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Jared Rodriguez

Professor Gardiakos

ENC 1102

19 November 2020
Gun Control Problem Final Draft

I remember looking forward to going to school as a kid. I was so excited to see all of my

friends, exhilarated to tackle on my favorite subjects, excited to learn. This positive mindset

towards school changed when I entered high school. School shootings have been around for

quite some time now, but it got brought to light when the Stoneman Douglas High School

shooting happened. I vividly remember being in Psychology class when I saw all the trending

tweets talking about it, as well as Snapchat videos of students at the school hiding for their dear

lives. While observing the terror of all the students at Stoneman Douglas scared for their lives, I

looked around my classroom and really thought to myself that there is a chance the same thing

could happen to us. As a student, the only thing that I should be thinking about during class is

the schoolwork that lays in front of me, not whether if I will be the next victim of yet another

shooting. Sometimes I even find myself drifting off in class going through scenarios in my head

of what actions I should take if there were to be a school shooter that were to walk in. Although

it is smart to be prepared if it were to happen a student shouldn’t be thinking about this during

class. This essay really made me realize how much of a problem that shootings are, and how it

affects student’s everyday lives.

As a Student myself, I can attest for the millions of students in the United States that are

fearful towards being involved in a school shooting. It is disheartening to listen to my student

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friends and teachers talk about how they are scared to be involved in a shooting. There needs to

be a change toward this topic. With everything going on right now, from COVID 19, to the

election, to riots, there hasn’t been any focus on the gun control problem. Although gun control

is a big problem, there have been laws passed that are aiming towards the controlling the gun

control problem, but it is still not enough. We need to take all precautions possible, because the

more precautions that are taken, the less lives that are on the line. The money going towards the

gun control issue is underfunded and this needs to change. With more money going towards the

issue, there can be more research and more actions that can take place. Also, even gun owners

that can be negatively affected by stricter gun laws say that the United States should make the

gun laws stricter. With the research that I completed, the information behind the issue of gun

control will be thoroughly covered, as well as statistics regarding the issue of gun control. This

will help put the right steps toward fixing the gun control issue in the United States.

Literature Review

An educational article goes over many statistics regarding various demographics and

guns. This is a good source that touches both on pathos and logos. One of the facts that were

stated in the article stuck out to me a lot. This fact states, “American teenagers are 82X more

likely to die from a gun homicide than their international peers.” (GUNS DOWN) The reason

why this one fact stuck out to me is because I am a teenager myself, so this statistic applies to

me. It is sad that teenagers have to worry about whether they might be shot or not. As a teen, you

should be worry free and just having fun, not worrying for your dear life, not being able to enjoy

certain things. A statistic like the one previously stated helps with pathos as it stirs up the

emotion of sadness with the reader.

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A source from the Washington Post, provides reliable and valuable information on the

most known talking points on the huge debate of gun control. This source talks about how often

there are gun-related issues happening in the United States of America, a lot of these issues

talked about involving death. In this source there is data that is included that gives stone cold

facts on the reality of incorporating stricter gun control laws in the united states. The source

states that, “…states with stricter gun control laws have fewer deaths from gun-related violence”

(Ehrenfreund 4) This should be enough information to make the United States to start

implementing gun restrictions, but it is still a work in process. Also, this source goes over many

common questions that people have, such as “How common are mass shootings in this country?”

as well as “Is the United States an especially violent place, compared to other countries? These

questions will leave the readers thinking about the gun control, which is beneficial.

Another source from the Washington Post talks about many different ways in which the

United States can save lives from gun violence. Although the research that is going towards gun

control is underfunded, there is still data that shows information that we can use to help the gun

problem here in the United States. An example of this could be research done on multiple mass

shootings. Some examples of this include the Las Vegas massacre, the Virginia Tech Slaughter,

the massacre at the Texas First Baptist Church, and lastly, a shooting which was near the

University of Central Florida, the Pulse nightclub shooting. One thing that all of these shootings

have in common is that all involve semi-automatic weapons. This source is very helpful as it

shows valuable information that is not seen in other sources, and it will really open up the eyes

of the readers to see how big of a problem gun control is in the United States.

A source written by John Gramlich states many facts about gun debate in the United

States of America. A good amount of the facts points toward the notion that the majority of the
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gun owners in this country have good intentions with their guns that they possess, which is

believable. Most of the people that buy guns, buy them for the purpose of protecting themselves

as well as protecting loved ones. Although that is true, a majority of Americans still say that gun

laws should be stricter. This is because United States gun deaths have increased in recent years.

Also, 44% of Americans say that know of someone who has been shot. This should be close to

zero, not almost half of Americans. (Gramlich 3) There should be no reason for somebody to be

shot with a gun, that is exactly the reason why gun laws need to be stricter than it already is. This

source will give a lot of statistics regarding Americans and gun facts.

