Jada Vasquez

Mrs. Casady

Scholarship

Original

Gun Control

Should more gun control laws be enacted? Should citizens have the right to bear arms for

protection? According to ProCon.org there are proponents and opponents to extending the law of

gun control. The article titled Gun Control expresses a strong argument about the right to own a

gun. The article states, “Second Amendment was intended for militias; that gun violence would

be reduced; that gun restrictions have always existed…” In other words, with more gun control

comes less gun violence. The more control over people owning guns, the more safe it will be.

However the opposing side of the argument claims, “Second Amendment protects an individual’s

right to own guns; that guns are needed for self-defense from threats ranging from local

criminals to foreign invaders…” Therefore, we have our rights, and according to the Second

Amendment the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. We have to

protect ourselves, we can’t always depend on others. From my own knowledge, I believe citizens

that have not committed an jail time crime should have the right to bear arms. We have to be able

to protect ourselves, and our family. I understand that’s what 911 and the police are for, but they

aren’t everywhere. Sometimes the police can’t get there in time, then you have to take matter

into your own hands. Without having the right to bear arms, how are we supposed to defend,

how are we supposed to protect ourselves and our loved ones?

 Revised

Gun Control

Guns don’t bring anything but violence. Whether it’s for safety, hunting, or inhumane

reasons it’s violence. Should more gun control laws be enacted? Should citizens have the right to

bear arms for protection? Would the number of mass shootings reduce? Guns were built with

child locks on them for a reason. They aren’t supposed to end up in the hands of an child

whatsoever. Yet, these kids are planning an execute massacres. 13 year old Mitchell Johnson and

11 year old Andrew Golden shoot and killed 5, and injured 10 at West Side Middle School.

These are children, children not stable with guns in their possession. We are making it to easy, it

shouldn’t be that easy to take that many innocent lives. However, the need to protect yourself in

your own home is clear as well. According to ProCon.org there are quite a few proponents and

opponents to extending the law of gun control.

One has no need to own an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle. Keyword ‘assault’ not

‘protect’, but ‘assault’. That gun takes live it doesn’t save them. The Sandy Hook massacre and

the Las vegas shooting are two of the most devastating and high in casualty shootings. An

semi-automatic rifle was used in both of them. The Sandy hook shooting was committed by 20

year old Adam lanza, he killed 20 children between ages 6-7 and 6 staff members. Prior to the

massacre he killed his mother, post massacre he killed himself. Nobody with this state of mind

should be allowed to even go near an gun. We can do better background checks to help.

Additionally, there’s a difference between needing to own an semi automatic weapon that can be

used for massacre and one by one shot like weapon. The difference is that is NO need to own an
semi automatic weapon. That such an gun isn’t necessary for protection. The AR-15

semiautomatic assault rifle is an ‘legal’ replica of the M16, both some of the most successful and

powerful guns used in the military. The facts are there in front of you. These guns are proven to

work to kill not one, not two people, but swarms. These guns should have never been allowed to

step out of the military bounds, and into the homes of families. The procon.org article states,

“Second Amendment was intended for militias; that gun violence would be reduced; that gun

restrictions have always existed…” In other words, with more gun control comes less gun

violence. The more control over people owning the right guns, the more safe it will be.

However the opposing side of the argument claims, “Second Amendment protects an

individual’s right to own guns”. Therefore, we have our rights, and according to the Second

Amendment the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. We have to

protect ourselves, we can’t always depend on others. In which the article makes another valid

point, “that guns are needed for self-defense from threats ranging from local criminals to foreign

invaders…”. From my own knowledge, I believe citizens that have not committed an jail time

crime should have the right to bear arms. We have to be able to protect ourselves, and our family.

I understand that’s the police force is for, but they aren’t everywhere nor can they be everywhere

at once FBI News recorded that “In 2017, there were an estimated 1,247,321 violent crimes”,

there is no possible way the police are going to make it in time to each one. There have been

plenty cases where it takes the police too long to get there, then what are you supposed to do?

Not by choice, but your forced to take matters into your own hands.Without having the right to

bear arms, how are we supposed to defend, how are we supposed to protect ourselves and our

loved ones?
 As I said before an semi automatic is unnecessary weapon to possess and use for

protection. This country has suffered enough due to deadly guns at the hands of mentally ill

people. Whether they are diagnosed with an disease or not, if you thinking of and execute such

an plan like the Las Vegas shooting there is a screw loose up there. October 1, 2017 58 innocent

people were murdered and over 500 were injured due to vile acts of one man, one man named

Stephen Paddock with multiple AR-15s in his possession. We can prevent these tragedies, i know

we can. We can at least try a little hard.

There has been around 136 mass shootings in 2019 alone. Whether it’s 5 dead and one

injured or 0 dead 4 injured or 58 injured and over 500 injured; it's not the amount of casualties

that count it's the revolting attempts that make each one go down in the books. 90% of them you

probably haven’t heard about because it has become so disgustingly common. Do you want the

future US History textbooks to be all about our downfall due to mass shootings on the steep

incline? I simply ask for better background checks and to stop handing out semi automatic

assault rifles like its candy. You may think you are handing them to an responsible adult but it

could very well end up in the hands of their unstable kids. We don’t need to expel guns

completely because that's unrealistic, we just need control. Set guidelines and rules, then follow

them to better the safety of our country.

 Reflection

It is evident that my knowledge has grown. It has been so fun and exciting building my

skills in english. The first few years were rough, but my love for english pushed through. Thanks

to the IB program and two wonderful teachers my love and skills went through the roof. Writing

has become apart of me, it just flows. Revising this piece has really opened my eyes to the fact

that my vocabulary has expanded immensely as well as my ability to elaborate on ideas. In the

past my evidence never tend to blend and quotes were too long. My past piece were dull and too

short. I didn’t provided nearly enough commentary on my pieces to where the weren't quite

believable. However, now I could write on an topic I don't necessarily believe in or agree with

and make you believe that I do. I took this paper and did a complete 360, appealing to the readers

emotions and putting the spotlight on such an topic that is more than necessary to address. I

provided statistics and facts rather than just opinions and statements. It's always better to provide

statistics before a statement is being claimed. All in all, my writing has developed to be fluent,

strong, and vibrant. I am very proud of myself and i couldn't have done it without Mrs. Casady

and Mrs. Balka