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Classical Argument Gun Control

Example Student #1

Ensign College

ENG 201 Section 02: Intermediate College Writing

Instructor Megan Rice

April 5th, 2021

Abstract

This paper explores how guns are used inappropriately and are affecting the lives of many

individuals in the U.S. Recent studies have shown that due to the great number of guns in the

country, it is almost impossible to have an effective control and reduce crime. Unfortunately,in

the past five years United States has suffered 302 thousand deaths due to the lethal use of guns.

Likewise, laws such as the Stand Your Ground has increased the homicide rate since it allows

individuals to shot another human being when feeling unsecure. Moreover, guns are not the

problem for its inappropriate use, but gunowners don’t follow safety procedures, those with

mental illness commit mass shootings, individuals seek for revenge against those who treated

them unfairly, and unauthorized people have easy access to guns committing suicide or

accidental shootings. It is clear that guns are not keeping the American people safe anymore;

therefore, the government should ban the use of firearms for the public.

Keywords: gun control, death, violence, youth

Gun Control

Cash Cover of eleven years old lost his life in the town of Kamas, Utah due to a careless

accident involving a gun. The Cover family were big fans of guns; they owned guns for hunting,

sports, collection, and protection. However, after June 4th, 2020 their desire to own guns

diminished. Their son Cash accidentally shot himself after grabbing a real handgun with the

purpose of shooting it outside. Guns are causing a real harm to friends, families, neighbors, and

acquaintances. Every week accidents like the one of Cash Cover happen in the U.S.

Nevertheless, accidental deaths due to guns are not the only type of incidents guns are

provoking. Hundreds of people in the U.S. die each year by the inappropriate use of [Link]

have shown that many use guns to commit acts like suicide, homicide, mass shootings,accidental

shooting, and in disagreements. In order to reduce deaths due to the improper use ofguns the

government should ban guns for the public use.

Now, in the United States there are a great number of guns. According to SAS, there are

around 395 million guns meaning that the U.S. with less than the 5% of the world’s population

owns the 46% of the world’s civilian guns. After analyzing these numbers, Stell (2004) suggests

that many of the gun violence in the U.S. is due to the amount and the prevalence of guns in the

country. Moreover, he said that “reducing the percentage of gun ownership is the key in reducing

America’s homicide rate” (2004). Stell might be right to believe that the less weapons people

own the less would be the probability of gun crime. In a different study, Lazter (2019)

discovered that many of the deaths due to gun power is because of the easiness and accessibility

the American people has in guns. She believes that as long as all guns are legal in the U.S., gun

crime will continue to affect the safety of innocent people (2019). Gun legislations have failed to

keep society safe since certain laws have diminished the fear of people to commit crime.
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One of those legislations it’s called the Stand Your Ground Law which allows individuals

to “use deadly force in a confrontation without any duty of retreat, even when they can do so

safely” (Everytown, n.d.). In other words, this law gives gun holders the authority and power to

defend themselves even by killing another human being if they feel unsafe. In his study, Durkin

believes that by passing this law individuals fear of committing homicide decreases because the

SYG law gives them a big probability of finding themselves innocent (2020). That was the case

of Trayvon Martin, a boy who was walking back home and was shot by George Zimmerman

who defend his actions by stating “he looked suspicious”. Mr. Zimmerman was charge with a

second-degree murder after this incident happened, but he repeatably justify that his actions are

protected by the SYG law. Study shows that after this law was approved, the state of Florida had

an increase of 31.6% homicides by the use of guns (2020). This statistic clearly shows how the

use of public guns can have an impact in society. In his study, Farrell believes than when

individuals buy a gun for the purpose of self-defense, they have decided to use the gun against

someone else if the situation requires it (2018). Meaning that many people that own guns will not

doubt to use them to take a human life if they feel in danger.

Guns are used inappropriately when gunowners don’t follow safety procedures resulting

in numerous accidents. That was the case of Jayla Riggs, in 2018 she was accidentally killed by

her younger brother who didn’t know the gun was loaded. This tragic death isn’t the fault of

Jayla or her brother, but of the gun owner. Mr. Riggs didn’t follow the National Rifle

Association safety rules that states, “Store guns so they are not accessible to unauthorized

persons” (2019). Examples as the one of Jayla are very common in the U.S. In 2020, the Gun

Violence Archive reported and verified 2,229 unintentional shootings, some of them ended in

deaths and others in serious injuries. Mr. Riggs as well as many other gunowners take safety
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rules lightly. In his study, Parker found that 63% of gun owners have at least one gun that is not

kept in a safe place. Also, the study found that 53% of gun owners kept their guns loaded (2017).

