HARLEY HAMILTON

     STAFF WRITER

     Gun control has been a heavily discussed and debated topic in the country for decades now.  Many people side with The Constitution, which was written hundreds of years ago when our founding fathers had no idea what we would be dealing with as far as weapons go nowadays.  Meanwhile, others believe gun control is a must for keeping the country safe. The latter is a much more sensible belief to have. Most people will think of shootings and immediately go to assault rifles being the only guns needing to be banned, but in reality, they’re second to handguns, which are the most commonly used guns in mass shootings, according to Statista Research Department.  However, mass shootings are not the only concern as far as deaths by gun go. As Arkadi Gerney and Chelsea Parsons state, in domestic violence situations women are 500% more likely to be murdered if a gun is present. When people have arguments that turn violent, having a gun nearby highly increases the risk of death, because often times it will not get that far and reach that level unless a deadly weapon is available.  Of course, I’m not saying law enforcement and military should not have guns, I’m simply stating it would be wise to have stricter gun control laws for individuals. Although this is my view personally, I understand the other side’s arguments, such as the fact that even if background checks were performed and certain guns were banned, criminals would still be able to obtain the guns illegally. Be that as it may, the vast majority of guns used in mass shootings are obtained legally; about 79%, actually.  Sure, harsher gun control laws would not stop all mass shooters, but it would make it much more complicated to acquire a gun to use and would therefore discourage many of them from going through with the job. So, you may ask, what needs to be done? What action can we take? I believe an extremely thorough process should be performed when purchasing a firearm, no matter what kind. This should include a background check, medical records need to be reviewed, and the buyer showing his or her license. In addition to that, assault rifles must be banned for individuals, because even though they are not the leading weapon used in mass shootings, that is the only thing they are truly needed for.  Hunters and competitors have an array of other guns to use besides military rifles like AR-15s. All this is not so that the government can control citizens of the US, it is so that they can keep us safe.