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dwisemon · 5 years ago

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Diamond Wisemon

Mandi Sena

English 1102

26 June 2020

Blog Post 2: Gun Violence

Introduction: Weapons are a problem in our country, any kind of weapon is a problem. Citizens will pick up any kind of weapon to defend themselves to hurt the other citizen. When citizens use weapons on each other either someone has major injuries or someone is dead. Weapons shouldn’t exist as citizens to take another citizen's life. All weapons should be banned and it's taking a toll in our country because it's spreading fear. Fear spreads everyday because these harmful weapons exist.

Assault rifles are a major contributor to fear and should be banned. Assault rifles are a shoulder-fired weapon that allows the shooter to shoot between two. Semi-automatic allows the shooter to pull the trigger for each shot. Fully automatic is when the shooter holds the trigger and the gun continuously fires or three-shot burst modes. Those assault rifles are only made for military purposes but citizens are able to purchase those assault rifles. Some citizens sue those assault rifles as sporting guns. In view of Mark Gius, author of “The impact of state and federal assault weapons bans on public mass shootings”, “ Using a Poisson effect model and data for the period 1982 to 2011, it was found that both state and federal assault weapons bans have statistically significant and negative effects on mass shooting fatalities but that only the federal assault weapons ban had a negative effect on mass shooting injuries” (Gius 2). Assault rifles have a negative effect on mass shootings, but it's not just about mass shootings. It's about how assault rifles are someone 's cause of death because the shooter killed them with their assault rifle.

According to Christopher S. Koper, “In April of 1998, the Clinton administration broadened the range of the AW ban by prohibiting importation of an additional 58 foreign semi automatic rifles that were still legal under the 1994 law but that can accept LCMs made for military assault rifles like the AK-47 (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1998)” (Koper 5). The Clinton administration prohibited importation of 58 foregin semi automatic rifles; it was still legal under the 1994 law. LCMs made for military assault rifles like the AK-47 which shouldn't have been made if they already have the original assault rifle. Assault rifles shouldn’t exist because in this country we already have other weapons. Also the military has other weapons too. Assault rifles are very harmful; the semi automatic allows you to pull the trigger for each shot. Fully automatic on an assault rifle is a very harmful way to kill someone. Holding the tigger while shots are getting fired continuously trying to kill another citizen. Some shots the shooter might miss, but having the assault rifle on Fully automatic holding the trigger while the shots fire continuously that person is most likely to die.

Police brutality is a contributor to fear because everyday on the news you see cops killing citizens. When these citizens get pulled over their hands are already up because they don't know what that cop will do. It is when a police officer uses excessive force against a subject. In many cases policemen are using deadly force on a subject. According to Robert E. Worden, author of The “Causes” Of Police Brutality Theory and Evidence On Police Use Of Force “ One prominent sociological approach to understanding the behavior of police officers is based on the premise that police behavior is influenced by the social dynamics of police- citizen encounters.” (Worden 2). However the citizens actions are how the police respond in their behavior. Police are likely to pull out their guns because of how the citizens respond to them. According to Andrew Rasodo Shaw, author of Our Duty in light of the Law’s Irrelevance: Police Brutality and Civilian Recordings “ In the 1960s, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense sent armed and uniformed citizens patrols through the ghettos of Oakland, California” (Shaw 1). These brazen young men, belts of bullets across their chest and shotguns in their hand, marched to end the brutal abuse of the poor and minorities by the Oakland police” (Shaw 2). The Black Panther Party put an end to the police abuse in Oakland California in the 1960s, but it didn’t stop police brutality in today's society.

Citizens with mental illness tend to feel left out sometimes. People with serious mental illness always get picked on by other people that don't have any type of serious mental illness. According to Colleen L. Barry, author of News Media Framing of Serious Mental Illness and Gun Violence in the United States, 1997-2012 “ Across the study period, most news coverage occurred in the wake of mass shootings, and “dangerous people” with SMI were more likely than “dangerous weapons” to be mentioned as a cause of gun violence” (Barry 3). Some serious mental illness people are being framed for gun violence, but some mental illness people are actually abusing a gun. Serious mental illness people with ADHD have guns and they shouldn’t because some of them don’t take the medicine. In view of Elizabeth McGinty “ On the other side, the National Rifle Association, which arguably wields far greater influence over national firearms policy than public opinion does, laid the blame for mass shootings on unrelated mental illness rather than unregulated guns and proposed the creation of a national database of persons with mental illness” (McGinty 23). Most mental illnesses are being blamed for gun violence it's not all of the people that have a mental illness that have a gun. I believe it's the people who don't have a mental illness that do it and not the people with mental illness. I believe they put it as the mental illness people are also included with gun violence too. Not all mental illness people will take their behavior to use a gun on another citizen.

