Ways to Reduce Gun Violence

In the recent years, public places and schools are became target of gun violence. This issue is affecting the entire society. Back then parents felt that schools was a secure place to their kids, but the insecurity is taking place of it. Through human history violence always existed. Decades by decades people are manifesting the nonconformity of violent attacks. Back in my memories make me remind the war in my native country. My parents trained us to hide under the bed during the shooting between the soldiers and guerrillas. Most of the time we was eating breakfast under the table instead on top. In different ways the violence is proliferated around the world. The implementation of strict gun regulations will not deter violence, but could help to reduce crime in numbers. The gun violence is caused for many reasons, such as easy access, mental illness, and bad use of technology.

The first cause of gun violence is the easy access to firearms. President and government should focus to create restricted laws to reduce the high level of crime. Without any restriction more people are accessing to weapons. To buy a firearm is like go to the grocery store to buy food. People just need a driver license to access to a weapon. The problem it is not the gun, the issue is the risk to put a gun in wrong hands. Most of the weapons used in the shooting attacks were legally acquired. The gun control is an issue which is debating in congress for many years. According to the article called “Assault Weapons: Should the government restrict access to assault weapons?”, published by Infobase Learning, 29 Jan. 2016.

This article argue that should the government restrict access to assault weapons. For example, in 1994 President Bill Clinton signed a national ban on assault weapons into law. The ban for those assault weapons was not for all the semiautomatics assault rifle, also that ban was valid only for ten years, then it had to been renewed. The main reason is because the semiautomatics weapons can kill more people than a regular weapon. Due to the assault weapons clips holding more of ammunition. According to Senator Dianne Feinstein [p. 2], the ban helped to saved lives, after the ban expired, at more than three hundred people have been killed and more than four hundred were injured. This is a called to create restricted laws to stop the easy access to weapons.

In addition, the firearms store do not have access to see the criminal record of the customers. Some of the weapons are sold to people with aggressive behavior or criminal records. Either way is necessary make a psychological evaluation before sell a firearm. The gun store have to know in which hands the gun will be. After a shooting occurred investigation display that the majority of the weapons used on a shooting attack were legally acquired. It is imperative to create a link between police department and gun store. This way the gun store can have access to criminal records of weapon owners. It is hard to believe how one person can buy a few weapons without gun store suspicious. If the person is buying a gun to self defense do not need assault weapons, or more than one firearm. It is a reality if more weapons are circulating there will be more possibilities to people commit crime in public places.

Next cause of gun violence is mental illness. The tragedies occurred in recent years are concerning the citizens of the entire country. After a shooting attack occurred most of the attack-ants are psychological evaluated. The result of the evaluation revealed that the person who committed those shooting was suffering of mental illness. Many of the teenagers who committed those violent attacks become from nonfunctional homes. The majority of them was physical and mental abused during the infancy. According Jonathan M. Metzl, MD and Kenneth T. Maleish PhD, the authors of an article from American Journal of Public Health 105, no. 2. The New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, after one bill passed the New York Senate expressed to the reporters “that people who have mental health issues should not have guns. Because people who suffer mental health issues can hurt others or themselves.” The emotional instability produce resentments on those adolescents. For example, the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, is one of the many similar attacks. In the same article the American Journal of Public Health, the attack was committed by Adam Lanza, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the tragic act. In this tragedy twenty children and six adults losses their lives. Some adolescents are suffering mental illness without noticing. Also, most of the attackers are the result of lack attention from their parents. Even more, the bulling is contributing to the proliferation of gun violence. The teenagers who suffered bulling are more likely to seek revenge for their suffering. It is important that children grow in harmony and an emotional healthy environment.

Last cause of gun violence is the bad use of technology. The adequate use of technology can be very beneficial. On the contrary the bad use of that can be very harmful to entire society. Many children and teenagers are accessing to technology without parents supervision. In some cases teenagers are committing violence just to be famous in social media. Even more, it is incredible that the capability of people to submit inappropriate information about terrorism or violence. The access to this information often leads to ideas to turn in criminal acts. In addition, due to internet many terrorists are recruiting people who share the same ideas to commit terrorism attacks. The violent acts are the result of lenient regulations on internet. Some people expresses their social resentments on internet, submitting pictures with weapons arsenal. On February 15, 2018 at 10.38 AM, The ABC News, reported that another shooter attack in Florida High School. The author of this tragedy was Nikolas Cruz. The classmates of Cruz, reported to the school authorities the disturbing pictures he had in social media. The sad result is that innocent population is paying the high price of the bad use of technology.

Furthermore, violent video games contribute to an aggressive behavior. Those video games has high content of violence. The video games are distributed without restrictions and sanctions. Due to the tragedies occurred recently more people are in favor to enforce strict laws on violent video games. The implementation of strict laws could reduce the violence in great number. According to the article of games?” Issues and Controversies, Infobase Learning, the article argue the consequences the high level of violence in video games affect children development negatively. The article is an investigation with different points of view. One the collaborators is Dr. Romeo Vitelli, PhD. He found that “the lack of scientist consensus on violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and adolescents.” Laws should be created that sanction to the companies that produce and distribute video games with high level of violence. Those measures can reduce the aggressive behavior in children and adolescent. People who have aggressive behavior and play those violent video games wants to experience the satisfaction on doing it in real life

In conclusion, human life is a priceless treasure which need protection. There is no valid reason to take away a person’s life because it is the contradiction of civil rights. It is important feel secure and safe in the entire country. Due to the easy access, mental illness, and bad use of technology; people feel insecure in public places. Even more, gun violence should not be permitted and accepted this act is considered the most sadistic action of people who commit that type of crime. The saddest part in this type of tragedies is that; most of the weapons used in violent attacks have been legally acquired. The necessity of the implementation of restricted laws in reference of gun acquisition is imperative. One option can be the method called “Cure Violence Model”. The Cure Violence was developed by physician Gary Sletkin, at the University of Illinois, Chicago [P. 40]. The method had real and lasting progress. The model purpose is to change individual and community aggressive behavior. As citizens of United States we have the responsibility to respect and fallow the laws. The country have the responsibility to provide security to their citizens.

Work Cited

1. “ABC News, February 15, 2018. At 10.38 am. Florida School Shooting Attack. Reported by Jon Schuppe.
2. ‘Assault Weapons: Should the government restrict access to assault weapons?’ Issues & Controversies, Infobase Learning, 29 Jan. 2016, http://icof.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?ID=2238. Accessed 1 Nov. 2018.
3. Cure Violence: A public Health Model to Reduce Gun Violence
4. Jeffrey A. Butts, Caterina Gouvis Roman, Lindsay Bostwick, Jeremy R. Porter, Annual Review of Public Health 2015, 36:1, 30-53. Copyright 2018. Accessed October 23, 2018.
5. Jonatha M. Metzl, Kenneth T. MacLeish, “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, ans the Politics of American Firearms”, American Journal of Public Health 105. No. 2 (February 1, 2018): pp240-249.
6. “Violent Video Games: Should the government pass laws restricting children’s access to violence video games?” Issues&Controversies, Inforbase Learning, 28 Apr. 2014, http://icof.infobaseelearning.com eznvvcc.vccs.edu:2048/recordurl.aspx?ID=14190. Accessed 15 Oct. 2018.

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