in many ways and some of these protests have even occurred in sports. In 2016, Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49er’s, kneeled during the national anthem in order to protest all the current police brutality that was happening to African Americans around the nation. NFL media reporter Steve wyche covered the story of Kaepernick kneeling and quoted the Quarterback, who went on to say “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color . . . To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” By saying this, Kaepernick is not disrespecting the flag but the nation it stands for and the crimes that it is committing. He believes that police are getting away with murder and hate crimes against African American citizens who arent doing anything wrong. Other athletes, such as Jackie Robinson, have taken a stand against racial discrimination in America. Many may know Jackie Robinson as the person who broke the color barrier in baseball, which lead to more and more players of races playing sports. However,
Topic: gun-control

In early 1977, a gun ban went inti effect in Washington D.C. Ever since the ban went into effect there has been just one year that the murder rate was lower than it was it was before the ban. Murder rates were declining but after the ban they rose. The murder rate dropped from 37 to 27 murders per 100,000 people in the previous five years before the gun ban. The murder rate rose back to 35 within the first five years after the gun ban went into effect. In comparison to other cities murder rates, Washington D.C.’s rose exponentially. Washing D.C.’s murder rate was ranked first and sometimes second among the largest 50 murder rates in the United States for 15 years out of 29 years that we have statistics for after the ban. Washington ranked fourth in the other four years. On the other hand, its murder ranked 15th in 1976. Washington’s murder rate rose quickly. It even rose faster than neighboring Maryland’s and Virginia’s or the U.S. rate all together.
Topic: gun-control

If you want to own a gun in Japan, there are many requirements. You will need to attend an all-day class and successfully complete a written test. These tests are only offered once each month. It is also mandatory that you successfully complete a shooting range class. After completing all that, a mental health evaluation and drug test are required. Once you get the results of these tests you will be required to present them to the police. Last of all, you will have to take a background check showing that your criminal record is unblemished, and you are not associated with extremist groups. Once all this is complete you can now legally own a shotgun or air rifle. At this point, you must keep your firearm locked in a separate location than your ammunition and provide documentation on the exact location of the gun in your home to law enforcement. Keep in mind that you will be required to allow police to inspect your firearms annually and retake the class and written exam once every three years.
Topic: gun-control

With such strict gun laws in Japan, the country has almost zero-gun related deaths and is probably one good example of strict gun laws working for the good of its people. When a person trades freedom for security, often times they receive neither. This has been proven with so many other countries where the civilians gave up their rights to gun ownership and it went horribly wrong. In the book Death By Gun Control Aaron Zelman and Richard W. Stevens provide the following information:
Topic: gun-control

In 1915-1917 Ottoman, Turkey’s government put a ban on possession of guns and 1-1.5 million Armenians (mostly Christians) were killed as a result. In 1929-1945 the Soviet Union placed a ban on guns with severe penalties for keeping the firearms, this resulted in 20 million Political opponents and farming communities being killed. In 1933-1945 Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe placed stricter laws in place with a ban on possession the resulted in the deaths of 20 million political opponents, Jews and Gypsies. In 1927-1949 China, Nationalist put a government permit system in place with a ban on private ownership this allowed for 10 million deaths of political opponents, army conscripts, and others. In 1949-1952, 1957-1960, 1966-1976 China, Red 20-35 million political opponents, rural populations, and enemies of the state were killed after much stricter gun laws were implemented.
Topic: gun-control

In 1960-1981 Guatemala began to register guns and owners with licensing with high fees, they prohibited carrying guns, and put bans in place on guns and sharp tools with the power of confiscation. This caused the deaths of 100,000-200,000 Mayans and other Indians. In 1971-1981 Uganda put in place laws for mandatory registration on all guns and owners and warrantless searches with confiscation powers this caused the death of 300,000 Christians and Political enemies. In 1975-1979 Cambodia (Khmer Rouge) put into place stricter gun laws; then 2 million Educated persons and political enemies were murdered. In 1994 Rwanda began to register guns, owners, and ammunition; the owners also had to justify the need to possess the gun and as a result 800,000 Tutsi people were murdered.
Topic: gun-control

“It was just so scary, you could hear him walking, you’d hear him walking right past our classroom.” (CBS News) “We were scared. I was yelling to him. Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” (Maui News) “This is going to be absolutely heart-wrenching time for me and my family. His younger brothers and soon-to-be born sister would miss him terribly.” (NPR) “I have two words: gun control. Now, now, now, now! No more NRA! No more money!
Topic: gun-control

