Addison Menger

Mrs. Weathersbee
AP Language and Composition
9 December 2014
Gun Control in the United States
From Reflecting on the amount of lives lost from gun shots, why hasnt the United States
made more laws for gun control? it seems clear that there should be more laws for gun control.
When people are given the opportunity to own a firearm, they do jump right on it because they
want to protect themselves and their loved ones. It is never taken into consideration that while
you, and everyone else around you owns a is obtaining their own firearm, you are put into more
danger. Although it is very true that guns can be helpful in self-defense, others might not always
use it for just that. This has become more notable in recent times when there have been numerous
mass shootings that killed hundreds of Americans.
The shooting that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut
triggers a lot of emotions. Knowing that 20 innocent 6 and 7 year olds and 8 adults lost their
lives December 14, 2012 was and still is heartbreaking. Although it can be argued that the school
should've had more security which would've kept the shooter out, this case also brings up the
question: why did this shooter, one without good intentions, have a gun in the first place? Even
with background checks and other long courses to own a obtain this firearm, why wasn't anyone
aware of him slipping down the wrong path? I believe that wWhen people have the power of a
firearm at their will, they are more likely to take advantage of it.
Another mass shooting was the one during the Dark Knight Rises premiere in Colorado
which occurred on July 20, 2012. Again, innocent people were killed and 58 wounded because

someone irresponsible and with bad intentions took advantage of their ownership of a firearm.
No one going to this premiere ever expected it to end the way it did. It makes people feel unsafe
when going anywhere nowadays, even the movies.
From everytown.org, it says, "Between January 2009 and July 2014, there we're at least
110 mass shootings in the U.S." To put it into perspective, this averages to about 20 shootings per
year. And the average from 2006 to 2013 was 16.4, which rose from 6.4 in the years 2000 to
2006. The average seems to keep rising now that virtually anyone can own a firearm. The
amount of deaths from firearms in general is also tragic. From FBI statistics, there are were on
average 9,263 murders per year by firearms during 2007 to 2011.
With gun control, not all of the mass shooting incidents to come will be prevented, but a
good portion of them can be stopped. And not all murders will significantly decrease because
there are other ways to kill people. Guns just seem to be the easiest way to do so, and Its also the
cheapest and therefore it is the cause of most murders. Stricter laws can be put into place, so your
average man cannot own a gun without reason. The easier it is to own a firearm, the more
careless people in America that will own onea firearm. Not all uses of owning and using a gun
are to harm others, but the frequency of it to do so harm others is on a rise, and it needs to be
stopped.

Annotated Bibliography
Barrett, D. (2014, September 24). Mass Shootings on the Rise, FBI Says. Retrieved from http://
www.wsj.com/articles/mass-shootings-on-the-rise-fbi-says-1411574475
The average number of shootings incidents per year was taken from this website. It proves that
mass shootings are a growing issue in the United States, according to the FBI.
CNN Library. (2014, September 2). 25 Deadliest Mass Shootings in U.S. History Fast Facts CNN.com. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/us/20-deadliest-massshootings-in-u-s-history-fast-facts/
This website lists a handful of the deadliest mass shootings that have occurred in the United
States. It shows how frequent these have taken place and how many innocent lives were lost.
'Dark Knight Rises' massacre: 12 shot dead in Colorado 'Batman' screening RT News. (2012,
July 21). Retrieved from http://rt.com/news/shooting-dark-knight-rises-batman-denveraurora-654/
This website explains what happened during the 'Dark Knight Rises' massacre. It gives the full
story on what happened and interviews people who where there when it occurred.
Mass Shootings | Everytown for Gun Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://everytown.org/massshootings/
This website is all about mass shootings in America. It provides statistics about the shootings
during the recent years and insight behind mass shootings.
Sager, J. (2012, January). Refuting Anti-Gun Control Arguments | The Progressive Cynic.
Retrieved from http://theprogressivecynic.com/debunking-right-wing-talkingpoints/refuting-gun-enthusiasts-anti-gun-control-arguments/

This website provides thoroughly explained rebuttals to any anti-gun control argument. It proves
why most of the arguments against gun control are incorrect and there is gun control needed in
the United States.