The Reasons Why America Need Stricter Gun Control Laws

Tell me, do these events ring a bell? The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre which killed 20 children and 6 staff members, or the Parkland shooting which killed 23 students before police apprehended the shooter. Or maybe a more known one the Las Vegas shooting.

All these events bring light to how loose Americas gun control laws are. Out of the top 25 high income countries the US has the highest death by guns. Have we grown to be immune to this sickening acts of violence or is it time to stricken our gun control?

Why do we need stricter gun control laws? One of the main reasons is that stricter laws equals less death by gun. Through the years 1999 to 2013 there has been 464,033 gun deaths: 270,237 suicides 174,773 homicides and the unintentional deaths numbered just under 10,000. Also guns are the leading cause of homicide (66.6% of all homicides). While if we did have stricter gun laws this could have potentially not happened. David Frum, Daily Beast and CNN contributor, stated, ‘American children under age 15 were nine times more likely to die of a gun accident than children in other advanced wealthy countries. About 200 Americans go to emergency rooms every day with gunshot wounds.’ There was a study published in the American Journal of Public states that ‘legal purchase of a handgun appears to be associated with a long-lasting increased risk of violent death’. A Lancer study shows that requiring a background check before purchasing a firearm can reduce gun related deaths by 56.9% and a background check before buying ammunition can reduce the gun related deaths by 87.7% and requiring an identification can reduce death by 82.5%.

Another Reason we need stricter gun control laws is that to protect women from domestic abusers and stalkers. A women’s risk of being murdered is increased by 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute. Stats show that five women are murdered each day with a gun in the US. A 2003 study shows that out of the 25 high income countries 86% of women killed by a gun was in the US. Also American women are 11.4 times more likely to be a victim of murder by a gun. 57 % of mass shootings are the cause of domestic violence. For example the 2011 shooting at Seal Beach California hair salon reportedly started with a custody battle with the shooter’s ex-wife who was a stylist at the salon.

Yes people may say guns can be used for self defense and could back their claim by the stats of a survey which said 61% of men and 56% of women surveyed by Pew Research said that stricter gun laws would ‘make it more difficult for people to protect their homes and families.’ Although that is a valid claim stats prove that out of the 29,618,300 violent crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.79% of victims (235,700) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm.

If the government takes this advise we can build a safer tomorrow and for all generations to come. Think of it this way if the government doesn’t act now we will be having all of these tragedies repeating in the future, as John Powell said “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing” so leaving off on that we should all strive to stop this gun violence, because if we don’t stop guns – guns will stop us.