(Fox News) When I watch these interviews with relatives of gun victims and witnesses of shootings, I feel extremely heartbroken and grieve for these dead victims from the bottom of my heart. None of these victims shot by a gun deserved to die. None of these relatives or friends of victims deserve to lose their beloved one. What causes the deaths of these innocent people? What makes their relatives and friends suffer from extreme grief? The answer is the gun problem in the United States, which is fairly serious and needs urgent solutions now.
Topic: gun-control

Time and again, a large number of innocent people die in mass shootings in the United States. For example, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting was a big mass shooting on the night of October 1, which shocked the whole world. Stephen Paddock, 64 years old, shot people at a music festival from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, leaving 58 people dead and 851 injured in just about ten minutes.
Topic: gun-control

The Las Vegas shooting, as the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the United States, drew people’s attention to gun control and sparked debate over gun control one again. Dianne Feinstein introduced a gun control bill to ban bump stocks to the Senate. (ABC news)11 states banned bump stocks and several other states were considering banning it. (History) Students are also exposed to shootings in the United States. According to research conducted by EveryTown, there were about 89 incidents of gunfire in schools in 2018. More than 2,700 children and teenagers were shot and killed and more than 14,500 are shot and injured every year and about 3 million children are exposed to gun shootings. (EveryTown Research) The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is one of the most famous school shootings, in which 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults before he finally shot himself in the head.
Topic: gun-control

Schools should have been a place full of students’ laughing and of reading sounds, but it is not because of the all too frequent interruptions and sounds of gunfire which destroy the peace. No child should experience shootings, which have a devastating impact on the mental and physical condition of students. Another big problem is the high rate of gun suicides. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21,334 of 42,773 suicides were carried out with a gun in 2014 and guns lead to more deaths than every other method. (TheTrace) This is especially terrible because after interviewing suicide survivors, about 90 percent of people who fail in killing themselves choose not to kill themselves.
Topic: gun-control

(TheTrace) We can draw a conclusion that two thirds of people use guns to end their life and the majority of people give up committing suicide if they do not succeed in killing themselves at one time. However, guns are extremely fatal. There is a chance for people who want to kill themselves not using a gun to survive, which may change their whole life because of that survival, such as going on to live optimistically. For people who choose to use a gun to die, they may have no chance to survive at all because almost 90% percent of them will die. No other ways of committing suicide are as lethal as using a gun.
Topic: gun-control

People also suffer from accidental shootings in the United States. From 2006 to 2016, about 6,096 people died from accidental shootings, according to the data released by Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC) Many people never take training courses to learn how to use a gun at all and some of them do not treat guns seriously. These are some of reasons that lead to accidental deaths with a gun. Due to the huge number of gun deaths, gun control is a big issue in the United States and we must take effective measures to solve it to create a peaceful country.
Topic: gun-control

Why is gun control still a problem in the United States and cannot be solved effectively and properly for decades? The first reason is its history and gun culture. The United States is a revolutionary country and gun ownership is a tradition. Fearing a tyrannical government, The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. The amendment says: “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.”
Topic: gun-control

(Wikipedia) Therefore, some Americans argue that bearing arms is one of the greatest protections of their individual rights and democracy of their country and cannot be violated. According to a Pew Center study, Americans own the most guns per person in the world. (Pew Research Center) They regard gun ownership as liberty, freedom and a way to protect themselves. Second, economics is the base; arms trade and industry play an important role in American economy. As international arms industry data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows, the global arms trade is worth $398.2 billion in 2017, and the United States remains dominant, with about $226.6 billion, which accounted for 57 % of total. (SIPRI) Arms trade is a major industry in America that affects policies to some extent. Businessmen will oppose any policies that have a bad influence on their business.
Topic: gun-control

Why should we take immediate measures to alleviate preventable gun deaths? First, no innocent individual killed in a mass shooting or by accident deserves to die. No one wants to see their relatives or friends killing by a totally stranger, and what they finally receive is a sum of cold compensation. It is not fair. The number of gun deaths in the United States is 14,117 until now in 2018 and there have been 334 mass shootings. (Gun Violence Archive) Many innocent citizens were killed ruthlessly, which is against humanity. Some people think that guns are not problems; those perpetrators can also kill people using other weapons.
Topic: gun-control

