ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: gun-control

To save the greatest number of lives, we should solve the gun problem. To provide a peaceful growth environment for our children, we should solve the gun problem. With its unique gun culture and complicated gun reality, solving gun problem and alleviating preventable gun death is a long-term run, which needs our joint efforts and cooperation. Time is limited and do not let those perpetrators take any other innocent people’s lives from now on. Only with the endeavor of the whole society can we build a better America, and I believe we can do these things well without having a gun.
Topic: gun-control

Prohibition is not the best solution. Banning guns will not kill gun culture. The use of guns will not disappear or make them any less dangerous. It could even promote illegal purchases of guns. As stated in the previous paragraph, safety is a need, and people are most likely to do whatever it takes to assure it for themselves and for their families. Citizens are not only capable but also have the right to protect themselves, their families, and their property. If owning a gun is the easy, then why not?
Topic: gun-control

Many people also need guns for other reasons. Farmers need fire arms to protect their fields and livestock from wild animals. If the banning of guns will push through, the livelihood of these people will be greatly affected. The least that could happen is them resorting to technologies that are way above their budget to compensate for the security provided to them by the confiscated guns. If the banning of guns is after the welfare of the people, these realities are not to be disregarded and should be considered. Though these people are a minority compared to the whole population, their voices should be treated as those of the majority.
Topic: gun-control

Shooting is a major sport enjoyed by many law-abiding citizens in the United States. Just like other sports, shooting is recreational; it promotes discipline, and camaraderie and healthy relationships among its enthusiasts and practitioners. There are even more sports that are considered to cause more injuries compared to shooting sports. Statistically, the sport with most injuries reported is basketball; shooting injuries are less likely to happen because the guns are not pointed at humans but to inanimate, lifeless targets. Practicing shooting for hurting people is not the intention of the sport. Shooters shoot objects to improve accuracy and precision in shooting lifeless objects, and lifeless objects alone. Sportsmen have the right to continue their chosen leisure activity. Also, spending on guns and ancillary equipment commissions large sums of income into the economy.
Topic: gun-control

Law-abiding citizens are worthy of the right to protect their families in their own homes. Even with the banning of guns, criminals will still have access to firearms sold in the black market. In fact, most guns used in heists and organized crimes are guns do not have legal papers, sold in the black market. Thus, the banning of guns will put the potential victims into a disadvantage. Law abiders will not even think of buying from the black market. Criminals do not think this way. They buy from the black market because it makes them harder to track down. Would-be rapists and armed burglars will think twice before attempting to break into a house where owners may keep firearms.
Topic: gun-control

Some incidents of shooting are often prevented when both parties owning guns. Though the guns assure self defense, it does not actually help you dodge bullets. It is only an advantage when, the other party is in no possession of a gun. Thus, when an armed attacker is aware of you owning a gun, he would begin to have second thoughts about using his gun because of the possibility of being shot back. Therefore, this fear of being shot back neutralizes the attacker’s urge to shoot the victim. Instead of a life lost, a life is spared.
Topic: gun-control

Gun control has been a very controversial and heated topic worldwide. Guns are the reason why the crime rate is still high and it will remain or increase if there are no actions that will be taken to lessen the illegal use of firearms. The main function of a gun, like any other weapon, is to kill. Guns were invented to be used in war. Though guns have the potential to protect its owner from harm, the fact that someone from the other party will be, or should be, consequently harmed does not justify its purpose. Though the understanding of this idea will vary among different levels of morality and beliefs, the fact of someone getting hurt, a bad person or a good person, should not be disregarded. The use of guns to promote peace will be ineffective without its capacity to harm others. Though guns are not the only weapons, they are certainly more effective in taking away lives.
Topic: gun-control

The death rate when a gun is used is much higher than when knives or other weapons are used during an attack. Household brutality assaults involving guns are twelve times more likely to bring about fatalities than those without guns. These facts are nothing new. Shooters generally shoot to kill, and, even if they shoot to maim or warn, the unpredictable trajectory of bullets can still kill. The more instruments of demise and harm we remove from our social norms, the more secure we will be.
Topic: gun-control

The law has already made appropriate penalties for crimes like theft; burglary should not be punished by vigilante killings. Nothing is worthy enough to pay for a human life. Even crimes of murder are not punishable by death, the legal sanctions for these crimes should be treated as seriously, unbiased, like legally owning a gun – which is difficult to observe because most killings involving guns are initiated when the shooter is in a high emotional state, not in his/her rational mind.
Topic: gun-control