This means that many gun owners don’t follow simple safety rules which increase the probability

of accidents to occur.

In a different study, Crifasi (2016) acknowledges that households with the ownership of

guns have a higher risk of unintentional shootings. The study also acknowledges that storing

guns in a safety place will reduce accidental shootings among youth from happening. Crifasi

firmly believes that those who have attended to a safety gun course are more careful and

obedient to keep guns in a safe place (2016). Now, responsible gun owners are aware that

following safety practices can prevent terrible incidents from happening. For that reason, the

National Rifle Association (NRA)was created. In it there are 6 practices that will allow gun

owners to use and keep firearms safely. The NRA suggests keeping guns unloaded if they will

not be used. This will prevent accidental shootings from happening. It also suggests providing

gun cases for each gun; this will prevent unauthorized persons to have access to it. Lastly, it

suggests keeping guns in a locked cabinet that only allows the owner to have access (2019). By

applying these and other safety rules, gun accidents can be prevented and many lives can be

saved. Gun owners should not take safety measurements lightly anymore.

Gun accidents are not the only reason why many U.S. residents die each year. Many gun

owners use guns inappropriately when they can’t control their emotions and actions. In his study,

Kimmel (2020) states that, “there is strong evidence that the desire to seek revenge in response to

a grievance is a primary motive behind most acts of violence.” He also believes that those who

have been treated unjustly, betrayed, wrongly accused, and publicly humiliated tend to seek

revenge by causing harm against those who treated them in that way (2020). This is a big issue
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because science has demonstrated that the feeling that comes after taking revenge due to a past

grievance is of satisfaction, pleasure, and relief which are almost the same feelings that come

after consuming addictive substances (2020). People tend to act based on their emotions and

don’t realize the consequences of their actions. If this is the case, guns are an effective and

accessible weapon to take revenge on others. Kimmel believes that in most cases mental illness

is not the main problem of gun violence, instead the main problem is the lack of self-control

people have on their actions (2020). In her study, Lazter (2019) found that one in three slayings

due to guns were among acquaintances and one in five slayings are among family members. This

is an issue the governmental cannot control, it depends in each individual to develop self-control

on their actions.

Now, guns are used inappropriately when those with mental illness have access to it. It is

important to understand that there is a difference between mental health issues and mental

illness. Parekh (2018) states that mental illness “is a condition that affects a person’s thinking,

feeling, and behavior”. That was the case of Nikolas Cruz, a young boy diagnosed with a mental

illness that open fire in 2018 killing 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,

Florida. Even though the U.S. law prohibits people with mental illness to own guns; there are

many of them that use firearms daily. In his study, Wolf (2015) believes that many individuals

with mental illness suffer from aggressiveness or anger issues increasing the probability of future

dangerous incidents related to guns. Furthermore, Wolf suggests that providing a better mental

health service to those that are mentally ill will reduce future incidents. However, as long as guns

are allowed in the country, it will be impossible to keep them out of dangerous people (2015).

For that reason, the best thing to do is to provide better treatment, support, and medication to

those that are suffering from mental illness.

Those who suffer from mental illness and have access to guns are not only a danger to

others, but to themselves. Depression is considered as mental illness and “is strongly related to

both suicidal ideation and attempt” (Brådvik, 2018). This means that people who suffer from

mental illness are more likely to commit suicide and even more likely to use guns to commit

suicide. To be more precise, in the United States 2/3 of all suicides are committed by the use of

guns (Everytown, n.d.). In her study, Lewiecki discovered that the action of suicide can be

quickly pass and remain unfulfilled if the individual can’t find the means to commit suicide.

Therefore, restricting lethal means can prevent many suicide cases (2013). For example,

if an individual use drug overdose to commit suicide he or she has the possibility of being

rescued andtreated by physicians because drugs are less lethal than other instruments such as

guns. For that reason, Lewiecki (2013) firmly believes that any access to guns either from

households or for personal use can increase the risk of suicide.

