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Matthew Rogers
Professor Bogle
English 1010
August 1, 2016
Gun-Control
Gun-Control has been a hot-topic for many years now. Every time there is a mass
shooting, it is sure to be followed by massive out cries for stricter gun-control laws. There has
been debates raging on for years whether stricter gun-control would help to prevent these
catastrophes. There are many great arguments and statistics to support some sort of gun-control
as well as against gun control. Lets take a look at some of these.
One of the major arguments that is being made by those that are against gun control is
that it is against our constitutional rights. People commonly use the phrase that it is our right to
bear arms. They are always excluding the rest of the amendment. The amendment states "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." There is an argument that people are misinterpreting what
is being said in this amendment. A journalist, Paul M Barrett (Barrett) has written an article
where he quotes John Paul Stevens, who was a long standing member of the Supreme Court, that
the amendment has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraudI repeat, fraudon
the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. He believes
that a phrase should be added to the amendment where it should say the right of the people to
keep and bear Arms when serving in the militia shall not be infringed. Stevens and Barrett and

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Another view argues that gun control regulations have statistically been proven to help
reduce the amount of gun related homicides. Daniel Webster, a journalist for CNN, through
research found that: When Connecticut adopted a law requiring all handgun purchasers to
obtain a permit from local law enforcement contingent upon the applicant passing a background
check and completing safety training, homicides with firearms were lowered by 40% during the
10 years following the law's implementation. Conversely, when Missouri repealed a similar law
in 2007, its homicide rate with firearms increased by 25%. (Webster) The statistics make a
compelling argument to take a closer look into the impact of gun-control laws that have passed in
various states.
"We don't treat guns like they're instruments of death in this country." (Castello)That is
how Lonnie Phillips whose daughter was a victim in the Aurora, CO shootings puts it. He argues
that there needs to be a change in education when it comes to gun control. Carol Castello, A
writer for CNN said, Shouldn't gun owners be required to demonstrate, in some way, that they
are aware of the consequences of using such a powerful weapon? Or at least demonstrate they
know how to wield a gun? Perhaps if we treated guns the way we treat other potentially
dangerous instruments, our cavalier attitude toward them would change. She is interviewed
criminals and seen first-hand this uneducated culture. Her cry is that there needs to be an
educational requirement when it comes to purchasing a gun.
What would that have done to prevent the slaughter? That is the question being posed
by many who feel that gun-control would not do anything to prevent the many mass shootings
that have occurred. There are at least two different thoughts behind this question.
First, is those committing these murders view gun control laws with the same contempt
that they view laws against murder. (Farago) They mean nothing to these individuals and will

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find some way, whether legal or not, to get a gun for their purposes. For that reason, some argue
that we need to develop a way to find certain patterns of behavior and treat those issues before
something extreme happens.
Second, the vast majority of the shootings are coming from individuals that are obtaining
the guns legally. An article written by Charles C. W. Cooke for the National Review he has
presented a list of many mass shootings and how the guns were obtained for those shootings.
You will notice that in not a single one of the cases listed above did a perpetrator buy his
weapon through an unregulated private sale, through the Internet, or in the parking lot at a
gun show. Not one. Instead, in each and every case, one of two things happened: Either (a) the
killer followed the law to the letter, or (b) he broke it spectacularly. (Cooke) How then would
stricter gun-control laws prevent these mass shootings when these individuals are already passing
the background checks necessary?
The last argument that we will look at is popular with individuals who are against guncontrol, that is that it will do more harm than good. Gun control deters violent crime about as
well as the death penalty. Worse, stricter gun control is the surest way to ensure that virtually
every would-be shooter is successful. (Hunter) The thought is that if you have strict gun-control
laws that it would disarm the general public making would be murderers successful since no one
would be able to defend themselves. There have been a lot of successful shootings, but, there has
also been many shootings that were stopped early by individuals that had a gun on them and
were willing to act.
Each and every argument that has been made has compelling reasoning behind it. I
believe that there are many, like myself, who want to see these tragedies end. I dont believe we
need to completely disarm the general public and ban guns. I do however feel that weapons of

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mass destruction should not be sold to civilians. People should have to go through a class where
they are educated about the devastating effects and responsibility that every gun owner has in
owning a deadly weapon. I hope that we can reach some type of middle ground and reduce the
loss the life.

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Works Cited
Barrett, Paul M. Gun Control and the Constitution: Should We Amend the Second
Amendment? 20 February 2014. Bloomberg. 23 July 2016.
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-02-20/gun-control-and-theconstitution-should-we-amend-the-second-amendment>.
Castello, Carol. Feel disrespected? Pull a Gun. 29 July 2015. CNN Opinion Article. 23
July 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/29/opinions/costello-gunskill/index.html>.
Cooke, Charles C. W. Gun-Control Dishonesty. 13 December 2013. National Review.
23 July 2016. <http://www.nationalreview.com/article/366226/gun-controldishonesty-charles-c-w-cooke>.
Farago, Robert. Gun Control is Not the Answer: Opposing View. 4 December 2015.
USA Today. 23 July 2016.
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/12/02/san-bernardino-guncontrol-thetruthaboutgunscom-editorials-debates/76700270/>.
Hunter, Jack. How Gun Control Kills. 27 December 2012. The American
Conservative. 23 July 2016.
<http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/how-gun-control-kills/>.
Webster, Daniel. How America Swallowed The Gun Lobby's Kool-Aid. 21 June 2015.
CNN Opinion Article. 23 July 2016.
<http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/19/opinions/webster-charlestonshooting/index.html>.