Reducing guns isn’t reducing gun violence. Guns should be taken away all together because reducing them will cause even more gun violence. According to Sarah M. Shalf, author of The Legal Context of School Violence: The Effectiveness of Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Efforts to Reduce Gun Violence in Schools ``A variety of legal measures have been debated and proposed. These include: the enactment of tougher gun control laws and more vigorous federal and local enforcement of existing gun control laws; the enactment of laws imposing civil or criminal liability on parents for their children’s violent behavior; the establishment of specialized courts and prosecution strategies for handling juveniles who are charged with weapons offenses; stricter enforcement of school disciplinary codes; reform of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to make it easier to expel students for weapons violations; and greater use of alternative schools as placements for students who are charged with weapons violations'' (Shalf 2). If there were already gun control laws we all as citizens are supposed to go by and we don’t go by them. Then enforcing tougher gun control laws will not work because gun violence still will go on. When there were no guns back then gun violence never came about. In view of Angela Devan “The suggested strategy for the reduction of violence is to collaboratively address the problem, based on an intervention system focused on prevention, rehabilitation, and development” (Devan 1). I agree with Angela Devan, but if we’re going to address the problem we have to do actions about the problem so that the problem won't continuously happen.

Conclusion: Guns across the country shouldn’t exist whether its a handgun, assault rifle, AK-47 etc. We all as citizens aren’t responsible with a gun because at any given moment when we have a gun we can kill someone. Even though it's not the guns that's killing the citizens it actually is, but it's also the people that's killing people. The guns are killing us because that's the easiest weapon that can most likely kill us. Assault rifles most definitely shouldn’t be allowed because that's all the chances to kill someone. People are hurt, scared, and afraid to walk outside today because of gun violence. When officers use deadly force with a gun it causes extreme fear throughout the nation. Guns contribute fear in every nation. Why should we have guns when we have other weapons ? Any type of gun can easily kill anyone. Being the fact that these guns came about crime rates went up. The News, T.Vs, Magazines, and Newspaper spread fear about guns and showing pictures of them. Guns equal to fear and all weapons should be banned.

Works Cited

Gius, M. (2014, August 01). The impact of state and federal assault weapons bans on public mass shootings. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504851.2014.939367

https://phibetaiota.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2004-NIJ-Assault-Weapons-Ban-Report.pdf

Wodern, R. E. (n.d.). The "Causes" of Police Brutality Theory and Evidence On Police Use Of Force. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en

Shaw, A. R. (2012). Our Duty in Light of the Law's Irrelevance: Police Brutality and Civilian Recordings. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fgeojpovlp20

Redding, R., & Shalf, S. (2002, December 16). The Legal Context of School Violence: The Effectiveness of Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Efforts to Reduce Gun Violence in Schools. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9930.00115

Devan, A. (2015, July 07). A Ground-Up Model for Gun Violence Reduction: A Community-Based Public Health Approach. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15433714.2014.997090

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dwisemon · 5 years ago

Photo

Diamond Wisemon

Mandi Sena

English 1102

18 June 2020

Blog Post 1: Gun Violence

Introduction: In the United States gun control is an issue. Gun control is the set of laws or policies to control firearms that can be sold and bought by citizens. Federal law prohibits certain people from owning firearms, but it does not stop those citizens from buying or stealing a gun. Gun violence is a daily tragedy affecting the lives of individuals around the world. More than 5000 people die everyday because of violence committed with firearms. Guns should be banned it is unnecessary and too much damage has been done.

According to the National Rifle Association guns are used for self defense. Guns are rarely used in self defense. In view of Frederic Lemieux “On the political side, the United States lawmakers have always approached gun control cautiously due to the profound difference of opinion among the voters on this topic. Moreover, politicians are facing a strong firearms lobby through gun enthusiast associations that fund and endorse political candidates.” ( Lemieux 8). Politicians are different than citizens the NRA are in regards to them. “For example, the National Rifle Association (NRA), which boasts millions of members, uses a scorecard system to rate politicians’ positions on gun control. To illustrate the power of this system, in 1996, the members of congress who opposed gun control sponsored a bill that succeeded in limiting federal government research on the health implications of firearms by restricting the funding for National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Kellermann & Rivara, 2013).” (Lemieux9). According to the Second Amendment to the United States constitution protects the individual right to keep bear arms. The Second Amendment only applies to the citizens with gun ownership. Gun control laws do not discourage crime; Gun ownership discourages crime. More gun control laws will not reduce gun deaths. According to Kathleen Schuster, author of 8 Facts About Gun Control “People with prior felony convictions that include a prison sentence exceeding one year, or misdemeanors carrying sentences of more than two years, are also prohibited from purchasing firearms.” (Schuster 4). Even though those felony convictions are prohibited from purchasing a firearm will still have a way to purchase a firearm. There are citizens out there purchasing guns and selling them. Guns used to be used for hunting and sports fun. Now guns are used for citizens. Citizens are most likely to die by a gun than any other weapon. Back then when guns didn't come about it was less violence. Strip of gun control would prevent unnecessary violence. More gun control will prevent more violence. Less guns, less violence.