In 2005, 75 reported cases of children 14 and below died from accidental firearm-related injuries; most children of this group have ages ranging from 10-14 years old. The majority of unintentional gun-related deaths among children take place in or around the household; 5 out of 10 cases occur at the victim’s home while 4 out of ten cases happens at a friend or relative’s house . Keeping firearms at home for protection often leads to accidental deaths.
Topic: gun-control

Common cases for gun shootouts is that people possessing it have mental illness, goes out and shoot people. People with mental illnesses have no right to possess firearms but the problem is that sellers of these guns do not know if the buyer is mentally ill until they go out and shoot people. The government, though they did something about this case. The issue on the mentally ill people who can easily possess guns is on heat especially on the recent case of shooting in the United States. People with tendency towards violence and those with histories of mental illness are not allowed to be able to obtain firearms in the United States. But experts, as what they call themselves, says that the laws pertaining to the possession of firearms is only applicable to people who have been considered by the authorities to be unsafe. The government mandates that people should be evaluated before the issuance of firearms to them. Background checks and interviews are supposed to be done before a person can acquire any firearms. The problem is that the government has insufficient funds to sustain the process. Thus, the government resorted to just allow the people who would like to acquire firearms after conducting simple tests.
Topic: gun-control

My opinion on this matter is simple and goes along with the saying “guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Although gun laws today are becoming stricter, individuals who want to kill or harm others will still be able to do so. Regardless of how hard it is to obtain a firearm, a person can still find other ways to harm others, even without guns. The issue whether or not semi-automatic weapons should be allowed to be sold is something that is understandable and can have a positive effect. These types of weapons should certainly not be used for hunting, and have no reason to be on the streets of our country. The difference in the number of people one can harm or kill is drastically different and can make an overall difference in the number of deaths each year.
Topic: gun-control

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, several people began to talk about buying a gun before stricter laws came into effect. My own father did just that. My mother has always been against having a gun inside her home until recently. She had realized that it is better safe than sorry. My dad went and applied for a permit to own a gun and is currently in the process of a background check. He plans to keep it locked up, and used only if necessary.
Topic: gun-control

The fundamental goal of the laws pertaining to owning a gun is to keep the firearms to those people that are most likely to do violent actions and those that are mentally challenged. But then there is no existing effective system that can prevent these people to legally getting a gun. The government has to do something about the stricter implementation of the laws pertaining to the people who are mentally ill and wishes to get a gun. Access to mental health plays a vital role in this case thus even the government should look over its beneficiary requirements and funding. The required background checks and mental health evaluations should be stricter and more informative so that proper data and evidence can be evaluated properly and it could be a great help to lessen violence in the United States.
Topic: gun-control

People of this country have the right to protect themselves and own guns, so long as they are capable and responsible. Even though guns are dangerous, being defenseless is even more dangerous and everyone should have the right to defend themselves, whether or not firearms are used. As people of this country we should have the right to defend ourselves, and that should include defense by firearms. The gun owner does not have to pull the trigger of a firearm. Sometimes the threat of the gun and the possibility of it being fired is enough to send those who intend harm away.
Topic: gun-control

Self-defense such as karate and other martial arts techniques also really can’t be used at a long distance, and are of no match to a criminal threat with a gun. Larry Pratt says, “Evil is in our hearts, not in the guns” (Burbaker1). Many advocates for gun restrictions and bans like to state that “Guns kill; people do not” (Zaremski1). I find this to be a faulty argument. It is people who kill, a gun will not kill unless the person holding it decides to use it to kill, and pulls the trigger.
Topic: gun-control

A gun lying around is not going to do any harm a gun is not making the decision to kill or to shoot its bullets; it does not have a mind. It is when a person picks up that gun that it is fired, the person with thoughts and a mind, he or she is killing not the gun. Anything can be fashioned into a weapon, and there are so many already made weapons out there. We should have the right to our guns, just as we have the right to any weapon out there. None of these weapons are doing any harm to us unless someone makes that happen.
Topic: gun-control

We should have the right to defend ourselves with a firearm if necessary if we are threatened by someone. The second amendment of the constitution 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. ” Back then, a militia was comprised of ordinary, common male citizens, who not only had the right, but the duty to own guns to protect the country and form a militia. Don Kates states that, “The amendment, in guaranteeing the arms of each citizen, simultaneously guaranteed arms for the militia” (2347).
Topic: gun-control

The founding fathers set it up so that the people had means of defense from anyone, including other citizens, foreigners, and even their own government. People such as James Madison, who was the one to introduce the Bill of Rights stated that the amendments in it “relate first to private rights” (NRA-ILA). He is stating that the Bill of Rights relates to private rights of the citizens before it relates to state or national rights, proving that it is the right of the people to own a firearm for protection.
Topic: gun-control

