Why the United States Needs Gun Control

Issues involving guns in the U.S. have alarmingly increased. It has been estimated that U.S. civilians own 270-310 million firearms, and at least 35-42 percent of households in the country have at least one gun. How do we plan to resolve gun matters if gun owners are being protected by the second amendment?

Looking at statistics behind deaths and crimes in America, there is a large number behind each problem that associates themselves with gun violence. Many believe it is important to take action in restricting gun purchase and quantity because words are no longer working.

Gun violence in the United States results in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries annually. In 2013, statistics showed that there were 73,505 non-fatal gun injuries, 33,636 homicides and 21,175 suicides. Although these numbers are high the list doesn’t stop there. Obama, then president, spoke about the matter saying “… two months since Newton, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.”

One thing that should be fixed: who is being allowed to possess and purchase or have ownership of a deadly weapon. Because many people use the second amendment as a shield to protect their right to “bear arms,” most situations are not being stopped or evaluated. For example, the Las Vegas shooting where a 64-year-old man began shooting from the 32nd floor of his hotel room into a crowd of people attending a concert just below. The results of this we 59 deaths and 500 injuries. Police later said after inspecting the man’s room, there were 18-20 guns found in his room including automatic rifles. Although this is a disturbing fact, to know a man with such dangerous weapons was able to just keep them in a hotel room, he was never once flagged on his purchases. And the results of that have altered not just the families of those wounded and killed, but the country as well.

Photo by Steve Marcus at Las Vegas Sun. Found via Google