Guns: Protection or a Way of Life?


Obama once said “Everyday we wait to do something about it, more are stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun” (Jack Nicas and Joe Palazzolo “Pro Gun Laws Gain Ground”). How are the families of the victims from these mass shootings supposed to deal with such loss? So many people have died for no reason like at the movie theatre shooting in Colorado, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school, and the mass shooting in Arizona. So many of these mass shootings have happened out of the persons rage or some might say their mental state. No one ever knows why the shooter did it or why they decided it was okay to do that. To say the least, so many people in todays day own guns that it’s hard to keep track of everyones mental state. Sometimes a gun can get into the wrong hands, which then might explain many of the mass shootings that have or are happening in America. Recently, Obama has said that more that 2,000 Americans have been killed by gun violence since the Newtown shooting (Jack Nicas and Joe Palazzolo “Pro Gun Laws Gain Ground”). The government is always saying they are going to do something but nothing is being done. So instead of waiting for someone to do something, all Americans should take action and try to change the laws on guns, because they aren’t working right now. Too many people have died from a bullet and it’s now time to change that.

To begin, everyone and anyone who wants to get a gun can get a gun. It’s simple, quick, easy and nobody stops to think about it. The whole process of background checks doesn’t do a great job of “checking the history” of people. Too many people are getting through the check without being stopped or questioned, when in reality they are a criminal who’s not been caught yet. The seller never knows why the person is buying the gun. The seller never knows what the person on the other side of the counter is thinking. It’s all a mystery. It’s great that America has background checks, but we need something more than that. Something more in depth and something that will find the problem before the problem happens. For example, Jared Loughner who shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, passed an FBI background check. Nothing was found that would make them question his mental state or past. Not only do we need stronger background checks but we also need to stop illegal gun sales. On websites and at gun shows, guns could be purchased illegally. So many gun owners have received guns through illegal websites or even from family members as heirlooms. Adam Lanza who shot innocent kids at Sandy Hook Elementary, got the guns from his mother because he wasn’t allowed by the gun shop owner to buy a gun. Not only does this make the person a walking criminal, but it also makes them look like a suspect in the case of a crime because they never got the background check. There are no traces of the guns being bought which makes it look suspicious when being interrogated for murder. So, we need stronger background checks as well as stopping illegal gun sales because too many people are dying because a gun got into the wrong hands.










Second, when a gun gets into the hands of a mentally ill person, things usually don’t go well. Because of problems in the mental health system and NICS’ definition of mental illness, the NICS has proved to be a haphazard way of trying to identify who might be too dangerous to own a gun” ( Joseph Tanfani “Gun Laws For Mentally Ill Not So Easy”). For example, Aaron Alexis, the Navy yard shooter who apparently showed signs of psychosis-- never get treatment or aren’t recognized as being in crisis (Joseph Tanfani “Gun Laws For Mentally Ill Not So Easy”). The person goes on a rampage shooting anyone and anything they see. Since they don’t fully understand what’s going on, they just do what they feel is right. Although not everyone can be tested or checked for mental problems, America needs to do a better job at doing so. So many mass shootings have happened because the shooter has not been fully “with it” at the time. Not all people who are mentally ill go for checks before buying a gun. Some don’t even get tested because their condition is so mild. The government needs to put money into the mental health system to make sure that every person who buys a gun legally, goes through a mental health check to make sure there are no problems. For example James Holmes, the man who shot several innocent people at a movie theatre in Colorado was supposedly mentally ill because investigators didn’t find any other reasons for his actions. Not only do people need to get checked for mental stability when buying a gun, but gun owners need to be checked periodically as well to make sure they haven’t become mentally ill since he purchase date.

