Many see gun control as a controversial topic that has sparked much debate. This gun control essay can offer ways to examine this topic from both the pro and against sides. By detailing the pros and cons of gun control, you will be able to see the impact on society. These examples include recent changes in laws, news stories associated with gun violence, and what other countries do about this highly debated subject. Examining a topic from both sides, it offers a deeper and richer understanding that cannot be achieved from one-sided analysis. [toc]

Titles

Gun Control: Examining Both Sides

Understanding Gun Control

The Impact of Gun Control on Violence

How Gun Control Influences Gun Violence

Topics

Gun Control and the Second Amendment

Countries that Ban Guns

Gun Control and the Safety of the Public

Gun Control Laws

Outline

I Introduction

II. Body
A. Background
B. Understanding Gun Control
C. Pro-Gun Control
D. Against Gun Control
E. Countries that have Low-Tolerance for Gun Ownership
III. Conclusion
Gun Control: Examining Both Sides
 

Introduction

Essay Hook

American citizens own almost 50% of the total number of civilian guns in the world.

Gun ownership is a right sanctioned by the American Constitution under the Second Amendment. With the U.S. population coming in at 5% of the total word population, the high number of gun ownership seems unreal. (Lott) People who support gun ownership in the United States suggest guns provide them safety. Those who support gun control say gun violence is at an all-time high thanks to legal gun ownership.

Thesis Statement

This essay will highlight the pros and cons of gun control by examining what constitutes gun control in America and other countries, and what reasons people support or are against control.

Body

Background

Gun control laws have existed in the United States and the world for years. The first federal gun control law in the U.S. was enacted in 1927. a 1927 law prohibiting the sale of hand-guns to private individuals through the mail. This was one a series of federal laws dealing with vice by protecting the integrity of the U.S. mails. (Jacobs 20) However, in the United States, the crackdown on gun ownership began in the 1930s when notorious gangsters had too much access guns. 1934 saw legislation passed to impose new criminal penalties, taxes, and regulations to those that owned sawed-off shot guns and machineguns thanks to criminals like Al Capone (Lott). Four years later, Congress passed the 1938 Federal Firearms Act that required gun dealers to register and maintain a record of transactions.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy and a couple of other high-profile deaths led to the signing of the 1968 Gun Control Act, which regulates firearms owners as well as the firearms industry. (Lott) Congress went on to pass several more laws in the 1980s and 1990s with the most notable being the assault weapons ban, part of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. (Jacobs) Keeping assault weapons away from the public became the new aim for the American government. Most in part due to the increased level of gang violence experienced in the 1980s and 1990s.

Understanding Gun Control

Gun Control is defined as limiting the access to guns and certain types of guns, to the public. (Jacobs)... Why there is gun control is hard to answer. The United States government believes people have the right to bear arms as seen in the Second Amendment. However, little to no regulation of guns has led to numerous incidents of gun violence that continues to spark action from Congress. From the deaths of important political leaders to school shootings, gun violence is at the heart of gun control in the United States. (Jacobs)
For someone to understand gun control, it is important to examine the reason for gun control aside from high-profile shootings. Jacobs states gun control legislation has focused on preventing accidental shootings by promoting safe storage and enforcing mandatory trigger locks. Gun controls like these are aimed at preventing firearms accidents rather than gun crime or suicide. Indeed, firearm proponents frequently emphasize that the household firearm poses a risk to its occupants, especially children. (Jacobs 4-5) If Congress aims to prevent accidental shootings, this could be the main reason for gun control aside from assassinations and mass murders. Lack of gun control could pose a risk not just for select people, but for every American citizen.

Pro-Gun Control

Many that support gun control due so for fear of what no gun control could lead to. Prior to the deaths of dozens of people in mass shootings, the American public had a generally positive view of guns. Walmart for example, had ammo in its stores readily available and high-powered rifles for sale until 2015. Walmart said it would no longer sell high-powered rifles in its stores in the United States. The decision followed years of public pressure to stop selling some of the most lethal weapons associated with many of the nations mass shootings. (Tabuchi)

Walmart was at the center of the gun control debate for providing continued access of guns to American citizens. From the Virginia shootings to the Colorado movie theatre massacre, Walmart needed to face the backlash for being Americas biggest seller of ammo and guns. Therefore, Walmart decided, beginning with the Columbine Shooting, to pull ammo and certain guns from its shells.

Gun control advocates viewed the companys action as significant because similar types of weapons were used by shooters in recent massacres, including an attack on a Colorado movie theater by a gunman who killed 12 people, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in which 20 children and six adult staff members died. (Tabuchi)

Aside from fear brought on by retail giants making firearms easily available, supporters of gun control see in the news the horrific accidental and nonaccidental deaths resulting from guns and seek to end such violence. A 2013 news story of a baby shooting its father is just one of many that have hit the headlines. The baby took the fathers firearm and pressed on it, shooting the father in the back in a Walmart parking lot. man had been shot by his child, who attempted to enter his fathers truck by scaling up the drivers side. The child accidentally grabbed hold of an unsecured and loaded shotgun, which discharged and struck his father in the back (Kaufman)

[caption id="attachment_1319" align="alignnone" width="660"] Figure 1: "Gun Control Poster" Source: https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/728/20637130113_55be580862_b.jpg[/caption]

Against Gun Control

Not everyone is pro-gun control. Those that…