The source, “Gun Control vs. Gun Rights” is a very beneficial source that gives a lot of

information with what is going on in the background involving the gun control debate. To be

more specific, it gives information on the gun control debate in legislation. It also gives

information on the amount of money, or funding that is being received by the presidential

candidates and politicians. This is a very trustworthy source as it is frequently updated. That

means all of the newest, trending information is available on this website, and there will not be

any old, non-useful information. An example of the source going over the money side of things

of the gun control debate is in a chart that shows the difference of the money going towards list

is updates as well as it shows the statistics for 2019. In the year 2019, there was $2,330,000 spent

on gun control, $10,783,360 spent on gun rights, and $1,590,000 spent on gun manufacturing.

(Gun Rights vs Gun Control). In the source, it is evident that year after year, the money going

towards gun control is increasing, which is great news. With Gun rights, the money has been

fluctuating. There needs to be a more solid system behind the money going into gun rights. There

is no trend regarding it at all, and that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. It’s also very
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motivating to see exactly the progress that the United States is making toward the gun problem,

hopefully it stays on the upward trend.

An article written by Lauren Manier with the National Center for Health Research goes

into the specifics whether gun control actually works or not as well as really insightful

information. This article consists of top-notch reliable information as the author is affiliated with

the National Center for Health Research. The article states that, “Today, 40% of gun sales do not

go through a background check because they take place online, at gun shows, or through

classified ads.” (Manier 2) With technology being incorporated into many things, there are some

drawbacks, and this is a big one. Although it might be more convenient to have the process

online so that there is no driving involved, no waiting in line, and so that it is quicker, there is a

time and a place where technology should replace physical processes. With this convenience,

there are innocent people’s lives being put on the line, and there should be absolutely zero

tolerance for this.

This source written. By Clayton Perry is a very trustworthy source as it is an educational

website with reliable information from someone who is a gun owner themselves. Although there

needs to be many changes towards the process with the United States problem of gun control, the

other side of the problems has their views as well. This source touches on the other side of

things, and why the United States of America, should not implement gun control. This source is

going to be a very valuable in my ePortfolio because although I am strong on why there should

be more efforts put into gun control, there is also points that are true that are for the opposing

side. I believe this is a very important source to add so that the ePortfolio doesn’t sound

completely one sided, and instead, actually incorporates information on the other side of things

so that the reader can get a chance to see the topic from a different point of view. One important
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thing that it talks about is how guns aren’t really the problem, and it’s the mental health behind

the person of a gun that is the true problem.

Boston University touches up on the gun control problem, and many resources on the

problem as well. This source has very trustworthy sources within it, so it has very reliable and

valuable information. For example, it has sources that are derived from Boston University, the

FBI, as well as the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). All of these sources

combined solidify that this website is trustworthy in what it has to say. This source gives the

basic rundown on how the United States needs be more uptight on gun control, with things like

implementing more background checks. It also talks about the steps that different states are

taking towards their gun problem. For example, it talks about Ohio proposing a law to confiscate

firearms from individuals that they have enough reasoning to pose a threat to others. Facts like

that will give the audience hope that we are going towards the right direction towards the huge

problem that the United States has with gun control.

A source written by Erin Grinshteyn is a scholarly journal article that really shines the

light on how much of an issue gun control is here in the United States. There are far too many

deaths that are because of gun problems. In this source, there was a research study on the

mortality data obtained from the World Health Organization for populous high-income countries.

In this research, it was shown that the US gun related homicide rates were 25.2 times higher than

in other high-income countries. That is absolutely absurd and should not be tolerated. There

needs to be changes that will help prevent this as soon as possible. There are innocent lives being

taken away every-day because of gun related issues and the United States of America should not

tolerate that at all. In the study, it is shown that since 2003, other countries gun related deaths

have decreased while the united states have stayed the same.
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Although it is not talked about as it should, the youth can play such an important role in

making a change toward the right direction in regards with gun control. Many kids feel hopeless

and that they can’t make a difference, but that is not the deal at all. This source will be a great

addition as it will give the youth confidence in standing up for what is right. This will create an

ambitious and successful new generation. One story that will for sure motivate the youth will be

one, of a six-year old, standing up for what she believes is right. This happened in May of 1963

when a white police officer in Alabama was trying to scare black children as they were

protesting for segregation. The kids, despite being scared off by the police officers were

determined to stand up for what is right. The reporters asked one of the children how old she

was, and she answered with “Six”. If a six-year old in one of the toughest times of America has

the courage to stand up for what is right, then anyone can.