The second amendment talks about us as citizens owning guns for defense, not just the government. It would be going against the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights to take away or limit gun ownership and usage. Yes, this privilege should be taken away from those who abuse it and harm others or have the potential to harm, but not from regular, responsible citizens. This amendment is not only for personal and military defense, but also was intended to protect citizens from a tyrannical government, so that if it happens, people are able to defend themselves.
Topic: gun-control

Moore also states that, “The Founding Fathers of our country won our freedom with firearms. After we won our independence the Founding Fathers included the right to keep and bear arms in the Constitution to ensure that the freedom they fought for would last” (6). They put this in so that we had the right not only to defend ourselves from any harm from others or even animals, but also so that we had a defense to protect our freedom if it was ever threatened by the government. By taking away our guns, you are in a sense taking away part of our freedom as the people of this country.
Topic: gun-control

Some people argue that we have the right to protect ourselves from all dangers, including guns, and that there should be a more restrictive gun control. While it is true that we should make sure that guns should stay out of the hands of felons and mentally unstable people, they should not be banned from regular, responsible citizen’s hands. Moore defines what a responsible citizen is, The citizen must be law-abiding, with no felony record, must not abuse alcohol or drugs, must not be mentally ill, must not have renounced U. S. citizenship, must not have been dishonorably discharged from the military, and must be in the U.
Topic: gun-control

S. legally (2). Upon purchasing a gun you have to take a class on gun safety and use and are required to have a full criminal background check and to give your full set of fingerprints. I do not think that this is being enforced enough and shouldn’t be taken lightly. If we can keep the guns out of the wrong hands, we can eliminate most of the crimes caused by them. “By definition, a criminal is someone who breaks the law. Criminals have many ways to obtain weapons without going through the process mandated by the Brady Bill. Two obvious examples are theft and black market purchases.
Topic: gun-control

According to studies only one firearm of every six used in a crime is obtained legally” (Moore 3). Eliminating guns in this country will do nothing, stopping the wrong people to get their hands on it could. We are not going to ban cars because someone crashed it and they died. Many things are dangerous, it is up to the person to be responsible with it. Most products have a warning label or say what not to do with them, such as do not use your hair dryer in the bath, but, it is up to you as a person to be responsible with it and to protect yourself from harm.
Topic: gun-control

If another person lacks that responsibility, and uses something to harm you, such as a weapon, you should be able to defend yourself, even with a gun. Think about how well it went in the 1920’s when the prohibition happened and alcohol was made illegal, people still got alcohol through the black market, and because of that demand, the black market grew. The same is true today with the ban on drugs, they are illegal, but people can still get them, and people still use them. The same thing is going to happen, only with guns.
Topic: gun-control

Many surveys suggest criminals obtain their weapons through this illegal firearms market. One study indicated that in 37 percent of their arrests the criminal said they could obtain a gun in less than a week, while another 20 percent said they could get a firearm in a day or less. (O’Niell 1). You everyday criminals don’t just walk to the gun store and buy a gun; they get it from the black-market. These guns are usually stolen guns and unregistered. Taking away our right to legally have and buy guns is only going to lead to guns being in the wrong hands and ordinary citizens will be defenseless.
Topic: gun-control

Chicago, once seen as one of those go-to American cities, with its sweeping skyline and the lake, is now seen and is a haven for gun violence and crime. It has the strictest gun laws in the country; the question is what went wrong. Houston is very similar to Chicago in terms of socioeconomic factors such as population, density, and segregation. Houston, like Chicago, is a major center for illegal activities such as the drug trade and human trafficking. Despite all this, Houston has a murder rate two-thirds [than] that of Chicago.
Topic: gun-control

This is because the people of Houston are well armed, while innocents in Chicago have been condemned to be sitting ducks. (Vidal1) Many of the guns in Chicago that are used for these shootings are illegally obtained and are in the hands of criminals and gangs. You are able to get a gun in Chicago now, but you have to go through a firearms training class, 2 background checks, and have a firearm’s owner I. D. card. Only 7,640 people legally own a gun in Chicago, the rest are illegally had, 7,400 illegal guns last year were confiscated from crimes (Maass 1).
Topic: gun-control

The gun free law in Chicago is clearly not working if more guns are being confiscated from criminals than responsible citizens who own guns. Many people complain about the high rate of crimes involving guns and gun use in America. A law banning guns probably won’t lower this number at all. If we don’t have means to protect ourselves, we would have to find a way to call for help, such as law enforcement. There are not enough police to go around and protect everybody, and sometimes they come and too late. In that time it took for the cops to get there, that could have been the last few moments of that person’s life.
Topic: gun-control