Now, there are many who oppose with the idea of banning guns for the public use. In his

study, Wright (1995) shares that people who own guns feel safer than when they don’t. Even if

guns don’t provide safety to people the physiological feeling that owning a gun will keep

someone safe exist among modern society. In his study, Ignielnik discovered that 67% of gun

owners have confirm that their main reason for owning a gun is for self and family protection

(2017). Banning guns for the public use will be like taking away their main tool of self-

protection, making them feel uncapable of protecting their own and family lives against crime.

“Guns stop bad people from doing bad things to good people” (Smith, 2018). If good people

don’t have the right tools to fight back, bad people will be encouraged to commit more crimes.

Some may argue that guns are barely used for self-defense. However, Kleck found that each year

in the United States there are approximately 400,000 people who claim that they saved a life
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against crime by the use of a gun (1995). If this statistic is efficient then the number of people

saved by guns is superior than the people who die each year by the inappropriate use guns.

Guns are taking the wrong path in keeping the American people safe. Many experts in the

field of public safety believe that the prevalence and great number of guns in the country

increase the probability of deaths. Moreover, legislators have recognized how certain laws such

as the Stand Your Ground has failed in the attempt of reducing gun violence since certain states

have recorded greater spikes. Studies have shown how gunowners don’t follow safety procedures

which have incremented the number of unintentional shootings. Additionally, guns become even

more dangerous when gun holders are moved by their emotions to take revenge on others after

facing past grievances. Gun holders dealing with mental health issues have easy access to guns

even when the Federal law prohibits them. If the government wants to prevent future mass

shootings and suicides from occurring more funds should be provided to offer better mental

health services. Furthermore, the government should take extra actions to decrease deaths due to

the inappropriate use of guns since it seems like there is a current war in which each year many

U.S. residents die. The joy of life is to live and if anything is design to take a human life then

under no circumstance should it be allowed.

Word Count: 2,000

Reference Page

Brådvik, L. (2018). Suicide risk and mental disorders. Environmental Research and Public

Health, 15(9), 208-212. 10.3390/ijerph15092028

Crifasi, C. K., Doucette, M. L., McGinty, E. E., Webster, D. W., & Barry, C. L. (2018). Storage

practices of US gun owners in 2016. American Journal of Public Health, 108(4), 532–

537. [Link]

Durkin, A., Schenck, C., Narayan, Y., Nyhan, K., Khoshnood, K., & Vermund, S. H. (2020).

Prevention of firearm injury through policy and law: The social ecologicalmodel. Journal of

Law, Medicine & Ethics, 48, 191–197. [Link]

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Firearm suicide in the United States. (n.d.). Everytown. Retrieved April 6, 2021 from

[Link]

Igielnik, R., & Brown, A. (2017). Key takeaways on Americans’ views of guns and gun

ownership. FactTank. Retrieved from [Link]

tank/2017/06/22/key-takeaways-on-americans-views-of-guns-and-gun-ownership/

Kimmel Jr., J., & Rowe, M. (2020). A behavioral addiction model of revenge, violence, and gun

abuse. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 48, 172–178. [Link]

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Kleck, G., & Gertz, M. (1995). Armed resistance to crime: The prevalence and nature of self-

defense with a gun. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 86(1), 150–187. [Link]
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Latzer, B. (2019). The futility of gun control as crime control. Academic Questions, 32(2), 288–

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Lewiecki, E. M., & Miller, S. A. (2013). Suicide, guns, and public policy. American Journal of

Public Health, 103(1), 27–31. [Link]

NRA Gun Safety Rules. (n.d.) NRA Explore. Retrieved February 21, 2021 from

[Link]

Parekh, R. (2018) What is mental illness? American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved from

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Smith, M. W. (2018, July 12). More people use a gun in self-defense each year than die in car

accidents. Foundation for Economic Education. [Link]

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D_BwE

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[Link]/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2004.tb00447.x

Wolf, C. R., & Rosen, J. A. (2015). Missing the mark: Gun control is not the cure for what ails

the U.S. mental health system. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 104(4), 851–

878.
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Wright, J. D. (1995). Ten essential observations on guns in America. Society, 32(3), 63–68.

[Link]