Dillon

2/22/2021

With mass shootings taking place more often, many argue that weapons such as the AR-15 must be banned. The AR-15 has been used in 24 percent of mass shootings since 1982, according to James Alan Fox. Others reason that it is not the gun behind the shooting but the person committing the terrible act themselves. Preventing these people from having a gun rather than banning them altogether seems like the best plan of action to numerous people. If a person is set on carrying out an act of violence they easily can use a handgun or shotgun instead of an AR. In 1994 an assault weapon ban was implemented due to a number of recent mass shootings. The ban showed little results towards minimizing shootings during the ten year span in was enacted causing it to no longer be enforced. These tragic and horrific events continue to occur though, calling for something to change. Does another assault weapon ban need to ensue, or does the focus need to be put on the person performing such extreme acts of violence and keeping guns out of their hands?

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24 Comments

Eli

2/25/2021 11:32:41 am

While its no easy choice on whether guns should be banned, considering the fact that according to the CDC 39,773 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S. per year. The best choice of action is to continue enforcing the law by trying to get out in front of gun-related incidents and catching the people that misuse their guns through harm or force. While the police force tries their best to stop these incidents some people need to protect themselves when police are not there. If guns do get banned that will not stop people from buying them illegally, only the people who are law-abiding and are most likely the ones who are getting a gun pointed at them. As John Lott, a former chief economist at the United States Sentencing Commission states it “disarming law-abiding citizens leaves them as sitting ducks”.

Caden

2/25/2021 07:56:33 pm

I agree that a ban on assault rifles will only benefit criminals and those that wish to do harm on the public.

Blazen

2/25/2021 08:07:56 pm

Not many people are “law-abiding” citizens. Although it’s great to think about people following the rules, they do not.

Aidan

2/25/2021 10:40:28 pm

You are right on the money with this one Mr. Gebhard. Got it good. Good job. Proud of you.

Caden Caywood

2/25/2021 07:55:33 pm

Regardless of laws banning the ownership of AR-15's for the public, criminals will always be able to obtain them. No matter what laws are placed in hopes of preventing them from finding one, they will always get their hands on whatever they desire. Assault rifles must remain legal for those with proper background checks for the safety of the entire public when cops are not present.

Blazen

2/25/2021 08:06:38 pm

Yes, exactly. It doesn’t matter whether it’s illegal, people will find a way to obtain the things they want.

Dillon

2/26/2021 07:53:02 am

Criminals will always find ways to break the laws, which is why Americans who can prove they are trustworthy should be allowed these weapons.

Johnathon Simmons

2/27/2021 03:07:35 pm

Drugs are a good example of this. Even though they’re illegal and individuals aren’t allowed to posses them, anyone can get them and criminals traffic them. Guns would be the same.

Blazen

2/25/2021 08:05:13 pm

No extra laws need to be put in place. The guns are made to be sold and are really what the United States is known for. If we truly cared about school shootings and those abusing guns we would have made laws for them a long time ago. Allow those to bare arms freely.

Caden

2/25/2021 08:08:49 pm

Banning firearms and outlawing AR-15's won't prevent the abuse of them but only disarm law abiding citizens.

Aidan

2/25/2021 10:39:10 pm

Yes, guns are a major money source for the US economy.

Eli

2/27/2021 09:21:42 am

If we are wanting to make a law then make a law requiring gun education to kids at a young age. This would slow the amount of people how use guns to kill once they understand them.

Aidan Adams

2/25/2021 10:37:17 pm

The problem isn’t the guns, it’s the people. It didn’t work in Britain, now instead of killing each other with guns it’s now knives. One knives are done they will switch to a different tool until everything is banned.

Dillon

2/26/2021 07:55:00 am

People who have the desire to kill will kill regardless of the weapon. Some weapons may make it easier than others, but in the end a bad person is going to do bad things.

Eli

2/27/2021 09:19:39 am

Peoples motives are stronger than the will of the government. But by getting rid of guns if it actually works it does help stop mass killings but how can they even control the stop of people getting guns.

Johnathon Simmons

2/27/2021 10:22:50 am

Are you saying that bad people kill people rather than the weapons they use to do it?

Will

2/27/2021 07:03:01 pm

People will always find a way to implicate physical harm, therefore we must search for solution that focus on the root of the problem....people and not guns.

Johnathon Simmons

2/27/2021 10:21:18 am

Banning weapons is not going to stop the problem of using them for a crime. This isn't the first time that the government has deemed something harmful and attempted to ban it. History has shown us that this does not work. It actually sparks even more crime. Take the prohibition for example. The government saw the negative effects of alcohol on American citizens and deemed it harmful for society much like so many people deem guns. However, when people want something, they find a way to get it. When alcohol was banned, it didn't stop the people from finding it. Crime rings and Speakeasies sprung up. People were caught in the midst of wars between gangs trying to traffic their alcohol. The biggest gangster of all time, Al Capone was born out of the prohibition. Very similar scenarios would be present if we allowed the government to were to ban firearms. I would instead recommend the same thing Dillon proposes. The focus needs to be on who has the guns, not what kind of guns people have.

Will

2/27/2021 07:01:04 pm

I agree with this solution. As guns have no control over how they are manufactured or used, it all falls into the hands of the user.

Will

2/27/2021 06:58:59 pm

The focus on gun control must be applied towards the individuals using guns, not the physical weapon itself. The fact is guns have never been the problem, as they do not possess any form of an active conscience. They are simply a tool that can be used for the greater good or the exact opposite. Concentrating on the capabilities of weapons we have become blinded to the truth. This has caused a national avoidance of the real concern, which has been and always will be the person behind the trigger. The mental health of an individual committing these horrific acts is upsettingly low and is in constant deterioration from what is considered standard. To fix this we must come together and reconstruct the current approach we take at psychological vigor. Gearing it towards a communicative standpoint, where people feel comfortable publicly speaking about their issues. This course of action is a difficult path to stay on and will require persistent dedication to be successful, but it provides the potential for a world in which the relationship between guns and people is not solely based off hatred.

Sam

5/3/2021 10:04:54 pm

The fact that people have been harmed by guns has put the spotlight on the them as weapons. If we spent time assessing the situation of the person behind the trigger we would find that factors in their environment and their mental stance caused them to act out in these violent manners.

Mackay Williams

2/28/2021 07:19:16 pm

Gun violence will never stop. There can be restrictions or limits when buying and owning a gun. But it will never be put to an end. When one wants something, they will find a way around every obstacle to get to their destination. In this situation the ending point is harmful and sickening, involving mass shootings, and big-city murders. Yet the seed of the problem are not the firearms but those operating the them. How can we monitor all the people with firearms? We can’t. We can make gun laws more strict, as well as making it harder to buy a gun but as soon as the gun leaves the store, no one has control of what that individual does with his/her firearm. With this said I believe guns should remain legal and instead we should be in the search of finding a new way to monitor the operators of such weapons.

Sam

5/3/2021 10:02:48 pm

I agree when you said "when one wants something, they will find a way around every obstacle to get to their destination". This goes to show that violence can come from anything, not just from people with guns.

Sam

5/3/2021 10:01:20 pm

By banning guns, we are not fixing the underlying problem. People who are committing these crimes are individuals who struggle with mental health issues and life trauma that cause them to act out in extremely aggressive ways. People would find a way to cause violence with or without guns so we as a society need to spend more time helping these troubled people heal mentally so they can not put themselves or others in dangerous situations where guns happen to be the target weapon.

Dillon

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