We need to be able to defend ourselves. “Laws are not enough to protect people from aggression. We must allow people the means to protect themselves. Protection is a major reason that about half of all Americans own a firearm” (Moore 5). Yes firearms can be used against us, but they can also be used for us. We need to have more effective criminal regulations and crime control, rather than more gun control. This is the only way to stop crimes whether or not they involve guns. The tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut was unsettling, killing twenty-seven people, including twenty school children and seven adults.
Topic: gun-control

This school, just like all in the United States, is a gun-free zone, but should that mean those teachers and other staff, such as the cop in the school should not have access to guns? The gun free zone did not stop Adam Lanza, the shooter from bringing in his three guns to the school and killing 20 students and six adults. “Police and other first responders arrived on scene about 20 minutes after the first calls” (Sandy Hook 1). Had these teachers and staff had a gun or any means of protection at all, he may have been stopped before he killed anybody or at an even lower number, especially since the police arrived that long after calls.
Topic: gun-control

Pratt states, “Virtually all mass murders in the past 20 years have occurred in gun-free zones” (1). A mass murder is considered three or more deaths. The main reason that these have happened in gun free zones is because no one other than a police officer has a gun and can stop him and by that time one shows up there is a relatively high chance that more than three people are dead. I do believe that teachers should have a gun in their desk and ready just in case of another incident such as the Sandy Hook Tragedy or at least a cop in every school.
Topic: gun-control

Guns should be allowed on these gun-free zones by honest citizens. Criminal are not obeying the rules about the gun-free zones, so why should we take the chance and leave the school children, or mall goers at risk? Taking away guns is not going to solve anything, but instead leave the guns in the hands of criminals. Guns should be kept legal, and yes there should be regulations and better eye on who has it, but making them illegal all together will just cause us to be defenseless and a black market will start up for guns, just like all illegal things.
Topic: gun-control

We just need to better regulate the criminals, mental patients, and those on prescription drugs that could alter personality and rationality, not have guns. We need to have better crime control, rather than gun control and teach responsibility and safety and risks of guns. Making everyone well-educated on the topic and of guns themselves will overall help. Even making it mandatory to have a background check and mental health check every few years to make sure that these guns are in the right hands would help out a lot.
Topic: gun-control

Most of the time it’s not normal citizens that commit the crimes but criminals, and by taking away guns from normal good, people, we will be essentially leaving them in the wrong hands and taking away our protection. Works Cited Burbaker, Elisabeth. “Larry Pratt on Guns in America: “Evil’s in Our Hearts. Not in the Guns””Piers Morgan RSS. Cable News Network, 8 Dec. 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2013. KATES, DON B. , Jr. “Second Amendment. ” Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Ed. Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst. 2nd ed. Vol. 5.
Topic: gun-control

There are those who feel that they need to have guns either for protection or for sport and they are those who feel that guns are best placed in the hands of those that are mandated to protect the general population. The recent spate of school shootings goes a long way in showing how a relaxed attitude towards the licensing of guns can cause such untold carnage. The advocates of no gun control are ignoring the signs of the times; that we are breeding a generation that does not think twice before they pull the trigger.
Topic: gun-control

Of course, it would be strengthened. If the pistols were useless in matters of self-defense, their release would have stopped long ago. In this case, do not assume that any person due to the presence of his weapon will turn into invulnerable. Some opponents of anti-gun control are confident that only professionals will be able to use it. This is also incorrect. To some extent, all its owners will be able to take advantage of guns, and exhausting themselves by training will significantly increase the chances of success.
Topic: gun-control

One of the main arguments against gun control is a statement that it leads to a decrease in the level of crime, as potential criminals fear for their lives and health. To commit a crime in relation to a citizen with a pistol is much harder than to a person without it. In this aspect, the United States is a good example. To see the obvious evil or obvious good in a legal shortcut is somewhat strange: among the leaders by a crime rate, the number of murders and, by the number of criminal use of weapons, both the countries where the weapon is legalized and the countries where it is banned are located. Conversely, in the lower rows of ratings are also both states.
Topic: gun-control

The criminals have weapons, and citizens are banned to gave it. It is necessary to level the chances at least in the name of justice. Indeed, the number of guns in the hands of criminals and migrants exceeds all reasonable limits. For some reason, it is forbidden for a normal citizen to have it in a lot of countries. However, I think that there is no question of equalizing chances. Only the reasonable activity of the state, in which it finally stands up for the protection of honest citizens, and not criminals, can stand the chances. Nevertheless, justice for me is not an empty phrase. I believe that this situation is primarily humiliating.
Topic: gun-control

