Adam de Phazze
Everyone wants to live their life fully but in today’s society the increase in violence makes the struggle a burden. At any given time, someone can easily become a victim. Whether you are a male or a female, you have to protect yourself from those willing to kill. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution 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." Many citizens believe that in order to be safe you should own a gun but this has been the leading cause in crimes we see happening today. The interpretation of the Second Amendment has created a path for violence because since people have more accessibility to guns, they are more liable for death in others or themselves.
If we lived in a world where guns were forbidden, you wouldn’t hear someone’s life being taken away on your local news channel. According to the Brady Campaign, which is a campaign to prevent gun violence, one in three people in the U.S. know someone who has been shot. Given the ratio, this proves that many people are being killed. Because many citizens in the US knows someone who has been shot (injured or killed), this makes gun violence the norm in our society. On average, 32 Americans are murdered with guns every day and 140 are treated for a gun assault in an emergency room. Not only does gun violence affect the victims, but it also affects their social environment and their community. Family and friends are devastated, investigators are involved, and the number of hospital patients increase.
America has had a problem with gun violence for quite some time. Let’s look at it from a historical timeline. On November 22, 1963, John F Kennedy was shot in Dallas. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. Recently, there has been more shootings that sparked the nation into a new civil war. On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old boy was shot in the back of the head. More so, on August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, a 18 year old boy was shot and killed. These incidents all occurred from someone pulling the trigger. Gun violence doesn’t have a correlation to racism. This past August, in Salt Lake City, Dillon Taylor, a white male, was shot and killed. Those who are armed, are more likely to use it for things that aren’t necessarily justified because the incidents that occur could’ve been handled more peacefully. The police officers who killed, Michael and Dillon could’ve used an alternative method such as tasering the victims to detain them. Those responsible for the assassination of Martin Luther King and Kennedy could’ve used peaceful methods such as protesting in effort to objectifying to what both men believed.
Guns has given people an easier route for fatality. Everyday the number of suicides in America steadily increase as guns become more accessible. On average, 51 people kill themselves with a firearm, and 45 people are shot or killed in an accident with a gun. A gun in the home is 22 times more likely to be used to kill or injure in a domestic homicide, suicide, or unintentional shooting than to be used in self-defense. Rather than protecting yourself from someone who may try to hurt you, you are both the victim and the suspect. When you own a gun, you increase the danger in your life because since the gun is easily accessible, you can hurt someone or yourself.
Guns have created a path for violence because since people have more accessibility to it, they are more liable for death in others or themselves. You can easily be influenced by yourself to make bad decisions given the fact that subconsciously, you may create false assumptions or stipulations. Everyone is insane but insanity comes in different levels. Guns don’t kill people, people do. Our insanity leads to the use of guns because it is a tool that is effective in releasing anger that is uncontrollable. Sometimes we can’t control everything because in the end, we are all wild animals. If guns were inaccessible, violence would be less catastrophic.