This document discusses increasing gun control legislation in the United States. It notes that nearly 30,000 people die each year from gun violence, despite existing gun laws. The author argues that stricter laws are needed, such as banning assault weapons, requiring background checks for all gun purchases, and enforcing existing laws more strictly. The document also references studies showing that nations with stricter gun control, like Canada, Britain, and Japan, have lower rates of gun homicides than the U.S. It concludes that with stronger regulation of firearms and penalties for violations, gun violence in America could be reduced.

1. Mason Dino
FYS 100 MWF 12pm
Increasing Gun Control Legislation
In 2000, nearly 30,000 people died due to uncontrollable gun violence even though the
U.S. has thousands of gun laws. Gun control is now one of the main political issues because of
all the shootings in the past decade. There have been many studies taken on gun control that
shows more gun control lessens gun violence (Kwon).
Gun control does not mean the government is going to take guns away or outlaw them; it
means certain types of guns will not be available. For example, a war zone gun like an M16
should not be available to the general public because it is not used to hunt with. Gun control
would put more restrictions on who can purchase a gun because some people are in the right
state of mind to own a gun. Manufactures might be required to make all guns child proof. While
guns are easily accessible to anyone, then gun violence will not decrease. Also, while more gun
legislation is needed, the already existing gun laws on the state and national level need to be
strictly enforced. For example, it is a national law that in order to purchase a gun, a background
check is required, but not all states enforce this law properly (Moorhouse).
According to Don B. Kates Jr., a professor in criminal law, pointed out that European
nations that ban guns have extremely low homicide rates. Also, in Great Britain and Japan guns
are strictly monitored which leads to low rates of gun violence (Boylan). In 1978, Canada
introduced a bill that required all guns to be registered, banned certain types of guns, created
laws on handling and storing, and increased the sentences for gun related offenses. This
decreased the number of homicides each year in Canada (Leenaars).

2. The second amendment, “right to bear arms,” has a clear meaning but most people do not
know what the text actually says. It 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.” This
means that a militia has the right to bear arms to protect the country, which they do and always
have. The second amendment never says that private citizens have the right to bear arms. Our
founding fathers wanted to ensure the protection of the country by allowing regulated militias to
be formed (Second Amendment: shootout).
There are currently over 200 million guns in use which means it must be pretty easy to
obtain a firearm in the United States. If guns could be regulated more by banning certain
weapons and requiring a more in depth background check, then gun violence would start
decreasing. Also, already existing laws need to be enforced and harsher penalties for people who
do not obey the laws. If the country would agree on certain legislation, then this country could be
a much safer place.

3. Works Cited
Kwon, Ik-Whan G., and Daniel W. Baack. "The Effectiveness Of Legislation Controlling Gun
Usage." American Journal Of Economics & Sociology 64.2 (2005): 533-547. Business Source
Alumni Edition. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Moorhouse, John C., and Brent Wanner. "Does Gun Control Reduce Crime Or Does Crime
Increase Gun Control?." CATO Journal 26.1 (2006): 103-124. Academic Search Alumni Edition.
Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Boylan, Michael, et al. "Debate: Gun Control In The United States." Clinical Orthopaedics&
Related Research 471.12 (2013): 3934-3936. CINAHL. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Leenaars, Antoon A., and David Lester. "Effects Of Gun Control On Homicide In Canada."
Psychological Reports 75.1 (1994): 81. Business Source Alumni Edition. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
"Second Amendment: shootout." Current Events 107.12 (2007): 7. Primary Search. Web. 11 Feb.
2014.