For many decades gun control has been an ongoing controversy for those who believe guns should be outlawed and those who want the 2nd amendment to be honored. Although guns do have the potential to be dangerous, they are used for self defense, law enforcement, hunting, and to protect others from unwanted harm. Guns put in the wrong hands could lead to catastrophic events, and in the past it has. Due to these horrific events guns have been put on a pedestal and been speculated as too dangerous for American citizens to handle, and the right to own a gun should be taken away.
Topic: gun-control

Many people who are for gun control believe “the more lax gun laws are… the more likely one is to face someone with a firearm who has no business owning one” (Holt), but criminals are not called criminals because they obeyed the law. According to Jason Howerton, a pro-gun advocate, societies against gun control believe otherwise and consider the gun ban has an unintended effect: it emboldens criminals because they know the law-abiding District residents are unarmed and powerless to defend them.
Topic: gun-control

Studies done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics report firearm homicides have declined 39 percent since 1993, and “a separate study by the Pew Research center put the decline at an even more impressive 49 percent” (Barrett). In the same research, the government had reported that an average of about 22,000 nonfatal shootings occurred annually from 1993 to 2002 and from 2002 to 2011 that number had declined by about half. Even though there has been a drastic decline, people who are anti-gun supporters want to create stricter regulations making it tougher to own a gun or even take guns out of the society completely.
Topic: gun-control

Implementing gun control policies throughout the U. S. will not make guns disappear, furthermore it will just mask all citizens good or bad have automatic weapons. Gun control laws were made up in effort to regulate and control the sales of guns. In the history of gun control, American Rifleman published an article by Stephen P. Hallbrook, PhD. , J. D. , where he explained Hitler’s use of firearms registration lists led to the confiscate of guns, and the execution of gun owners.
Topic: gun-control

He also observes “registration makes it easy for a tyrannical government to confiscate firearms and to make prey of its subjects” (Fetzer). Throughout the world guns controlled by the government has made it easy for those in power to do whatever they want to their people. Studies in the article Do Strict Gun laws really stop gun Crime? by Mytheos Holt, the gun control movement tried for 30 years from the 1960’s to the 1990’s to ban hand guns, but had failed miserably.
Topic: gun-control

Senate Rand Paul, pro-gun advocate and a republican in Kentucky, “has implied he will filibuster new proposals and has said to Obama, “Call me if any of your reforms would’ve saved those kids at Sandy Hook” (Fetzer). He does not believe any new laws to be passed on gun control would prevent another tragedy, such as Sandy Hook. Cleta Mitchell, a Washington lawyer and director of the National Rifle Association, justifies the reason for gun control is due to the insane people who have had their chances to obtain guns, and using them in criminal behavior.
Topic: gun-control

She also includes that the “Obama Administration has a pathetic enforcement record, including an abysmal failure to enforce existing legal prohibitions on purchases of firearms by persons adjudicated mentally incompetent” (Mitchell). An author for The Washington Times, David Sherfinski, notes in his article Sen. Joe Manchin III thinks we need to strengthen our approach on mental illness, as well. Overall, people believe that mental illness should not be taken lightly when buying or obtaining an automatic weapon. Amongst gun control follows controversies, and not just one or two, many.
Topic: gun-control

Under the current law, gun dealers hold a Federal Firearms License and are required to conduct instant background checks before allowing a firearm to a buy, but “transfers between people who are regularly engaged in business of dealing firearms fall outside this requirement” (Rivkin Jr. ). This includes family to family transfers or family to friend transfers, anyone dealing outside of a gun dealership. Though universal background checks are a great idea, it will not stop a criminal from obtaining and using it to break the law.
Topic: gun-control

The communities of pro-gun control believe it is a vital necessity to the welfare of our nation. They feel many deaths caused by guns can be stopped by controlling the ownership of guns within the U. S. According to Paul M. Barret, author of Good News on Gun Violence Could Shape Gun control Debate, the main argument gun control advocates have long made is that tighter restrictions on firearms are needed to cut crime. This has been proven wrong; the states with the highest amount of murder rates by guns had the some of the strictest gun control laws.
Topic: gun-control

In 2011 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, California had the highest number of gun murders, as well as the strongest gun control laws. Along with this report, Washington, D. C. has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, and yet again, the gun murder rate remains dramatically high, the highest in the United States. Through these studies, the states with strictly regulated gun control laws do not correlate with less guns equals less crime, in fact it has done the exact opposite. Keith Olbermann of MSNBC has said, “Organizations like the NRA … re trying to increase deaths by gun in this country” (Stossel). You cannot argue that “Guns in the right hands help public safety.
Topic: gun-control

