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Nicholas Kocurek

Professor Vyvial

ENGL-1302

April 14, 2019

Gun Control

They can be found as props in movies, on the front of billboard signs promoting a local

gun show, and even in the video games that children are playing today. They can be located on

the streets people walk down every day, and they are being carried by every law enforcement

officer in the nation. Firearms were not meant to kill or to commit crimes with, but rather to

allow one to protect oneself and their property. The issue at hand is that regulation after

regulation and restriction after restriction has been placed upon guns, and yet no change has been

seen. The United States’ Second Amendment right reads, “A well-regulated Militia, being

necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not

be infringed,” so where should the line be drawn with guns (Cornell & Cornell)? Guns and gun

control have been around for years, but now gun violence is being reported at a much higher rate

than ever before. It is being reported almost daily and on every major news media station. It is

being lobbied at the highest level of the legislative branch, and is associated with the National

Rifle Association (NRA) to come up with reasonable solutions. The public is not seeing light

shined upon guns, but rather darkness. The issue with gun control is not that there are not enough

gun laws, but that there are too many laws that are ineffective.

The reason these laws are ineffective is because they are not followed to the full extent of

the law, allowing room for errors that can cause grave tragedy. Gun activists are behind some of

the strict regulation of gun control seen today because they assume guns kill people. The reality
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is that guns are falling into the possession of people who disregard the law. When it comes to the

media and gun control, the media only lets the public see what they want audiences to see, or

leads them to believe what they want them to believe when it comes to gun laws and safety. The

media has focused in on such a small thing and has made it grow out of proportion. Looking

back almost two decades now, the number of laws has increased; however, the same issues are

continuing. Going even further back in history, gun laws were significantly relaxed to the point

where people were walking around carrying a gun on their hips everywhere, they went. Think of

the wild west and seeing movies where every cowboy has a gun on his side. In today’s world,

people are able to receive their Licensed to Carry (LTC) permit in every state, but there are so

many restrictions within the laws on where one is allowed to bring a gun. “The federal law does

not restrict the open carrying of fire arms in public,” each state has decided where one can or

cannot take a firearm (NRA). As a State, not a nation, people are more concerned about

boundaries within the laws, and yet they see the nation struggling with enforcing the laws that

are meant to protect the people. Those who follow their state’s laws in public areas where

firearms are not allowed become unable to protect themselves from those who do not follow

these state’s laws. Schools, concerts, and large venues have laws that prohibit the carrying of

firearms on the grounds, with the full intention to preventing shootings from happening. Places

like this do require personnel who are professionally trained and equipped with a firearm, like

law enforcement and security guards to protect the attendees. Much like in a herd of sheep they

are vulnerable to wolves, but in every herd lies a sheep dog, a protector. Why must everyone be

sheep in these scenarios? Relax the open or concealed carry gun laws to allow the protection that

we feel is needed in today’s world.

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There are six states, “California, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, New York, and

South Carolina,” that prohibit open carry of hand guns, and in each of those states there have

been fatal mass shootings that occurred in locations where the laws have banished handguns,

with the exception of law enforcement officers (Giffords Law Center). The federal system and

states have created laws to ensure that schools are gun free zones, as well as banks and, churches.

Other large “GUN FREE ZONE’s” were established by the law to be safe places for anyone who

attends these areas. Even so, these laws do not stop certain people from doing as they please

because they feel like they can: “High-profile events in Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada;

and, …, most recently Parkland, Florida” and Santa Fe, Texas, have experienced a devastating

disaster from people that are disobeying the laws and that has grabbed the nation’s attention

(Galea). These places have become vulnerable, mostly to ensure public safety. They are not

meant to happen purposely so that laws and harm can be permitted; however, they still have

become vulnerable. News reporters are not going to hear of someone walking into a police

station and start shooting or attempting to take hostages. Police stations are known to house

people who carry firearms. Simple safety measures have been taken to ensure the security of gun

free zones. Schools, banks, and other gun free zones need to take more measures besides locking

down their buildings and doors. The safety feature here is to be able to manage the flow of

people in and out of their buildings. Generally locating the population into one area allows

security personnel to manage who walks in and out of the building, this is a good form of

protection but is not fool proof, nor is it a required state law. A wall is only as strong as its

weakest brick. When that brick falls apart, how does the rest of the wall keep from falling? Men

and women who have completed their states LTC certification know how to use guns properly,

and are abiding by the law. These men and women are simply present in the room. They are not
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mad men. These people are not savages; they are ordinary men and women who have had proper

training according to their state, and carry said weapon to protect themselves and their loved

ones. If people are not going to be allowed to carry their firearms in gun free zones to keep

themselves safe, a law should be passed to allow insurance to cover at least one entrance with a

metal detector as an extra preventative to keep the attendees safe.

