Gun control issue:

Gun control. We need more gun control. We hear it more and more everyday. Political leaders take every opportunity to try and make assault weapons harder to get. It is as if they prey on mass shootings. This issue has been getting stronger and stronger as the years go on. The democrats are the main advocates for this movement and the republicans are trying desperately to protect the rights of the American citizens. It will be a heated discussion for a long time, unless mass shootings fade away and people tend not to focus on the issue. So for now we will continue to hear and debate on this controversial issue.

Statistics:

• The United States has an average 88.8 guns per 100 people, which could also be said as 270,000,000 guns. It is the
  highest total and per capita number in the world.
• Gun violence costs the American economy at least $229 billion each year, which includes $8.6 billion in direct expenses such as emergency and medical care.
• 2007 to 2012 found the levels of self-declared ownership among different groups of people:
  • Male 45%
  • Female 15%
  • White 33%
  • Nonwhite 22%
  • Republican 38%
  • Independent 31%
  • Democrat 22%
• 2013 poll of gun owners stated they own firearms for these following reasons:
  • Protection Against Crime 60%
  • Hunting 36%
  • Recreation/Target Shooting 4%
• In 2014, 14,249 murders were committed in the United States and of these, there was about 9,675 (68%) were committed with firearms.

These calculations did not include anything from the Newton massacre and after.

Data: Bureau of Justice Statistics

Movement to ban assault weapons:

There has been a group of 21 state attorneys general that have filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to hear a case against the Maryland’s assault weapons ban. The following states included: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia,Wyoming. Each states are supporting the plaintiffs in Kolbe v. Hogan. Each member of the group believes that Maryland’s ban on certain semi-automatic rifles and magazines that are capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition is unconstitutional. Now they are asking the Supreme Court to jump in and strike down the law.

Another recent move in California against high-capacity ammunition magazines was blocked by a judge that was supposed to take effect days later. The judge ruled Thursday that the ban approved by the Legislature and California voters last year takes away owners’ Second Amendment rights. If the law did take effect, owners would have been required to get rid of their magazines by shipping them out of state and making them hold no more than 10 bullets, destroying them or turning them into local enforcement agencies.

 Gun free zones:

Though gun-free zones sound like a wonderful thing, they are not. Many believe that they are an open target range for the shooters. They know that there will be nobody to stop them or at least not for a while. Many deaths will come before they are put down. Gun-free zones are supposed to be safe, but they have not been safe.

According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, from the 1950’s to July 10th of 2016, 98.4 percent of the mass shootings have occurred on gun-free zones. Only 1.6 percent have occurred where the citizens are allowed to have guns with them.

Mass Public Shootings in Gun-free zones: 1950 through July 10, 2016

Percentage of shootings in gun-free zones between January 1998 and December 2015

Pros of arming teachers with weapons:

• Arming teachers with guns would improve the response time by 80%. Which would not leave the students as “sitting ducks”
• The casualties would be reduced by 2/3
• Will make students feel safe when in a time of crisis

Cons of arming teachers with weapons:

• Teachers could cause a mass shooting if they were triggered one day and have a great advantage.
• Students would feel less safe due to the fact that their are guns all around them
• Lack of skills that of using a gun
• Certain people would sneak into being a teacher and their plan is to cause harm.

These are some of the pros and cons of arming teachers with weapons. There are many more reasons to both sides, however we do not see any of our teachers in the Nanticoke Area possessing weapons in school anytime soon.

GNA students weigh in on the issue of gun control: 

Thomas Price 

Considering the recent tragic events that have occurred throughout the United States, do you believe that there should be stricter gun laws? Explain. 

No, I do not think that there should be stricter gun laws. More gun laws have done nothing to stop mass shootings throughout the United States. They have only harmed the great citizens of the United States that want to protect themselves. If you look at Chicago, they have one of the most strictest gun laws in the United States and then you see the 410 people have been shot, 74 were killed in July 2017. Like, what the (expletive)?? It does not work. 

How was the recent shooting in Las Vegas affected your viewpoint on gun control? 