Guns in the wrong hands harm public safety” (Holt). Societies with Pro-Gun Laws do not have a strong argument except the fact that clinically insane or any other mental illnesses should not be able to obtain a gun. Taking Sandy Hook Elementary into consideration, “Connecticut has among the most stringent gun control laws in the country—There are ample laws on the books that restrict gun purchases by those who shouldn’t buy them” (Mitchell).
Topic: gun-control

Yet, Adam Lanza was still able to gain access to the weapons. In the article, Why Gun Control is Bad for America? by James H. Fetzer, he explains the weapons allegedly used by Adam Lanza were lawfully obtained by his mother in accordance with Connecticut laws. Which shows, no matter how many gun laws are passed out there, criminals or the mentally incompetent will find a way to retrieve a weapon. Because of our founding fathers, the United States Bill of Rights protects the right to bear arms.
Topic: gun-control

Some experts maintain that it was added because of the need for a citizen militia that could defend the nation in times of need and therefore does not support owner ship of a wide range of weapons, the “Supreme Court has supported a broader interpretation of the law as a fundamental right of American citizens” (Fetzer). It also states in the 2nd amendment that this right to bear arms will not be infringed; consequently banning guns would take one of our rights away. History has a way of repeating itself.
Topic: gun-control

Throughout several political administrations, one continual of tyrannical government has been disarming citizens. “No man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against the tyranny in government” -Thomas Jefferson. When disarming citizens, there will be too much power on government side leaving the common people defenseless, and unable to fend for themselves. Not saying the American government would ever believe on eliminating its own citizens for their benefits, but rather be safe than sorry.
Topic: gun-control

Which lead into “gun control is not about guns- it’s about control” (Mitchell). The idea that regulating the type of gun you can purchase, limiting the size of a magazine or background checks will stop murders like so many school shootings from happening is absurd. Any criminal will find his or her way to get their hands on any type of weapons that comes thrown at their way. Gun requirements vary throughout the United States, although there are some basic federal laws which affect the U. S. nationwide.
Topic: gun-control

The National Rifle Association have noted restrictions on guns such as a person must be 21 or older to purchase a weapon , no person convicted of a crime can own a gun, and persons who engage in the business of buying or selling firearms must be licensed. The implementations of gun control laws have been boundless and widespread though they do not altogether block people from attaining a firearm. Although I am in the military, I do not always believe what the government has told me about guns to be true. Not from my chain of command stationed in Pensacola, but rather those I do not interact with everyday, such as people in Congress.
Topic: gun-control

Through writing this paper, I have asked many officers, petty officers, seamen, seamen apprentices, and recruits their view on gun control. Without any questions asked to why I would be asking, they all agreed gun control should only be for those who are A- criminals or B- mentally unstable. The law-abiding citizen should not get punished because of a few bad apples that have taken guns and done evil things with them. How guns are used is completely up to the person in possession of it. Any type of weapon cannot physically hurt a person by themselves.
Topic: gun-control

It takes at least one person to decide how a weapon shall be used for good or bad. Having my qualifications to use guns, I do believe those who have guns should have at least one safety class just to reeducate the correct way to use one. I do not believe gun control laws will end violence considering a disturbed person does not need a gun to be destructive. It actually might have an adverse effect; removing guns from these types of people will not make them any less violent, it might just make them even more violent. Even though I do not use guns to hunt game, I do enjoy going to the gun range for some target practice.
Topic: gun-control

Not only does it help me aim more efficiently, it gives me a sense of security. If anything were to happen, instead of being completely uneducated about guns I know exactly how they work, and how to use one. It also helps that I know how to unarm an armed person, which by the way, takes a lot of practice. All in all, some type of screening to own a gun would not be a bad idea; it would definitely help provide some sort of boundary to those who are allowed to carry an automatic weapon. Believing guns are the reason there is more crime rather than there is just violent people in the world just seems a bit ridiculous.
Topic: gun-control

Not taking into consideration that human beings are the ones that control objects, such as guns, not the other way around. If that were the case, why not ban all sorts of weapons; anything could be a weapon. From a paper clip to a car, all could be used as an object to harm others. In any case, completely ignoring the 2nd amendment and banning guns would create uproar with many pro-gun citizens. Though some gun control is a good thing, such as background checks and at least 21 of age to purchase a gun, there should not be any reason to put anymore laws into effect.
Topic: gun-control