The area of interest that will be focused on will be gun control in the United States, and

the steps that are being taken regarding to fixing this problem. My writing is different than any

others as I am a student myself at the time of writing this. I can relate to the horrors that the

students all around the United States of America experience every day thinking whether or not

they will be the next victims of a school shooting. To dive in a little, there are two sides to this

topic, one being if we should have the right to bear arms, which means that citizens can buy,

carry, and accessorize any and all firearms. This side will be the side of focus with the

writing. The other side is the gun control advocates, who want gun control to be well regulated,

by local, state, and legislative bodies. This side will be touched on but is not the area of focus. I

will connect this topic to the threshold topic of intertextuality by incorporating politicians and

well-spoken individuals works on gun control, and the statistics they have going toward their

side. I would say what is very interesting about how writing works in the community related to
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my topic, is that this is a very important topic and this topic has potential lives on the line. I

would believe that the community wants the best for everyone and wants to make sure that

everyone is safe, so they will be willing to listen what has to be said on the topic. There will be

many research methods that will play a big role in answering this question. An important

research method I see being used a lot is archival research. The reason I say this is because

archival research involves sources (primary sources to be more specific) that are found in

archives. With this topic, there will be many archives to dig myself around and explore to help

better present and answer the question. Another research method I see being of big help is textual

analysis, as I can break down certain parts of texts to bring out and decipher the true meaning.

My research question and interests will contribute to an ongoing academic conversation by

incorporating more information to the topic, and another perspective from a fresh pair of

youthful eyes. This will in turn get more people to have a perspective on the question, and stand

for what they believe in. The research incorporated in the writing consisted of scholarly and

trustworthy articles found on google. I sifted through many articles and included the ones that

will add a lot of valuable information to the topic, and as well as sources that could be expanded

on.

As an American citizen, I have been impacted by this problem. One problem that I

experienced actually took place very close to the University of Central Florida. Back in 2016,

there was a shooting at Pulse nightclub, in which there was 49 casualties and many more

wounded. This was very huge and heart-breaking news for many families and was shared

throughout the United States. When I found out about this news, I was scared for my brother as

he lives in Orlando and I wasn’t aware of what he was doing this night. Also, I was in shock that

someone can just have the power to end 49 lives in one night so easily. Another example
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happened at my sister’s college back in 2017. There was an active gunman near her campus, and

I was scared for her life. I almost started crying thinking about the thought of my sister falling

victim to this shooter.

Methods

As an addition to my research that I did on Google about gun control, I also conducted a

survey regarding questions about the gun control problem. I asked many of my friends these

questions and they sent the questions to their friends and so on. I ended up having 100 surveys

completed. The demographic of the people who participated in my survey consisted of college

students that were 17-22 years old who majority of them attend the University of Central Florida.

The survey consisted of 6 questions that gauged their stance on gun control. This was a very fun

research project to conduct and I learned a lot from it.

The questions I asked were the following:

1. Does there need to be more steps taken towards preventing gun-related problems?

2. On a scale from 1-5, how efficient is the United States of America handling the gun

problem

3. Are you a college student?

4. Have you had a friend or family killed in a shooting?

5. Have you been personally impacted because of a shooting?

6. Are you scared to fall victim of a gun related issue?

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The reason why I chose these problems is because I really wanted to see how the gun

control issue affects every day lives of friends around me. I have personally never asked them

questions like this, so it was very insightful to hear what they all had to say on this subject. I

expected roughly the same results that I received.

Results

For the majority of the questions that I asked, the results that I received was around what

I was expecting. There were still a couple of questions that results that I was not expecting. The

first question was question six, which asked, “Are you scared to fall victim of a gun related

issue?”. The second question that through me off was question four, which asked, “Have you had

a friend or family killed in a shooting?”.

With question six, 95 percent of people in my test group said that they are scared to fall

victim of a gun related issue. I personally thought this number would be a little lower. After

seeing this information, it really made me realize how big of an issue this gun problem is, and

how it needs to be fixed as soon as possible. With question four, 1 of the people said yes to

having a family member or a friend that was killed in a shooting. I didn’t think I knew of anyone

who has been in this situation, but I was wrong. After hearing this, I felt so bad for this person. I

felt bad that they had to endure the pain of losing someone close to them. I would never wish that

upon anyone, and I don’t want to hear of any of my friends or family experiencing this again.
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Discussion

After conducting my survey, I came to the conclusion that the gun control problem that

we have is evident in many individuals lives. A big reason why I say this is because of question

five with my survey. This question asks, “Have you been personally impacted because of a

shooting?” The results with this question unveiled the harsh reality that 87% of the study was

impacted in some form or shape because of a shooting. This information is very important to the

ePortfolio as it adds a personal aspect to the mix. It is devastating to know that someone that I

am close with has been impacted by the gun control problem. I hope the right actions will be

taken towards this problem so that our next generation doesn’t have to experience the pain many

have felt.