In fact, there is a huge difference between guns and some other weapons, such as screwdrivers. On December 25, 2018, a 49-year-old man injured 6 people with a screwdriver in Shandong University of Science and Technology; one victim did not survive and others were just injured slightly. (Sohu)Could you imagine what would happen if the perpetrator was armed with a gun instead of a screwdriver? What would the death toll be and how many people would lose their relatives and friends forever? The result would be totally different; it is never the same due to the high lethality of guns. Therefore, we should take measures to reduce the number of gun deaths.
Topic: gun-control

Second, we all deserve to feel safe in our society. Solving the gun problem can promote citizens’ well-being and sense of security by creating a safe environment. Therefore, the government should create a peaceful domestic environment for its citizens so as to ensure the sustainable development and function of our society and economy. A government, which can keep its country safe, peaceful and prosperous, is a competent and successful government, and will build a good and powerful image of country.
Topic: gun-control

Furthermore, without a peaceful domestic environment, there will be no sustainable development and the whole country will be in trouble. Researchers from the law center estimate that the cost of gun violence on the American economy is about $229 billion every year. $8.6 billion of it is used for emergency and medical care, etc. (Lawcenter) If we take effective measures to alleviate gun deaths, we can reduce the expenditure on gun violence, which can be used to build a better country.
Topic: gun-control

What’s worse, some children may regard owning a gun as a way to show their power and better protect themselves, which increases the possibility that they use violence as a means of solving problems when they feel angry. This is extremely dreadful for a home, a community and a country. It is not too late to save these children by taking proper measures to reduce the number of children who may be exposed to gun shootings. In conclusion, alleviating preventable gun deaths has so many advantages for the development of the country that we should take immediate measures now.
Topic: gun-control

What can we do to alleviate the preventable gun deaths? Different people have different opinions on this problem and I think the government should take its responsibility, such as enacting specific laws. B. R. Ambedkar has said, “Law and order are the medicine of the body politic and when the body politic gets sick, medicine must be administered.” (B. R. Ambedkar) Gun control laws are the medicine of the increasing gun deaths. On April 28, 1996, a 28-year-old man, Martin Bryant armed with a semi-automatic rifle, shot and killed 35 people, and wounded 23 others, in what was known as the Port Arthur Massacre.
Topic: gun-control

(Wikipedia) After this horrible and terrifying mass shooting, Australia responded quickly and passed the National Firearms Agreement only 12 days later. Australia banned certain semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons. (Wikipedia) A study conducted by Simon Chapman from Australia’s University of Sydney found that Australia has no fatal mass shootings (more than five victims, not including the perpetrator) from 1997 to May 2016 and the rate of gun deaths also dropped quickly after 1996. (JAMA) The enacting of gun control laws does lead to the reduction of gun deaths and mass shootings.
Topic: gun-control

The United States can follow the example of Australia by enacting laws to ban semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons. However, due to the unique gun culture and political and legal challenges, it seems that enacting rigid laws by the American government to ban guns is difficult, but there are still many things the government can do, such as carrying out policies to tighten gun owner licensing, improve k the standards for gun registration, and check backgrounds carefully. It is too easy for Americans to buy a gun, in shops or on the Internet and many guns are sold illegally through the black market.
Topic: gun-control

“According to the U.S. Department of Justice, large numbers of firearms are sold anonymously at more than 4,000 gun shows each year. That averages to about 11 gun shows on any given day.” (NBC News) We do not know who buys those guns and what they will do with these guns. There is a possibility that some of the buyers are terrorists who want to kill other people. In order to reduce the risk of this, the government should check backgrounds thoroughly and consolidate the gun market to destroy the black market by tracking down illegal gun sales. Similarly, waiting periods that delay gun purchases will also reduce gun violence.
Topic: gun-control

Second, school education is also important because “Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society.” (Maria Montessori) Schools must construct a culture of respect in children for all human life and put emphasis on education on ethical principles so that students can form correct moral values and outlooks. Teachers can also teach students how to deal with annoying affairs properly and correctly, which will definitely have a positive effect on students’ mental health. More importantly, schools should offer classes in teaching children the dangers of possessing guns, how fatal guns are and how to behave around the guns.
Topic: gun-control

Parents who own guns at home should also put them in a safe place to reduce access to children who may hurt themselves or others accidentally. Third, limiting ammunition capacity is particularly effective and practical to reduce the number of mass shooting deaths. Researcher Chris Koper estimates that it may lead to a 1% reduction in mass shootings, or 650 people fewer shot each year. (The Guardian) With limited ammunition capacity, killers cannot make devastating mass shootings as easy as today.