As said before, criminals will get their hands on a weapon one way or another. If it’s not a gun, then it could be anything else. No other gun control legislation can or could have prevented the catastrophes that happened in Connecticut or Colorado. Each of these events had a mentally incompetent person involved in the massacres, and we have laws for these types of people. Furthermore, more gun regulations will not stop violent crimes in America. It is how we use our resources to stop these people from creating even more violent occurrences, and that is letting citizens have the right to own their guns.
Topic: gun-control

Gun control is not going to save lives as many pro-gun control advocates believe. The only thing that will actually save lives is educating those who know nothing of guns, and knowledge to be widespread through our nation. There are too many people who have never even held a gun, and even be in the same room as a gun to decide if they are for gun control or anti-gun control. The only way people will actually get an understanding of the information is to be informed, rather than going off other opinions.
Topic: gun-control

You can help. The public library needs volunteers to distribute books to those that are unable to leave their homes, Deanna – you can help even just 1 person once every 2 weeks to renew or return the books for them. Who knows they could live on your street. Meals on wheels need volunteers every day, and Tonya, did you know you can help out with that? Yep, you can cook so you can help. Hospice can use your help; assisted living facilities are in desperate need your help also. Brenda that could be you – helping with education for women on self-breast exams. You can help.
Topic: gun-control

Hold the door open for someone. Walk down the street and help someone by finishing taking the trash to the curb. Beth – you can contact the volunteer coordinator at your church and ask how you can help, I am sure they visit shut-ins. Carla -you can call the activities director of an assisted-living facility and ask how you can volunteer by maybe bringing you kids down there to brighten their day. Karen – you could bake an extra loaf of bread and drop it off at the soup kitchen in your area. There are endless ways to start volunteering.
Topic: gun-control

People do pay attention to your life outside the environment in which they have direct contact with you. Volunteering reflects and supports a complete picture of you, and gives real examples of your commitment, dedication and interests. Show people what you are passionate about and maybe you will inspire them too! Each and every one of you have the power to express you desire to help out in your own unique way. So please help that WWII veteran or that retired teacher that just can’t anymore. Remember you can help.
Topic: gun-control

They’re many different biased opinions related to the topic of public policy and gun control. Many would argue that gun control doesn’t follow public policy in a “normal” route. “Normal” being shocking incidents or crises that draw public attention and media coverage which in turn draw a debate on one or more aspects of the issue wither it be a philosophical, regulatory, constitutional, or technical aspect. Following this, investigations that would result in an actual change in public policy to further prevent or at least deter another reoccurrence of this action.
Topic: gun-control

The shooting of Unites States Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the massacre at the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre are two examples of incidents that should have led to the investigation of the downside of the current public policy with gun control. The debate of deciphering the 2nd amendment has and will always be an ongoing debate. While various federal laws have been enacted since 1934 to promote the regulation of firearms, each fifty states still have different laws according to the severity of restrictions condoned by citizens, and placed by the legislators.
Topic: gun-control

In a reaction to emancipation in 1865, several of the southern states adopted what is known as “black codes” which among many other things, ban black persons from possessing any firearms. The National Rifle Association (NRA) was organized in 1871 with a primary goal of improving the marksmanship of American Civilians for the preparation of war. In 1927 the Congress passed the law banning the mailing of concealable weapons. The National firearms Act of 1934 which is approved by congress that regulates only fully automatic firearms.
Topic: gun-control

The Gun Control Act of 1968 bans persons convicted of any non-business related felonies, persons found to be mentally incompetent, and users of illegal drugs the use or ownership of firearms. This act also regulates imported guns, and expands the gun-dealer licensing and record keeping requirements. It also places specific limitations on the sale of handguns. In 1972 the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms is created with a mission to control the illegal use and sale of firearms and the enforcement of Federal firearms laws.
Topic: gun-control

Five years later in 1977 The District of Columbia enacts an anti-handgun law which also requires registration of all rifles and shotguns within The District of Columbia. 1986, the Armed Career Criminal Act (Public Law 99-570) increases the penalty for the possession of firearms by persons not qualified to own them under the Gun Control Act of 1986. Also in 86’ the Firearms Owners Protection Act (Public Law 99-308) relaxes some restrictions on gun and ammunition sales and establishes mandatory penalties for the use of firearms during the commission of a crime.
Topic: gun-control

In 1994 the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Public Law 103-159) is passed which imposes a five day waiting period on the purchase of a handgun and requires that local law enforcement agencies conduct background checks on purchasers of handguns. ATF’s) Brady Law web-site). Also in 1994 the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322) is passed which bans all sale, manufacture, Importation, or possession of a number of specific types of assault weapons. In 1998 the newly created National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) computer system is now required to be used by gun dealers due to the permanent provisions of the Brady Act.
Topic: gun-control