Mass shootings can stop if we take away guns. When guns wasn’t around there was less crime about guns. Mass shootings involve multiple victims of gun violence. Gun violence and mass shootings is on the news regularly. A mass shooting can happen any and everywhere. Mass shootings happen in grocery stores, schools, and churches. According to Kathleen Schuster, author of 8 Facts About Gun Control “Gun control is one of the most divisive issues in American politics. With each mass shooting defined as four or more victims having been killed indiscriminately antagonism grows between both sides of the gun control argument.” (Schuster 2). Most of these mass shootings are happening by people with mental illness. According to Frederic Lemieux, author of Effect of Gun Culture and Firearm Laws on Gun Violence and Mass Shootings in the United States: A Multi-Level… “In December 2012, after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the debate on gun control reached a peak with the creation of a presidential task force charged with recommending solutions to the problem of public mass shootings and, more broadly, to gun violence.” (Lemieux 2). Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was tragic. Adam Lanza killed 20 first graders and six adults before turning the gun on himself. Lanza struggled with mental illness, history of obsessive-compulsive behaviors and a fascination with mass shootings. People with a messed up mentality have guns. In the view of Lemieux “A significant finding is that mass shootings and gun ownership rates are highly correlated (r=0.75; p<0.01) and that this association remains high even when the number of incidents from the United States is withdrawn from the analysis (r=0.39; p<0.05).” (Lemieux 10).

According to Kerry Shaw “ In 2017, more than half of suicides (23,854, to be precise) were carried out with a gun, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” (Shaw 6). Sucide is when you end your own life. When someone ends their life we call it sucide. Sucide attempt is when someone attempts to end their life, but does not die. According to John R. Lott, Jr., author of Safe- Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides, and Crime “ It is frequently assumed that safe-storage gun laws reduce accidental gun deaths and total suicides, while the possible impact on crime rates is ignored.” (Lott 1). Suicides have calmed down since they’ve invented the gun laws, but there are still people out there who will kill themselves with a gun. In view of Lott “ We find no support that safe-storage laws reduce juvenile accidental gun deaths or suicides. Instead, these storage requirements appear to impair people’s ability to use guns defensively.” (Lott 2). Citizens use those guns defensively because they are afraid. People who are suicidal most likely kill themselves because of bullying. It's the way people treat their peers to make their other peers act outraged. If we didn’t have guns citizens wouldn’t kill themselves or accidentally kill themselves.

Citizens that own guns say the right to own firearms is to their personal freedom. Gun Ownership is the act of owning a gun. Gun ownership does not stop citizens for being irresponsible for having a gun. In view of Bindu Kalesn “ We assessed gun ownership rates in 2013 across the USA and the association between exposure to social gun culture and gun ownership. We used data from a nationally representative sample of 4000 US adults, from 50 states and District of Columbia, aged > 18 years to assess gun ownership and social gun culture performed in October 2013.” (Kalsan 2). Gun Ownership allows the crime rate every year. Citizens that own guns use it because of fear. According to Bindu Kalesn “ In conclusion, we found a strong association between social gun culture and gun ownership. Gun cultures may need to be considered for public health strategies that aim to change gun ownership in the USA.” (Kalesn 5). If citizens change their view of a gun then there will be less gun violence. According to The Gun Control Act of 1968 citizens must be 18 years of age to buy shotguns or rifles and ammunition. I believe 18 years of age is a young age to have firearms. When you're a teenager you're most likely going to have an interest in everything. You're immature at the age learning how to be an adult. When you own a gun it comes with responsibility.

Conclusion: It's not the guns that's killing people, it's the people. Citizens who have a messed up mentality have guns. By the United States having these gun control laws just made everything spiral out of control. These gun control laws only apply to people who own guns, but it's not going to stop a convicted felon from trying to purchase a gun or steal it. There are many problems with a gun, the lead on the bullet is what kills us when we fire the weapon on each other. Guns used to be used for hunting and sports fun. Now guns are used out of fear. The news T.V’s, magazines, and newspaper spread fear by using a gun to engage in something dangerous.

Works Cited

(www.dw.com), D. (n.d.). 8 facts about gun control in the US: DW: 20.01.2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://www.dw.com/en/8-facts-about-gun-control-in-the-us/a-40816418

https://safetennesseeproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/effect-of-gun-culture-and-firearm-laws-on-gun-violence-and-mass-shootings-in-the-united-states-a-multi-level-quantitative-analysis.pdf

Knoll, J. L. IV, & Annas, G. D. (2016). Mass shootings and mental illness. In L. H. Gold & R. I. Simon (Eds.), Gun violence and mental illness (p. 81–104). American Psychiatric Association.

https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/22/3/216.short

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