The Importance Of Gun Control

Register to read the introduction… 62% of the 31,000 deaths caused by a gun are suicides (Cornell 2). According to Arthur L. Kellerman, MD, “residents of homes where a gun is present are 5 times more likely to experience a suicide than residents of homes without guns” (A Case for Gun Control). I have experienced the effects of suicide within my own family. One month ago, my cousin Marisa committed suicide. She was 26 years old and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia a few years prior to the tragic incident. Marisa was not in a rational state of mind and had she not had access to a gun, she may not have killed herself. Stricter gun control laws need to be put in place to help save people like my cousin Marisa. While if someone is truly determined to do something, they will do it, there are many people that do things in the heat of the moment when they are not thinking clearly. With guns being so easily accessible, people can use them in irrational states of mind and cause fatal damage. Before someone can own a gun, they should be required to have a background check that looks at their criminal record as well as their mental health records. This would help prevent mentally unstable people from having …show more content…
More rules against who can have guns will make society safer by decreasing the number of drive by shootings and accidental shootings and save lives. These regulations will also prevent many homicides and mass shootings. Lastly, more laws controlling who has access to guns will help save the lives of people dealing with depression or mental illness that are having suicidal thoughts or actions. Other countries, such as Australia, have put these types of gun control laws into action and have experienced very successful results. Since 1996, Australia's deaths caused by guns have gone down by two-thirds and they have not experienced a single mass shooting (Peters). According to a study done by the Brady Campaign, "an average of 268 people are shot every day in America." That means that around 97,820 people are shot each year (11 Facts About Guns). How many more people need to die before America finally enforces stricter laws regarding gun control? America needs to seriously consider this question and enforce stricter gun control