Gun control is a delicate issue because of mass shootings and various other reasons. I’m here to voice my opinion about gun control. Something needs to happen or put into place or enforced to prevent gun violence. I believe gun control laws need to be stricter.

There have been too many mass shootings. Several million Americans believe we need to do something to prevent this. Americans also associate people with mental illnesses to be violent. The NRA says that we don’t need new laws, the ones we have should be enforced. The gun show loophole for example not every state has a law to prevent this.

  Our nation's epidemic of gun violence exacts far too high a toll on the health of our communities. Firearms data is buried in a larger report on all causes of death. It shows 21,000 people died by suicide using a gun, and 11,000 homicides were committed using guns in 2013.  Another reason why we need gun control is; Fox of NBC news found police officers are most likely to be killed in states where the most people own guns; that mass killings inspire copycats; and that states with the strictest gun laws have the fewest gun deaths. (Fox) There is evidence to support this, in Massachusetts (where there were 3.4 gun deaths per 100,000 individuals), New Jersey (4.9 per 100,000) and Connecticut (5.1 per 100,000). In states with sparser firearms laws, researchers reported that gun-mortality rates were higher in states like Louisiana (18.0 per 100,000), Alaska (17.5 per 100,000) and Arizona (13.6 per 100,000).  (NBC)

There’s controversy over people who suffer from mental illness, and the stigma associated with mental illness and the erroneous belief that those with mental illness are inherently violent.  There is a Harvard study that found that 31% of people who had both a substance abuse disorder and a psychiatric disorder (a “dual diagnosis”) committed at least one act of violence in a year, compared with 18% of people with a psychiatric disorder alone. This confirmed other research that substance abuse is a key contributor to violent behavior. (Harvard) The reality of it is they’re more likely to be victims then perpetrators in a gun violence situation and findings have been inconsistent about how much mental illness contributes to this behavior and how much substance abuse and other factors do.

There’s the age old argument that guns don’t kill people-people kill people. People with access to more guns tend to kill more people—with guns. States with higher gun ownership rates have higher gun murder rates—as much as 114 percent higher than states with lower gun ownership rates. A recent study looking at 30 years of homicide data found that for every one percent increase in a state's gun ownership rate, there is a nearly one percent increase in its firearm homicide rate. Gun death rates are generally lower in states with restrictions such as safe-storage requirements or assault-weapons bans. (Gilson) Also many say that, if more gun control laws went into effect, many guns would be stolen and others would be obtained through straw purchases made by a willing confederate. (Wilson) They’re criminals they don’t care for laws. If they want a gun to commit a crime they’ll get it by any means necessary. Many criminals will try buying a gun or obtaining a gun legally, to avoid shady, black market dealers, and to avoid attention. The guns should already be secured safely. Why someone would just let a friend borrow their gun if they didn’t know it was being used for? Realistically, they wouldn’t.

There needs to be stricter gun laws to address the gun show loophole. Private sellers don’t perform background checks, and some private sellers don’t even keep record of sales or the clients they sold too. There is so much controversy over people with mental illnesses. They are more likely to be a victim of gun violence then a perpetrator. Mass shooting won’t stop until we take action. We need to take action now, before we lose too many lives. We need to make the future safer for future generations, by acting now.
 
Work Cited
Wilson, James Q. “Gun Control Isn’t the Answer.” LATimes.com. Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr 2007. Web. Feb. 9 2016
Fox, Maggie “Gun Control Is a Public Health Issue, Experts Say” nbcnews.com Jan. 5 2016 Web. Feb. 9 2016
Gilson, Dave “10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down” motherjones.com    Jan. 31, 2013 Web. Feb. 9 2016
Harvard Health Newsletter “Mental illness and violence” health.harvard.edu   Jan. 1 2011 Web.
Feb. 9 2016
NBC News “Fewer gun deaths in states with most gun laws, study finds” vitals.nbcnews.com
Mar. 6 2013 Web. Feb. 9 2016