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Noah Archer

Mrs. Parker

English 12 - 3rd hour

14 March 2018

Bring Out Your Guns

“Since the time of the Founding Fathers and since they added the Second

Amendment to the Constitution, our guns have developed at a rate that leaves me

dizzy. The guns have changed but our laws have not” (“Florida student Emma Gonzalez

to Lawmakers”). Emma Gonzalez, a student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High

School, addressed a gun control rally in Florida after a 19 year old former student

walked into the school and fatally shot 17 people. The increasing nature of school

shootings has further polarized a nation on the issue of gun control. There are many

who feel that the second amendment protects a person’s right to own a firearm, while

others feel gun rights need to be better regulated. Society and government officials are

working to reach a compromise over the issue of gun control in order to appease those

who feel there needs to be harsher gun control policies against those who feel their

rights are being compromised.

The second amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791. This

caused many people to purchase guns. The amendment reads: "A well regulated militia,

being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear

arms, shall not be infringed."(U.S. Gun Laws: A History) In 1871 The National Rifle

Association was formed by Union Army veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen.

George Wingate. In 1934 they pass the National Firearms Act which made a tax on the
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production and sales of firearms. In 1938 the Supreme Court upholds a federal ban on

sawed-off shotguns, implying that the Founding Fathers adopted the amendment to

ensure the then-new federal government could not disarm state militias. In 1968

Congress passed the gun control act. The law called for better control of interstate

traffic of firearms. Lee Harvey Oswald used a mail-order gun to assassinate President

John F. Kennedy.

In 1986 The Firearm Owners protection act is approved by Congress. The law

prohibits felons from owning or possessing guns or ammunition. The Law Enforcement

Officers Protection Act is also passed. It prohibits the manufacturing, importing and

selling of ammunition that can penetrate a bulletproof vest. 1993: Congress passes the

Brady Handgun Act, establishing the National Instant Criminal Background Check

System gun dealers are to use before selling a gun. The law is named after former

White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was shot in the head during the 1981

assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. 1994:The Violent Crime Control

and Law enforcement Act Becomes law. The law banned the manufacture, use,

possession and import of 19 types of assault weapons, including AK-47s and Uzis. The

law expired in 2004. In 2007 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rules

in favor of Dick Anthony Heller, 66, an armed security guard who sues the district after it

rejects his application to keep a handgun at his home in Capitol Hill. District appeals to

Supreme Court.June 2008: The Supreme Court upholds the lower court ruling, striking

down D.C. handgun ban as unconstitutional. As time has went on America has

continually tightened its requirements and restrictions on guns.

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(Mass Shootings Since 2011)

As you can tell from this graph, mass shootings have been happening for a long

time. Also these mass shootings have been occurring more frequently. There is come

that are very recent, but there are some that dated back to 1982. There were mass

shootings before this but this graph only shows is from 1982 to 2014. Stephen Paddock

was responsible for the recent shootings in Los Vegas. Adam Lanza was the shooter

who participated and the Sandy Hook shooting. It’s hard to know exactly why these

shooters do what they do but, most study a previous attack and attempt to replicate it as

best they can.

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“Briefing in a violence special the Health Service Report”

The problem has become more intense as time goes on. Throughout US

history we know that weapons are always being remade, advanced, or created.

The second amendment gives us the right to bear arms, as we develop more

dangerous weapons the amount of power we are allowed to have because of this

amendment increases rapidly. For some this increases the amount of pleasure

received from firing these weapons. At the same time those who wish to bring

harm to others, it keeps gettings easier and more efficient, allowing them to take

more lives.
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The government has passed The Violent Crime Control and Law enforcement

Act, this restricted 19 types of assault weapons. The government has drawn the line at

automatic weapons, so things more dangerous like explosives, automatic weapons,

nuclear weapons, and certain sniper rifles are not allowed. Pistols, some hunting rifles,

and semi auto machine guns are allowed by anyone. However to purchase firearms you

must go through a screening which looks at your legal history and can deny you the

right to buy a firearm if you are considered dangerous. When these shootings happen

they receive a lot of attention. Usually they are talked about in a news channel, and the

news channel wants as many viewers and they can receive. They tend to be biased on

weather or not guns should be allowed, but most of these shooters are copycat

shooters. So maybe not bringing as much attention to it could prevent future shootings.

Parents are so scared to send their kids to public schools, and the kids that go to

these schools are often afraid as well. (Bobbi Blakemore) Western high school in the

summer of 2017 had put a huge upgrade in security. This is to make the student and

parents feel safer. They lock all the doors that can access entry in the school. They also

have these door wedges that can keep a door locked under a huge amount of force. At

the front office where you enter the school there is a camera that is aimed at the door

you request to enter. You must press a button which tells the people in the office that

you request entry, they then look at who you are and then decide if you get to enter.

They plan on in the next year getting two security guards at the entrance of the building

to increase security. This shows that these school shooters have caused fear around

the US. schools, causing them to increase security and change the process of entry into
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a school. Not all schools are doing these things Western High school are doing but most

are attempting to make their students feel as safe as possible.