Gun policies and gun safety are put in place and in effect to fix problems, not to create

more problems. When looking at what is going on around in the world, with laws and policies do

not seem to create any visual results. No one is trying to understand the pros and cons to the laws

that are created and what their intended purposes are. The majority of these laws just create more

restrictions than address the real issues or solve problems. Legislators kept creating new laws

against guns and gun control, such as the Brady Act that mandates gun store owners to submit

federal background checks in order for someone to purchase a firearm, in the hope that the Bill

will keep guns out of the hands of violent people. Legislator’s mottos seem to be to add another

law because that will stop the violence. However, this is only hindering those who obtain their

guns lawfully and abide by their state laws that are already present. This restricting of laws and

rules for ownership has yet to fix the problem that this nation has. The news does not report the

good samaritan who saved a woman who was being held at gunpoint. They look for the scene

where gun violence was used against good everyday people. Laws and rules are passed by

legislation for the public’s wellbeing and safety. As long as there are rulebreakers, people will

need to redefine these laws and make more efficient laws to protect those who abide by them.

State laws that prohibit and have restrictions on firearms are just as susceptible as states that do

not have the same laws. Take Texas for instance; Law 30.06 prohibits and restricts entering with

a concealed handgun in businesses and private properties. The public is not frisked at the door or
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searched for a weapon. They are going on good faith that the people are obeying the law. Law

30.07 restricts one from entering and carrying openly in businesses and private properties. Again,

nobody is there to frisk attendees, some places may have metal detectors to check, but they are

not perfect.

Further, take a look into schools and communities to see what has been established with

the gun laws. There “was a weakening of state laws that prohibit concealed carry weapons in

schools or on college campuses. The number of states prohibiting concealed carry in schools

dropped from 41 in 2009 to 33 in 2016” (Siegel). Yet, there are still reports of mass shootings in

schools. Reports from 2018 revealed that 21 weeks into 2018, CNN had covered 23 school

shooting. Each shooting that was recorded involved at least one person being shot, not including

the shooter, and they have happened in open carry states like Texas as well as banished handgun

carry states like California.

The Parkland shooting in New York upset so many people when a beloved geography

teacher was killed. Scott Beigel, a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. He was killed on

campus as he tried to protect students during the mass shooting. A movement was started that

turned into a bill and a new law for the State of New York: “The bills prohibit bump stocks -- the

firearm accessory used in the Las Vegas shooting -- ban teachers from carrying firearms at

school, establish a municipal gun buyback program, and extend to 30 days the time a gun-buyer

needs to wait to buy a weapon if they don't pass a background check” (Ahmed & Walker). The

Bill is not protecting anyone any more than the laws before. There are positives and negatives to

take away from the law passed, and the biggest negative is the focus on the distribution of guns

and who can carry, instead of amplifying the security and safety measures in gun free zones.

What if the laws for gun free zones were employing or enforcing more people on site who could
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help prevent these events from happening? Perhaps that is where the law’s focus needs to be

placed.

The pattern of laws that states are passing are policies that prevent guns from being

purchased, when the laws really need to be geared towards preventing firearms from ever

making it onto a gun free zone. The legislative branch of government needs to propose a bill that

allows states to have better security measures in gun free zones. Make it mandatory for gun free

zones to have public entrances that are equipped with people and devices that are able to detect

firearms and prevent them from entering their buildings. Within the next five years, any building

that is a gun free zone must provide the needed measures to meet the law requirements.

Stationary metal detectors, like those seen at airports, that are located in gun free zones by the

federal government should be granted “x” amount of dollars to support the purchase and

maintenance of the devices. Also, with this law, security personnel funding should be

implemented with the money from tax bonds and state funding grants. These would be

appropriate measures to protect those in locations where firearms are not permitted.

The new and previously implemented gun laws are not shown to be effective. If society

can change the focus from preventing sales of guns to improving protection of the gun free

zones, the nation might see the change that is longing for. If more security measures are being

implemented, a reduction of gun control laws can be put in motion.

Works Cited

Ahmed, Saeed, and Christina Walker. “There Has Been, on Average, 1 School Shooting Every

Week This Year.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 May 2018,

www.cnn.com/2018/03/02/us/school-shootings-2018-list-trnd/index.html.
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Cornell, Saul, and Emma Cornell. “The Second Amendment and Firearms Regulation: A

Venerable Tradition Regulating Liberty While Securing Public Safety.” American

Journal of Public Health, vol. 108, no. 7, July 2018, pp. 867–868. EBSCOhost, Retrieved

from doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304501.

Galea, Sandro, and Roger D. Vaughan. “Learning From the Evolving Conversation on Firearms:

A Public Health of Consequence, July 2018.” American Journal of Public Health, vol.

108, no. 7, July 2018, pp. 856–857. EBSCOhost, Retrieved from

doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304490.

Giffords Law Center. “Open Carry.” lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/guns-in-

public/open-carry/#federal.

Phillips, Charles D. “The Politics of Firearm Safety: An Emerging New Balance of

Power.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 108, no. 7, July 2018, pp. 868–

870. EBSCOhost, Retrieved from doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304462.

Siegel, Michael, et al. “Firearm-Related Laws in All 50 US States, 1991-2016.” American

Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 7, July 2017, pp. 1122–1129. EBSCOhost,

Retrieved from doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303701.