Furthermore, people who buy it for protection don’t always use it when necessary. Usually what ends up happening is accidental murder because of a possible attack. A persons condition can change fairly quickly. From mildly crazy to extremely crazy. The gun owner could be totally normal one day and just buy it for protection and the next day go out and shoot some kids at a school or shoot a random person walking down the street opposite them. The gun owner might think that the person on the other side of the street is trying to attack, kill or murder them so they might pull their gun out and shoot that person. Later on it ends up being a mistake, but the person is already dead and nothing can be done to bring them back. They were innocent and they were killed and now the killer is going to have to suffer the consequences for something totally stupid and something that could have been avoided. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch, killed Trayvon Martin, an innocent young boy who wasn’t planning any attacks and was walking with his hood on, drinking his coke and eating his skittles. How does that look suspicious? That’s right, it doesn’t! So why do Americans think its okay to own a gun for protection. It’s never JUST for protection, there is always something more that needs to be added to the equation. It’s not true that a person is buying a gun, only to protect themselves and their families. It puts them into even more danger because now anyone in the household can use that gun. It’s not so much for protection as it is for using it as a weapon against innocent people. Most of the time that is the case which is why there should be stricter laws for people trying to buy guns for “protection.”

This leads me on to my next point. If there is a gun in the house, anyone that is capable of holding things in their hands can use it. A gun rarely is locked up somewhere safe in the house. That is because it’s for “protection” and needs to be easily accessed. So what this means is, a child can find a gun, hold it and shoot. Shoot themselves, shoot their surroundings, shoot other people, because they don’t know what it is, their just babies. How could a 3 year old know what he/she is holding? Damon, Brian Holbrook’s son, died because of accidental murder. His father left the gun in an open case in the closet, Damon found it and shot himself. How was that little boy supposed to know how to handle a gun? He didn’t know, and he did what he thought was right. It’s sad that so many parents, families, guardians are careless and leave their guns out in the open. Anyone who finds it, can use it, and it just astounds me that people are so carless and calm about the whole situation of having guns in the house It shouldn’t be that way. The laws for guns should, without fail, be made stronger because of “accidents” like this.

Some might say that people own or buy guns for protection and for peace of mind and knowing that they are always safe and not in danger. That could be true and they might support that by stating the very few cases where people have used guns for protection and the person killed, was really trying to attack. Sometimes, in the case of a robbery or break in its necessary to have a gun. Those incidents can happen on occasion and then a gun would most definitely be useful. Owning a gun for protection doesn’t sound very “safe.” How could someone walking around with a gun look safe? They aren’t safe, they are just putting the people around them in danger. For example, Trayvon Martin was not trying to attack Zimmerman at all, but since Zimmerman was carrying a gun and thought Trayvon was trying to attack him, he “protected” himself and shot an innocent boy. A young man was killed instantly just because of a misunderstanding. Carrying a gun only causes more trouble because no one ever uses it for what they say they are going to use it for. Gun owners should not be allowed to purchase guns for protection because they aren’t protecting anyone, they are just endangering many citizens and putting themselves in a position where they could be charged for possible murder. Most of the time, when someone uses a gun to protect themselves, they are shooting just because they feel attacked. At the end of the day, they were never being attacked but just went crazy or really believed that somebody was trying to hurt them. When people know one has a gun, they will do everything in their power to drive them crazy and have them unintentionally shoot and kill someone. In these situations, it’s a case of when and not if.

To conclude, many people might say that gun control shouldn’t be enforced because the people should be allowed to own guns for protection or inherit it from their family. Many might say that there should be stricter gun control laws because so many “accidents” are happening. So many planned out massacres are happening. The world would be safer if there were stricter gun laws. A lot of deaths have occurred because of the misuse of guns. So many innocent kids and adults have died because someone was angry and decided to take their hunting gun and go into a movie theatre and shoot everyone there. Sometimes the shooter is found guilty and sometimes they are not which makes no sense at all, evidence can be false which is why there should be very serious background checks and purchase records on file. There should be no websites or gun shows selling guns to people illegally. That is how most of the killers get guns, and then there are no traces of the gun even being bought. To not have these issues occur on a day to day basis, we should stand up and fight for what we believe is best for the well being of the American nation. Guns to protect or guns to destroy, murder and kill?
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