36,383 Americans die yearly from gun violence.
22,274 Gun Suicides.
12,830 Gun Homicides
496 Law Enforcement Shootings
487 Unintentional Shootings
295 Undetermined
For the first time since 2008, the Supreme Court is set to wade into a highly charged gun control debate. The court has firmly declined to take up any gun rights cases in almost a decade, but the public has been pushing for further examination of the Constitution’s Second Amendment, as tens of thousands of lives have been claimed from gun violence within America yearly.
I am no expert on the subject, and I hold no specific stance on the topic, but obviously SOMETHING must be done! Trump has recently signed an animal cruelty act into law, something that has been pressed for within society, as innocent animals do not deserve to be punished in any way, shape, or form. I was very pleased when hearing this, but then it made me wonder, do innocent American citizens deserve to be punished because some believe they have the right to bear arms?
Now, I know animal cruelty and gun control can’t be directly compared, but just seeing a mass shooting on the news almost weekly has been really upsetting, as nothing has been done to improve the great violence that happens all too often in our society.
In just 46 weeks this year, there have been 45 school shootings. Of those shootings, 32 of them were at facilities serving kindergarten through twelfth grade. These children, stepping off the bus with the intent to spend their day learning, are facing greater horrors than anyone should face in a whole lifetime. I fear that one day, as I am in class, I will be a victim of this terror.
In recent statistics from Business Insider, 1 in 315 will die due to assault by a gun, and 1 in 11,125 will die due to a mass shooting. With a population of 327.2 million in America, being 1 in 315 or 1 in 11,125 is rather likely. This reality is very frightening to me and something must be done so our youth feels comfortable enough to go to school (with most states legally requiring education for American youth.)
I apologize for the messiness of this blog, as it was mostly be venting on the topic rather than informing. I am just VERY SCARED for our future!
https://lawcenter.giffords.org/facts/gun-violence-statistics/
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-gun-death-murder-risk-statistics-2018-3
This topic is definitely controversial and necessary for everyone to know about. Because of this, I appreciate your efforts to spread this information. Though it is hard for the information to be completely captured in 400 words, providing some proposed solution is helpful to clarify the argument. Overall, nice work.
This is a big topic to talk about. As a Connecticut resident, we’ve been on the forefront of pushing for reform in light of the Sandy Hook shooting in our state. On the flip side, having used guns at ranges through scouting I can see their appeal and why people don’t want them hyper-regulated. Great job analyzing such a big issue. Hopefully we’ll see change in the near future.