When I saw the results for question one, I was surprised to say the least. Question one

asked “Does there need to be more steps taken towards preventing gun-related problems?” The

results I received with this question was very surprising. The results ended up consisting of 32%

of the audience saying that there does not need to be more steps taken towards the gun control

problem. To me, I thought the amount of people that were to say no would be much smaller than

that. I believe one big reason why the 32% of the audience said no is because the media hasn’t

been focusing on it at all recently. Lately, the only thing that the media really consists of is

Coronavirus information, and political information as the United States just found out who the

next president will be.

For question number two, I asked the people who took my survey to say how efficient the

United States of America is handling the gun problem on a scale from 1-5. The results that I

received were what I expected except for the fact that there was a big majority of the people who

took the survey that rated how the United States is handling the gun problem as a 5. I was
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shocked when I saw that, I thought the results would have been lower. These results help aid the

discourse community in knowing what page people are on when it comes to how we think the

United States of America is handling the gun problem.

With question 4, I asked my audience if they have personally had a friend or family

member of theirs die in a gun related accident. I expected the results to consist of none of them

having a friend or family member dying because of a gun related issue. To. My surprise, I had

one person tell me that one of their family members died in a shooting. It was heart breaking to

hear this as this person is very close to me as well. This question really made me realize that

every person who has died because of a gun issue all have a story and are more than just a

statistic. They all have friends and family members in which were negatively impacted because

of it.

My last question, question number six asked the audience whether they are scared or not

to fall victim to a gun related issue. The results ended up consisting of 95% of the people taking

the survey saying yes to the question. These results really caught me off guard. I was expecting

maybe only half of them saying yes, but it ended up being everyone but 5% saying yes. This

question shines the light on the gun problem that the United States has. We need to take more

steps to fix this problem. The steps that we have taken so far is not enough if 95% of the survey

takers said that they are scared about something happening to them.
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Implications

I think one thing that I could have changed was to incorporate more people who weren’t

college students into my survey. This is what question 3 in the survey asked. Question 3 asked

“Are you a college student?” The results of this question consisted of 88% of the survey takers

being a college student. With that, I believe that the answers could have been more realistic if

there were to be more non-students included in on the mix. Next time that I have to do a survey, I

will make sure that my audience is well mixed and doesn’t contain a big amount of the same type

of people.

After conducting my survey, it is evident that the United States of America has a big gun

problem. Although there has been steps and laws taken towards reducing this problem, it is still

just not enough. It’s a good thing this survey was conducted to shine the light on how this

problem still persists in most Americans lives.

While doing my research, I came to the conclusion that recently, the media hasn’t been

shining the light on the gun problem that we have. That is part of the reason why people haven’t

been talking about the problem as much. Lately the media has been focusing on Corona virus

updates, as well as coverage on political information. After these two big stories subside, I

believe that there will start to be more coverage on the gun problem, or at the least there should

be.

To finish up, I believe my paper will bring back the importance of the gun control

problem in the United States of America. This is a very serious problems in which many lives are

impacted by it every year. I hope my paper is the reason why a big change happens with the gun

control problem, and so that many lives can be saved. There have been good steps taken with this
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problem, but my survey shows that there needs to be more. I hope to see a day where this isn’t a

problem anymore.

Appendix

Survey Questions and Responses Results:

1. Does there need to be more steps taken towards preventing gun-related problems?

68% yes

32% no

2. On a scale from 1-5, how efficient is the United States of America handling the gun

problem

1 – 6%

2 – 17%

3 – 30%

4 – 28%

5 – 19%

3. Are you a college student?

88% yes

12% no

4. Have you had a friend or family killed in a shooting?

99% no

1% yes

5. Have you been personally impacted because of a shooting?

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83% yes

17% no

6. Are you scared to fall victim of a gun related issue?

95% yes

5% no

Works Cited

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Oct. 2020

Ehrenfreund, Max and Zachary A. Goldfarb. “11 essential facts about guns and mass shootings

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Says They're Wrong.” The Washington Post, WP Company,

www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/opinions/gun-control-that-works/.
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Gramlich, John, and Katherine Schaeffer. “7 Facts about Guns in the U.S.” Pew Research

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http://www.opensecrets.org/news/issues/guns/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020

Manier, Lauren. “Does Gun Control Really Work?” National Center for Health Research, 12

Apr. 2018, www.center4research.org/does-gun-control-really-work/.

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Student, BU, et al. “State Gun Laws That Actually Reduce Gun Deaths.” Boston University, 6

Aug. 2019, www.bu.edu/articles/2019/state-gun-laws-that-reduce-gun-deaths/.

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“Three state laws that ‘substantially reduce’ gun deaths.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 March

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Oct. 2020

“Violent Death Rates: The US Compared with Other High-income OECD Countries, 2010.” The

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%7CQZLWPY240968392&v=2.1&it=r&sid=galeopenaccess. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020