Most schools have had to adapt to attempt to prevent a school shootings. There

have also been a few situations of shooters just trying to kill as many people as they

can. They attempt to get as many people as they can. For example, the Last Vegas

shooting, the shooter Stephen Paddock reigned fire down and killed 58 people and

injured about 500 people. (Los Vegas Shooting) Mass shootings have become more

and more frequent. This problem is becoming worse and worse.

The government has been adapting its rules and requirements for guns to try and

decrease the amount of casualties from them. Schools have now had to focus on

making their students feel safe because of all of these shooting. Students are afraid of

something tragic happening in their school because of the widespread of schools that

have had shootings. The people who are paranoid because of the shooting now might

not choose to go out in public as much or change a few decision.

Gun rights need to be even more restricted or even eliminated permanently

because of the mass amount of casualties that have occured. Casualties can occur in

many different situations. For example, in 2011, 691 deaths were accidental due to

children having access to and playing with loaded weapons. There was 2,387 deaths

from guns in the year of 2017. (Washington Post) Without these weapons the shootings

would not happen, if someone wanted to harm people they still could but it would be a

lot less fatalities. This problem has been getting worse and worse and everything the

government has done to try and stop this has failed. Most of the people supporting

eliminating guns are people who have had a personal experience, know someone who
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has had a personal experience, or heard others pains through media. These people feel

bad for the people who have died and see the continuous pattern of death that they so

want to change.

Americans should be allowed to purchase and own any guns they want because

of the second amendment. Although taking away guns would prevent mass shootings

people who want to kill will still kill. They would maybe have to do it differently. To

completely eradicate all guns would be nearly impossible. Even if they did get rid of

most of the guns, there will always be some that are imported illegally. Similar to drugs

like cocaine. It is illegal but someone will find a way to get what they want. If we got rid

of guns it would make the police have a hard time protecting the,selves. Especially if

someone illegally got a gun and they didn’t have one. There is just a small percentage

of people who use their guns in an illegal fashion. Most Americans with guns are

respectful and safe.

When Officer Dave Archer was asked, “Do you believe that taking away gun

rights would result in a more peaceful society?” He replied with, “Not really most times

people who misuse guns are criminals, if they want to get a weapon they will find a

way.” This shows that he believes it more about the individual that the actual weapon

itself. Officer Archer was asked, “So how do you as an officer of the law feel about

people being able to access weapons relatively easily?” He replied with, “It's their

second amendment to bear arms and as an officer we are aware of it when signing up

for this job. Also People who have concealed weapons could actually benefit America. If

there are dangerous situations that cause for intense measures they could terminate the

threat early.” Dave was asked, “What do you think could help make buying guns safer?”
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He replied with, “More extensive background check on some of the more powerful

weapons.” Archer was asked, “Have you ever been in a dangerous situation where a

citizen has had a gun and you have been in immediate danger? Anyone you know? Can

you describe it?” He replied with, “Several times, there was an armed robbery there was

several guys with guns, they were breaking and entering and a citizen in a truck drove

my uncle through a field to catch a guy and they got out to pull him down a fence and

the guy pulled a gun out and the citizen hit it out of his hand.” He has experienced some

very dangerous situations throughout his career. He knew the job was going to be

dangerous but he felt he was doing a great thing.

One solution to this is to get rid of all of the guns as best we can. We would still

have access to paintball guns and similar things but not real guns.

Another solution would be to simply strengthen the requirements and restrictions

in order to get a firearm. This would make sure that people can still have weapons but in

order to get them they would have to pass a screening. So the people who could get

guns were safe.

The amount of deaths from mass shootings have increased each year. However

Americans are allowed the right to bear arms because of the second amendment.

Although it is considered dangerous to own or have weapons, they could improve the

safety of your household.

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Works Cited

“Briefing: Carl Gray's Article on Time Management

Http://Www.bmj.com/Cgi/Content/Full/316/7137/S2-7137 Seemed to Go ...” Bmj,

vol. 316, no. 7149, 1998, doi:10.1136/bmj.316.7149.3a.

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“A History of Gun Control in the Pages of America.” America Magazine, 18 July 2016,

www.americamagazine.org/issue/history-violence.

“Las Vegas Shooting: What We Know.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 Oct. 2017,

www.cnn.com/2017/10/02/us/las-vegas-shooting-what-we-know/index.html.

“U.S. Gun Laws: A History.” NPR, NPR, 26 June 2008,

www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91942478.

“Florida Student Emma Gonzalez to Lawmakers and Gun Advocates: 'We Call BS'.”

CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Feb. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/02/17/us/florida-

student-emma-gonzalez-speech/index.html.

“Dave Archer, Police man”

“Bobbi Blakemore, Office worker, “

“Briefing: In a Violence Special the Health Service Report (London: IRS, ...” Bmj, vol.

317, no. 7159, May 1998, doi:10.1136/bmj.317.7159.3a.