When you hear about all of the tragedies that have occurred over the last few years relating gun violence one of the first things that come to mind is how they can be prevented. Gun regulations could limit the number of shootings and gun related deaths in the United States. If we take guns off the streets to obvious result would be a decline the average number of deaths caused by shootings in the United States per year. This is a serious problem that is the logical thing to do in order to save countless innocent lives each year.
Topic: gun-control

Presidents John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln also Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated (Doeden 26). The people who committed these offences were seemingly normal everyday people like you and me but the lack of laws and restrictions regarding background checks allow these criminals or the mentally unstable to acquire deadly weapons and cause mass unnecessary death. Gun control has been a political idea since the signing of our constitution. Only a few years after our nation was born New York politician, Rufus King, said “That it was dangerous to put arms into the hands of the frontier people for their defense, lest they should use them against the United States” (qtd.
Topic: gun-control

There is a clear relation to gun control and safety of our friends and family. The lack of strong gun regulation laws in the United States endangers the safety of innocent citizens. In December of 2012 a lone gunman went on a shooting rampage and killed 20 first graders and six staff members of a Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown Connecticut. The gunman was armed with two semi-automatic hand guns and an assault rifle (Bagne). In the weeks after gun sales spiked which is not the result that was expected and holds a problem in its self. The way to maintain safety in and around our neighborhood is not to have everyone stockpile guns. If this is the mindset of the American people then something needs to be done. Gun restrictions will allow people to go through their everyday lives with a priceless feeling of safety for them and their family. The necessity of caution when someone wants to acquire and firearm is immense. If there is no gun sold into a potentially life threatening situation such as a home with many children or with someone who has a history of violent acts then the chance of an incident involving a firearm is severely reduced.
Topic: gun-control

In order to reduce armed crime in the United States we must apply more powerful gun control regulations. Vice president Joe Biden is one of the most involved and dedicated politicians on the gun control issue. He is trying to reduce armed violence by creating a strict background check policy for anyone trying to purchase or register a gun .The objective of Biden’s campaign is to reduce the risks that are associated with a criminal being able to purchase a firearm with intent to use the weapon unlawfully. In the last year after the Newtown Connecticut shootings there have been more than 5,200 people killed with a gun in the United States (Feldmann).
Topic: gun-control

Mass gun related deaths in the United States unfortunately are not an uncommon occurrence. “In October 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo used a Bushmaster assault rifle in a three weak sniping spree to murder ten people and injure three others in Washington D.C, Maryland and Virginia”(Carter). The point made in the article was that if gun restrictions and regulations were tighter there may have been a chance that the police would have been able to identify the shooters much sooner if they were able to match the bullet casing to the gun and its owners. The situation of armed crime has only gotten worse over the decade since this tragedy and as of right now there is no sign of improvement on the gun control policies in the United States.
Topic: gun-control

The occurrences of mass shootings in the United States in many cases can be related to the mental health of the people who were able to obtain and use these weapons. The Sandy Hook massacre was because a man who was mentally unstable was able to take his mother’s weapons shoots her then proceeds on the elementary school where he killed the innocent children and teachers (Bagne). Laws need to be put in place in order to protect our nation from tragedies like this. If there are regulations prevention the purchase of a gun in a home where there is someone who is not mentally stable and can access the guns.
Topic: gun-control

An alternate relation between and mental stability comes from the aftermath. After Sandy Hook many counselors were sent to schools around the country to try and allow students to cope with what had recently happened in Connecticut. Regardless if the students were at Sandy Hook or not there were people who suffered and were traumatized by this event. Gun regulations need to be put in place to prevent guns reaching the hands of people who are mentally unstable and to prevent mass shootings in order to preserve the innocence of the next generation.
Topic: gun-control

Bagne, Mary. “Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting (2012).” Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society 2013: n. pag. ABC-CLIO. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. Carter, Gregg L. “Washington D.C. Sniper Case (2002).” 2013: n. pag. ABC-CLIO. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. Doeden, Matt. Gun Control: Preventing Violence or Crushing Constitutional Rights? Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2012. Print. Feldmann, Linda. “Gun Control: Why Vice President Biden Is Trying Again.” The Christian Science Monitor 18 June 2013: n. pag. Print.
Topic: gun-control

Over the past few weeks, my group and I have been in a constant debate about the pros and cons of legalizing guns in the United States. This has been a constant debate that has been going on for sometime now. My group and I had the opportunity to really explore both sides thoroughly. It was amazing to find out the citizens of America were truly divided on the decision for guns to be legalized. According to The Resnick articile (1999), In 2008, the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v.