The U.S. is in dire need of stricter gun control laws. Many citizens would refute this claim, however, not the majority. In fact, the large majority of United States citizens are in agreement that stricter gun control is needed (Spitzer). Why then are so few gun control bills passed into law? The answer is influence, and perhaps even more so passion. Those who oppose gun control laws and advocate gun rights are very well organized, very passionate, and very politically influential(Spitzer). Leading the way in their movement is the NRA (Spitzer). The NRA has an incredibly strong structure comprised of many divisions; their most powerful being the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) (Spitzer). In the year 2000 alone the NRA’s budget was 168 …show more content…
However, a gun in the hands of a known criminal or someone who is mentally ill is very dangerous. One such example can be seen through the tragic massacre at Virginia Tech University in April, 2007. Seung-Hui Cho was a student at Virginia Tech University who, after stalking a female classmate in 2005, underwent a psychiatric evaluation by the New River Valley Community Services Board ("Gun Control Reform"). He was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder and was found to be a possible threat to himself and to those around him, yet he legally purchased two handguns ("Gun Control Reform"). Under federal law Cho should never have been able to purchase the weapons, however the Virginia statute on firearms is worded differently and created a loophole in the system that allowed the gun dealer to forgo notifying state police upon receipt of Cho's application ("Gun Control Reform"). As a result, Cho shot and killed 32 people, wounded many more, and finally ended his charades with a bullet to his own head, killing himself ("Gun Control Reform"). This along with a multitude of other reasons is why United States laws on deterring certain people from purchasing a firearm need to become stricter in nature and enforced