Argumentative Essay: Gun Violence In America

Gun Violence in America Since the inception of firearms, people have been wielding all types of arms and ammunitions against each other in order to injure or kill their opponent. In the modern world, this violence is unwarranted and goes against everything society stands for. Nowhere else is gun violence most prevalent than in the United States of America. Because of the Constitution, Americans have had the right to bear arms since 1776. When the Constitution was drafted, the term “arms” meant nothing more than a musket or perhaps small one-shot pistol. However, as arms and ammunition have evolved much like any other technology, their capacity to accurately kill humans has increased. So much so that one firearm can be used to kill many people

One of America’s unique properties, and one that sets it apart from nearly every nation in the world, is the right to bear arms. Known as the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms gives every American, regardless if they are a civilian, soldier, or police officer, the right to own, carry, and operate firearms on their own accord. This amendment was made for several reasons, but the main reason was to allow American citizens the right to revolt with force if necessary. Although gun ownership is a proud American tradition, so is gun legislation. According to Robin L. Kelly, “In 1792, the first U.S. Congress enacted the Uniform Militia Act, which required all able-bodied white male citizens under 45 to possess a musket… Fast forward to the frontier towns of America’s Wild West in the mid-to-late 1800s, and gun regulations were stricter than the laws on the books today” (VIII). As can be observed, gun legislation often changes with the time period, becoming stricter when necessary, and softer when permitted. During America’s infancy, when nobody was sure whether or not the country would survive, guns were nearly pushed upon people. However, in the Wild West, where people were murdered in the streets on a daily basis, gun control became stricter. Looking at the current state of American gun

All statistics point to their being an issue with gun violence, and since American citizens look towards their government for help and support, the government needs to step in to action to remedy the current situation. There are numerous measures that the government could take in order to curb gun violence, one being to pass more gun control legislation. However, because of the aforementioned gun control debate, legislation is often hard to pass. So, the government must turn to alternative ways to curb gun violence. One such way is to pass legislation for gun violence prevention in schools, which are, as of recently, a popular target for mass shootings. According to J. Don Chaney, Barry P. Hunt, and Jeffrey W. Schulz, “Some policies that are commonly found in schools are the following: require visitors to sign in, maintain a controlled access to school grounds, maintain a controlled access to the school building, require students to pass through metal detectors when entering the school” (203). It is important to note that while many schools use these policies, very few of these policies are actually legally mandatory. In order to curb gun violence, especially against children, the government should step in and make these policies legally mandated. This would be a great start for gun control advocates, as it could build momentum for future nationwide policies. Enacting these policies would also be