The recent shooting in Las Vegas has not affected my viewpoint on gun control in anyway. People are going to die. People are going to die by weapons of mass destruction. Nothing will stop this chaos. We must understand that innocent people die every single day and you cannot prevent these atrocities. 

Is there a solution for gun violence across the United States?

In my honest opinion, there is no solution for gun violence across the United States. There will always be mass shootings. One could happen if congress passes a law banning all guns. In fact, many will probably rebel and start a rebellion. The only true solution to gun violence is if we went back in time and had the Founding Fathers ban all weapons and have the government disarm every citizen. 

Do you believe that banning assault weapons will help stop tragic events such as the Las Vegas shooting? Why? Or why not?

I will say it nicely, no. Banning assault weapons will do nothing to stop the tragic events that happen across our country. If you ban assault weapons there are other ways to attain these weapons. There was a news article on Drudge that said that a man in Vegas turned in his assault rifle. This man probably hopes that there will be a chain reaction, but there will be none. The question is, why would he turn in his gun, unless he was planning to kill everyone? This doesn’t help at all to hand in your guns. The bad guy is not going to do the same. 

Moragn Burleigh

Considering the recent tragic events that have occurred throughout the United States, do you believe that there should be stricter gun laws? Explain. 

Yes, in a way. I think we should limit who has access to guns and look more into backgrounds and histories of those applying for them. I think we should also limit how much access someone has to guns. 

How was the recent shooting in Las Vegas affected your viewpoint on gun control? 

I have basically had the same opinion on it, but it probably has strengthend my views. 

Is there a solution for gun violence across the United States?

If there is, I do not know it is.

Do you believe that banning assault weapons will help stop tragic events such as the Las Vegas shooting? Why? Or why not?

No. People will have access to other weapons and they will always find other ways to commit violent acts of mass destruction. 

David Mash

Considering the recent tragic events that have occurred throughout the United States, do you believe that there should be stricter gun laws? Explain. 

I think that stricter gun laws could be beneficial for the United States. The USA is unique in its lack of gun control, and also unique in its mass of gun related violence. 

How has the recent shooting in Las Vegas affected your viewpoint on gun control?

My viewpoint has remained mostly the same.

Is there a solution for gun violence across the United States?

There is no “solution” to violence, but there are things we can do to reduce the amount of gun related violence.

Do you believe that banning assault weapons will help stop tragic events such as the Las Vegas shooting? Why? Or why not?

Once again, there is no “solution” that will stop crazy people from being crazy, but restricting assault weapons would definitely help. 

Liam Carcieri

Considering the recent tragic events that have occurred throughout the United States, do you believe that there should be stricter gun laws? Explain. 

I have been a supporter of common sense gun laws for quite sometime and recent tragedies have reinforced that. 

How has the recent shooting in Las Vegas affected your viewpoint on gun control?

It has reaffirmed my belief. 

Is there a solution for gun violence across the United States?

No. The right to bear arms is a fundamental part of our  Bill of Rights, so completely disarming the the populous is out of the question. Unfortunately , it seems that we can only treat the symptoms as there is no profile for shooters. 

Do you believe that banning assault weapons will help stop tragic events such as the Las Vegas shooting? Why? Or why not?

It won’t stop them, but it will slow them. The way to stop mass shootings is to stop the shooter, but there is no profile for these shooters. 

David McDonald

Considering the recent tragic events that have occurred throughout the United States, do you believe that there should be stricter gun laws? Explain. 

I do not believe that we should have stricter gun laws. This won’t help because most murders are done with illegal guns, so restricting them will just hurt people trying to protect themselves. 

How has the recent shooting in Las Vegas affected your viewpoint on gun control?

My viewpoint has not been affected by the recent events. I believe that gun laws should not be strictened by these events. 

Is there a solution for gun violence across the United States?

If anything, try to crack down on the black market and the dark web firearm sales, but other than that I am not sure if there is a real solution to this. 

Do you believe that banning assault weapons will help stop tragic events such as the Las Vegas shooting? Why? Or why not?

No, I do not believe it would. People can still get guns in illegal ways. Banning all assault weapons would just hurt the innocent people drying to protect themselves. 

Everyone has their views on gun control, but in the end something must be changed.