People tend to think that guns are not a big deal, but gun violence is a major cause of fatalities in America. We need stricter gun control laws because too many children are dying, homicide rates in cities are on the rise, and the mentally ill have too easy access to guns.

One reason in which there should be gun control is the fact that children are dying because of gun violence, One incident is the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. In this account over twenty children were murdered, and injured in this shooting.  Another account about a school shooting was in Troutdale, Oregon, that said “On Tuesday , a 15 year-old boy armed with a rifle killed another student a high school in Troutdale, Ore., injured a teacher and then shot himself in a bathroom, police said.” (Gun Violence at Schools Keeps Rising). Also, many children are commonly caught in the crossfire of gun violence. One study find that, “Almost one child or teen an hour is injured by a firearm seriously enough to require hospitalization, a new analysis finds. Six percent of the 7,391 hospitalizations analyzed resulted in a death…” (Twenty Young People a Day Hospitalized for Gun Injuries). This means that roughly 443 children and teens die because of getting caught within a crossfire. One article states that “In children under age 10, 75% of hospitalizations were due to unintentional injuries.” (Twenty Young People a Day Hospitalized for Gun Injuries). These unintentional injuries are causing children their lives, one of many reasons why there should be a stronger control on who can get have access to guns within the American nation. These are horrific situations caused the lives of many innocent kids and teachers. This needs to stop. The gun violence our children and innocent civilians are caught between and dying of. The stronger hold on who has guns could prevent tragedies like this one, making it safer for the children.

Another reason that there should be control on who has firearms is that there are so very sick and mentally unstable people out there that could cause travesties among the population if they were to ever get their hands on guns. In the article ‘Schools Confront and Combine Effect’ the author states, “Multiple bombs. An arsenal of guns. Months of detailed planning for killing his family and then unleashing explosives and bullets on his classmates at Waseca's junior and senior high school” (Schools Confront and Combine Effect). This just shows how easy it is for a mentally disabled person to get their hands on guns. There should be a stronger security to make sure that things on this level don’t happen. In the article, it said that they had arrested the boy before he could act out his plans. Therefore stopping what could have been a horrible disaster that would have been caused by gun violence. Showing that in the wrong hands guns are a harmful and dangerous weapon.

Also the homicide rate is steadily. Dan Gross of the Brady Campaign to Prevent gun violence stated "School shootings are part of a much bigger problem," he said. "There are 86 people who die from bullets on an average day" (Gun Violence at Schools Keeps Rising). This the equivalent to over 602 deaths per week because of this, which contributes to raise the homicide rates. This rise is very alarming. It shows that the homicides rates are the fault of gun violence that causes more and more death among the community.

There are some reasons that guns may be good in the community of America. One article states “The usage of guns as protection could lead to a large number of deaths in the population, therefore creating a larger percentage of gun violence.” (Self-Defense Laws). This statement tends to give off a feeling of truth. That is because most people would feel as though they should shoot first, then wait to realize what the situation holds, or what is actually happening. “Eliminating the duty to retreat allows victims of an attack or threat to defend themselves from potential harm without having to worry about being charged with a crime” (Self-Defence Laws). People do not really need to carry a gun around for protection, there are different ways to be protected, and example is taking self defense lessons. One article states, “The new laws encourage a "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality that could result in the widespread use of deadly force in situations where such force is not warranted” (Self-Defense Laws). This basically says that the gun violence death rate will go up because people would rather shoot first instead of trying to figure out what is going on and why it was happening. The statement itself is agreeable with many people across the nation because they feel as though why should we continue to give people guns when they always end up in the wrong hands.

Although people are worried about the people the guns end up in the hands of, they are also worried about what type of gun it is also. A article stated that “Assault weapons are used in only a small percentage of murders and have been exaggerated as a threat. Effective law enforcement is preferable to banning guns.” (Assault Weapons). Although that might be true, during the murders they were used in there we a massive amount of lives lost because the wrong people got their hands on assault weapons. “Assault weapons are military-style guns that were designed to kill people and have no legitimate civilian purpose. Recent concern over terrorism makes it especially important to restrict access to them” (Assault Weapons).This statement seems to be agreeable with because of several causes were terrorist have gotten their hands on dangerous weapons.

There are many reasons within the nation for firearms to be restricted to the public. One is the fact that the nations children are dying everyday because of situations like these. Also the fact of some mentally ill person getting their hands on a gun and causing horrible chaos amoung the community. Last the homicide rate is rising within the society over useless gunfire, which leaves us wondering wondering: Am I going to be the next victim?

    Works Cited
“2012: Sandy Hook Rampage” History Database Search. Infobase Learning, 12 Dec. 2012. Sat.
Infobase Learning. 25 Oct. 2014
Walsh, James, Steve Brandt, and Erin Adler. "Schools Confront the Columbine Effect." Star
Tribune. 04 May 2014: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 25 Oct. 2014
Vartabedian, Ralph. "Gun Violence at Schools Keeps Rising." Los Angeles Times. 12 Jun. 2014:
A.10. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
“Self-Defense Laws.” Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 8 Sept. 2006. Web. 23 Oct.
2014. .
“Assault Weapons.” Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 17 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Oct.
2014. .
Healy, Michelle. "Twenty Young People a Day Hospitalized for Gun Injuries." Gannett News
Service. 24 Jan. 2014: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 26 Oct. 2014.