The issue of gun violence is bigger than just the mass killings that have the public’s attention. Every day, suicides, unintentional shootings, and interpersonal disputes that become fatal due to easy access to firearms are just a few of the ways that gun violence claims lives from communities all over the nation.

There are people that believe that the most popularly advocated gun control measures, even those that are already in place, are already failing to prevent mass shootings in public areas. The country fails to successfully end gun violence by restricting law-abiding citizen’s rights and limiting their ability to defend themselves and others with the use of firearms. People believe that gun regulations make it harder for people to safeguard their homes and families when law officers aren’t present to aid because the police can’t protect everyone at once all the time.

While there is evidence that guns are fundamental when it comes to self-defense since police cannot protect everyone at once all the time, more guns will not reduce gun violence. Stricter gun laws and fewer guns is the solution to decrease gun violence in America. For example, Iowa weakened its state gun laws and was ranked 43rd in gun violence across the country, with 9.1 firearm related deaths per 100,000 people, and gun homicides increasing 23.5 percent between 2019 and 2020. Mississippi also has the highest firearm mortality rate in the country, at 28.6 per 100,000 people, and has the weakest gun laws in the nation.

Gun control is the regulation of the selling, owning, and use of guns, and it is meant to restrict the possession or use of firearms by civilians. A sense of urgency for a response to this issue of gun violence has arisen in the nation among community members and families that have been directly affected by these tragic shootings. Gun control should be applied in the United States to reduce gun violence because not enough is being done to prevent mortality from firearms.

Guns are the cause of most homicides and suicides in the United States, and the only way to prevent gun violence and gun deaths in America is by regulating guns. For example, since 2018, 75 people, including 60 children have been killed in fatal shooting incidents in schools in the U.S. Twenty-seven school shootings, including the ones in Uvalde and Buffalo, have taken place so far in just 2022.

A school shooting is the nightmare of every parent and teacher. Over the past 20 years, the number of school shootings in the United States has doubled, and alone in 2018 and 2019, more than 100,000 American students attended a school where a shooting occurred. Even while many kids are left unaffected physically, studies have repeatedly demonstrated long-lasting effects on students’ mental health and educational paths.

Students and teachers could live in peace and not have to worry about their safety if there were stricter gun control legislation. Schools shouldn’t be something to fear, but rather a place that has a sense of safety, so parents shouldn’t have to worry about leaving their kids there.

Victims of gun violence can only ask themselves: When will politicians use their power to act and enforce gun control to put an end to gun deaths and gun violence and not give the people only thoughts and prayers?

To keep citizens safe, including students, teachers, and parents, there should be more focus on the nation’s weak gun laws and how we should aim to make them stricter and enforce them to make the nation a better and safer place to live. More guns do not top crime. By enacting laws that make guns safer and harder to get, we can prevent killings like the ones in Uvalde and Buffalo, so the rate of deaths caused by guns will be reduced. Gun control stops people from making an uncertain, swift decision permanent.

Since Colonial and Revolutionary America, laws concerning the ownership and bearing of firearms have sparked arguments throughout the country. Gun control has been around for centuries, limiting the possession of guns and highlighting the issues that come along with them. But some citizens would disagree, saying that enforcing more Gun control laws is unnecessary. Although gun control laws reduce the number of gun-related deaths, people argue that gun-control laws are not necessary because of the Second U.S Amendment, the education of firearms, and gun owners discouraging crime.

The Second U.S Amendment states that “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.” Those against gun control laws argue that this amendment protects their rights to possess their own guns outside of military use, and instead use it for self-defense purposes. Not only do they believe that the have the right to bear arms, but also that bearing arms is a fundamental right as is that of freedom of speech, religion, and press.

“The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home,” Justice Antonin Scalia in the June 26, 2008, District of Columbia et al. v. Heller US Supreme Court, said.

A strong belief among many states that “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”  With the restriction of gun ownership, criminals are bound to feel less threatened and lash out. Criminals are more likely to fear those who own guns and keep them in their homes, than the regulations banning guns. If a criminal knows people are not allowed to keep guns within their homes, what will stop them from attacking?

“States with the largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest drops in violent crimes,” John R. Lott said. “When states passed these laws, the number of multiple-victim shootings declined by 84 percent. Deaths from these shootings plummeted on average by 90 percent and injuries by 82 percent.”

With the fear of the criminal rate going up, some insist that not being able to buy a legal gun will begin a black market for guns and other weapons.

“Gun control laws have arguably caused gun violence incidents to reduce around the world, but alternative weapons are still used to commit crime. Knife attacks, vehicle attacks, and homemade explosives can do just as much damage as a gun can, and in some instances more damage, when put into the right hands,” Vittana author, Louise Gaille said.

Gun owners agree that both children, and adults, should be educated on gun use. They believe that people need to be educated on guns by properly showing people how to use a gun and for what occasions, as well as having them take a mental illness screening to prevent massacres. Studies show that children who are educated about guns don’t see them as a symbol of violence rather freedom, security, and recreation.

With gun ownership, many believe, comes the feeling of safety and independence. By placing more gun control laws our country will only face more violence and out-lash, anti-gun control members say.