Sunday, April 6, 2014

Guns in America

      There are roughly 270 million civilian firearms in America, this is a number that might seem shocking to a lot of citizens, statistics like these are commonly thrown around in order to install fear, but what about the 200,000 times a year women use gun to defend against sexual abuse, or the 89% drop in Georgia after in house mandatory gun law was passed, these are rarely shared. This biased sharing of news and information is as dangerous as individuals who carry out mass shootings, or bomb public areas. If the America simply educated their citizens on the reality of weapons, these horrible disasters could be prevented, or quickly be stopped.
         As anti-gun advocates will tell you firearms are responsible for almost a million violent crimes yearly, also that an estimated 40,000 Americans die each year due to guns. They will use these statistics to install fear and turn the masses against weapon ownership, as well as stricter gun laws. Although these statistics are true, they must be put into perspective, for example alcohol is related to a shocking 75,000 deaths per year, yet there is only one restriction to acquiring it. Furthermore, statistics representing positive gun facts, such as that firearms are used 80 times more yearly to protect lives, rather than to take lives are never shared. Which continues to add to the biased sharing of information, regarding gun use and ownership.



         The reality regarding guns is that stronger restrictions, wont due anything except harm and harass law-abiding citizens. In states, which endorse concealed weapon laws, crimes are drastically reduced. Attempting to take weapons away from citizens will not reduce mass shootings, these individuals will continue to illegally acquire weapons and carry out their plans. The media and society needs to educate instead of continuing this biased coverage, if we arm and educate more citizens we will reduce crime, mass shootings are simply to difficult to prevent from happening, but in all recent scenarios if one citizen would have been armed, casualties would have been drastically lower.  


References

Guns in America | Facts and statistics about firearms in the USA. 2014. Guns in America | Facts and statistics about firearms in the USA. [online] Available at: http://americangunfacts.com [Accessed: 6 Apr 2014].
Hematite.com. 2014. Taking On Gun Control - The Anti-Gun Statistics. [online] Available at: http://hematite.com/dragon/antigunstat.html [Accessed: 6 Apr 2014].
msnbc.com. 2005. Alcohol linked to 75,000 U.S. deaths a year. [online] Available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6089353/ns/health-addictions/t/alcohol-linked-us-deaths-year/#.U0Hh_16GsTs [Accessed: 6 Apr 2014].

1 comment:

  1. Andres,

    Now this post is much stronger - in terms of having a clear thesis. You take a strong, clear stance right away, in the first paragraph. You could have a more clear thesis statement, as your thesis is indirectly implied in your tone.

    Your thesis could be: Guns actually prevent more crime than you think.

    Simple, but raw.

    I like the effort and passion you put into this post. It's obviously a topic you care about. Try to put this passion into every post, so that your reader is absorbed by it, and your points come off as more urgent and important.

    If your effort is low, the reader will turn the page.

    Great job on this post. I think the post could be extended, and I'm not sure if your opposing viewpoint is clear. Who opposes gun ownership? Name groups, politicians, groups, etc. Find quotes from them. Then dispute their claims.

    Overall, good, passionate post - just needs more facts.


    GR: 85

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