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Shalene Kirchmeier
English 11 March 16, 2015 Gun Argument Gun ownership in the united states is high. Do you own a gun? Some people have said that guns are useless and we do not need them, but then why is the gun ownership percentage so high? The second amendment protects our right to bear arms and its not going away anytime soon. Guns can be and are very useful as well as needed. As stated in a paper from Cornell University the second amendment has history that proves that guns are helpful and needed. It states that guns are a necessary because we U.S. citizens need protection. . We can not only depend on the military because they are fighting for the protection of the United States as a whole in different countries therefore we need to be able to protect ourselves from the crazy lunatics. The second amendment protects our rights to have and own a gun. Now saying that you can not just go buy a gun when you feel like it, there are certain regulations and requirements. For example, here in Michigan you have to be 18 and own a gun licence. In Chicago in 2010 there was a court case that debated whether or not they should ban handguns. It failed, the court decided that the second amendment still applies to handguns and that handguns are used for self-defence. Also you are required to have a permit in order to carry as well as own a handgun, therefore its not random immature people who are allowed to carry these guns they are regulated. This is why we have the Second amendment. Gun ownership varies between ages, races, and genders, but they are still moderately high. According to the Pew Research Group from source number 2 the percent of men in general that personally own a gun is 27% and the percent of women in general that own a gun is 14%. To go more in depth 33% of white people own guns, 18% of black people own guns, and 8% of hispanics own a gun. Also there are 46% of males that live in a household where one owns a gun, and 36% of females live in a house where someone in it owns a gun(s). My question is why do so many men and women own a gun if they are useless? People have many different needs and wants for them. From self-defence to hunting guns are needed. We own guns to protect ourselves as well as our families, not everybody is fit, muscular and can just beat someone when they break into their houses. What would one do if they did not have a gun and someone broke into his/her house holding a gun and threatened to shoot them? That person would be in a very bad situation. If that person were to have a gun they would have been able to protect themselves as well as whoever else was in danger. In an article written by Pacific Standard they state that mental illnesses are restricting gun ownership. Not only that but they are saying that people are confusing mental illnesses and gun violence. Five percent of gun-related killings in the United States are by people with mental illnesses. Mental illnesses plays a huge role in gun shootings. There was a study done and it stated that many of the recent crimes and gun shootings have been done by people with mental illnesses. The different types of illnesses that have been found in shooters are Asperger’s disorder, autism, and schizophrenia. There are many different types of illnesses that shooters have not just the ones that were mentioned. Although they maybe the shooters, bombers etc. some say that they are the victims of crime. Violence is one of many things that comes from people owning guns. According to source #8 Americas homicide rate varies by cities and location. With America having the highest level of gun ownership we do not have the highest gun homicides. Honduras has around 68 gun killings per 100,000 people when the United States has only 3 gun killings per 100,000 people. Even though the United States has a lower rate than Honduras thats not always the situation. If you compare different cities within the United States to other Countries around the world, the U.S. has a higher rate than them a majority of the time, For example if you compare Los Angeles to the Philippines we have 9.2 homicides due to firearms, when the Philippines has 8.9 firearm homicides. To conclude what has been previously said, we have the second amendment for a reason which means we DO have regulations on guns. Many of the mass and small gun shootings we have heard of had people with mental illnesses play a huge role in them. Also violence in the United States is high but not as high as many other Countries. Guns are very useful as well as helpful.
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