Gun Control and Background checks | Teen Ink

Gun Control and Background checks

June 11, 2013
By DavidCastro BRONZE, Everson, Washington
DavidCastro BRONZE, Everson, Washington
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

People are saying that there shouldn’t be background checks. Background checks help out people who are mentally ill or have criminal records from getting a gun. It works and has been working for gun shops but people buying guns online and at gun shows, don’t always get background checks. Background checks should be mandatory everywhere when buying guns.
Despite Senators disputing that the background check system doesn’t work, it has stopped two million dangerous people from receiving guns. Even though senators think the background check system is not working, the background check system is working. The senate leadership failed when it didn’t even allow voting on required background checks for gun shows and internet and commercial sales. The senate is against background checks and keeps on killing any type of bills including background checks.

Since President Obama has been in the presidency, gun sales have been sky rocketing. The demand is out stripping the supply and more than 118 million back ground checks have been conducted since 1998. Out of the 160 million back ground checks 2.1 million have been denied according to the FBI. Gun ownership has declined in the past four decades. It has dropped 20% since 1973 and house hold gun owners were at 32 percent in 2010. The rate for gun ownership is going down.

From a survey there are a lot of claims that gun ownership is going through the roof. But actually gun ownership in the south and mountain regions of the U.S. has dropped to less than 40 percent of household ownership in this decade. With gun ownership going down, the gun crime has also plunged down. It has fallen sharply over the last 2 decades but most citizens believe firearms crime is higher now than the past 2 decades. Big gun news reports make it seem like firearm crime has gotten higher.

Firearm crime has been going down and so has gun ownership, which has been going down for the past 20 years. In the past 20 years, homicides with guns dropped 49% since 1993. Non-fatal homicides are also dropped to 30% since 1993. Americans think gun crime is higher but it’s not, 56% of Americans think it has gone higher but it really hasn’t.

Even though gun crime has gone down the past 2 decades, there should still be background checks. So we can be precautious of who we give guns and to help not raise gun crimes.


The author's comments:
This is what i think about gun control/background checks

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