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Sophie Fouts
Professor Uglow
ENG. 1302
18 October 2016

Shots and Ladders

We are a reasonable people, we Americans, is the opening line from the book Enough
by Gabrielle Griffords and Mark Kelly (1). To be reasonable is to easily come to an agreement,
or to be of sound judgement and mind when under duress. Americans tend to fancy themselves
as masters of reason. It was reason that caused the colonies to rebel against Great Britain, it was
reason that allowed for the constitution to be formed, and it has been reason that has helped to
keep 50 states unionized as a country for almost two hundred and fifty years. Reason has helped
to sustain the American way of life, but in recent years reason has been unclear when it comes to
one of Americas founding principles, the right to bear arms. Americans need to reason with
one another if people want to have any viable way of ending the gun control dispute.
A person does not have to look far to notice the mass shootings that have been occurring
in America. Movie theaters, elementary schools, high schools, malls, are some of the few
locations where these tragedies have occurred, but America seems to have become stagnate in
finding a solution. Those for gun control seek to establish a stronger set of laws involving the
restriction on sale of military grade weapons, stronger background checks, and liability insurance
for firearms (Frum); however, not everyone agrees with this approach.
Anti-gun control advocates fear that these new laws would start a chain reaction that will
eventually lead to the destruction of their civil rights. Guns have always been an integral part of
the American heritage, having the ability to protect ones self is fundamental. Others argue that
removing guns from sensible gun owners hands would be a mistake. Lieutenant Governor Dan
Patrick of Texas said that where people have guns, bad guys dont go when he was arguing for
Unpublished work 2016 Sophie D. Fouts.

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the necessity of Texass new open-carry law (Aasen). Hopes are that this will cause criminals to
think twice if everyone has the ability to carry and operate a gun in public, though this is not the
general consensus in the studies conducted by Gallup in October of 2015.
Gallups studies show that 56% of Americans believe that the country would be safer
with concealed handgun licenses and 86% of Americans believe in the idea of universal
background checks (Newport). However, the difference in this poll occurs with the question of
whether loosening or strengthening gun laws would be more effective (Newport). Politicians
have tried to resolve the issue, but neither side is willing to budge, that is why foundations like
Americans for Responsible Solutions have become so important (Giffords and Kelly 7). The
founders, Giffords and Kelly, are both gun owners and have both been personally affected by
guns and their dangers when Griffords was shot in the head at the Tuscon shooting in 2011
(Giffords and Kelly 2). Their organization strives to help to bridge the gap between people in
finding logical and reasonable solutions for Americas gun problem (Giffords and Kelly 7).
America needs to stop dealing in what ifs and start dealing with what needs to be done.
Americans need to begin to reason with one another if people want to have any viable way of
ending the dispute regarding gun control. The criminals will always be there, whether they have
a gun or not. It is a dangerous world, but doing nothing ruins any chance of limiting such peril. A
call for compromise is in desperate order.

Unpublished work 2016 Sophie D. Fouts.

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Works Cited
Griffords, Gabrielle and Mark, Kelly. Enough. New York: Scribner, 2014. Print.
Aasen, Eric. Here's What You Should Know About Open Carry In Texas. Kera News. NPR, PRI,
BBC, American Public Media, and PRX. January 5, 2016. Web. February 5, 2016
Newport, Frank. Majority Say More Concealed Weapons Would Make U.S. Safer. Gallup. Senior
Scientist and Senior Advisors. October 20, 2015. Web. February 5, 2016
Frum, David. Mass Shootings Are Preventable. Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. June 23,
2015. Web. February 5, 2016

Unpublished work 2016 Sophie D. Fouts.