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  • Essay / Persuasive Essay on Gun Control - 2269

    The concept of gun control is an idea as old as the Second Amendment. Many who support guns and believe that gun reform laws should be lowered often cite that people feel safer being around a gun. While those who oppose guns and believe there should be stricter gun laws often cite that it is too easy to receive firearms. This allows criminals easy access to guns, leading to increased rates of theft, burglary and murder. But is it true? Do people really get guns to protect themselves? Or do people buy illegal guns to commit crimes? Living in a country with the highest number of guns per person, this figure increases every year compared to other developed countries. The issue of gun control will be one. With fewer guns, the number of crimes and murders involving guns will decrease, as will accidental injuries caused by gun misuse. We now know that “classic” criminals are not the only ones who harm people using firearms. According to a blog written by Susan Milligan, titled “We Need Gun Control to Stop More Than Just Criminals,” “gun laws may not stop criminals, but they will save lives.” In this blog, she cites cases where gun control could have saved the lives of innocent civilians, but it did not. For example, a 12-year-old boy in New Mexico pulled a shotgun out of a musical instrument case. Then he took him to school and managed to shoot and kill two of his classmates. A child's relatively easy access to obtaining a weapon begs the question; Should there be mandatory interim measures requiring gun owners to keep their guns in a locked structure? Another example, from a time, where a life could have been spared according to Susan. It was when a retired police officer with a clean record in Florida shot and killed a fellow moviegoer after the fellow refused to stop texting. Concealed handguns had not been allowed in this movie theater. The victim, Chad Oulson, could have gone home to his wife and this causes emotion because for some people they have a close connection with their weapon. While for others, a gun could have been used to kill a member of their family. A firearm may even have been used to seriously injure themselves or a close family member. On November 7, 2014, Gallup released a poll on how Americans feel about guns. This telephone survey brought together 1,017 participants, aged 18 and over. With a margin of error of +/- 4%. In this poll, it was found that six out of ten Americans said guns made their homes safer. Additionally, “most survey respondents say the gun in their household belongs to them personally (30%), as opposed to another member of the household (14%).” This means that about one in three people who have a gun in their home do not personally own it, but know the gun is there. (Gallup 2014). Thus, even if the participants did not possess the weapon, but were aware of its presence, they felt