NathanLillestol

English12
Mrs.Warneke
December22,2015

WhatCanWeChange?

AccordingtostatisticsgatheredbytheBradyCampaignToPreventGun
Violence108,476peopleonaverageareshotinAmericaeachyear.32,514ofthose
peoplearekilled.Gunviolenceaffectseveryoneandisbecomingaveryrealproblemin
America.Thegovernmentneedstodosomethingaboutthis,butthecitizensofAmerica
alsomustdosomething.Somesolutionstothisproblemarehavingbetterbackground
checks,creatinghealthyenvironmentsforchildrentogrowupin,andonlysellingweapons
necessaryforthelegaluses.
GunviolenceiserodingthequalityoflifeinAmerica.Itaffectseveryone,whether
directlyorindirectly.Eventhoughyoumightnothavegottenshotorbeentheshooteritis
stillsomethingthatyouhearaboutandareaffectedby.Noonecanescapebeingimpacted
bytheviolencethatishappeninginAmerica.Casualtiesinvolvinggunsarereportedinthe
newsontelevision,inthenewspaper,andontheradioalmosteveryday.Ifacrimewasnot
commitedthedayof,theyaretalkingabouttheonethathappenedyesterdayorlastweek.
ThemostrecentshootinginthenewsistheSanBernardinoshootingwhereamanandhis
wifekilledfourteenandinjuredtwentyone.Accordingto
RochesterPostBulletin,
Mass
shootingsarethatcommonintheUnitedStates.Infact,theyresocommon,youve
probablyforgottenaboutsomeofthem(DoingNothingisNoLongeranOption).Some
oftherecentattacksthePostBulletinmentionedweretheattackatUmpquaCommunity
CollegeinRoseburg,OregoninwhichTenpeoplewerekilledandsevenwoundedon
October1,2015,ortheattackduringaBiblestudyatEmanuelAfricanMethodist

NathanLillestol
English12
Mrs.Warneke
December22,2015
EpiscopalChurchinCharleston,SouthCarolinawhenatwentysixyearoldmankilledten
andwoundedseven.AnotherattackthatisfadingoutofthenewsistheattackinSan
Bernardinowhereacouplekilledfourteenandwoundedtwentytwo.Howdidthesepeople
gettheweaponstocommittheseawfulcrimes?
Someofthecrimesthathavebeencommittedcouldhavebeenpreventedifan
effectiveandmoreindepthbackgroundcheckwouldhavebeenimplemented.According
toa
WashingtonPostABC
NewsPoll,morethan90percentofAmericansfavorexpanded
background(DoingNothingisNoLongerAnOption).Backgroundchecksmustbe
effective.Evenifitmighttakealittlelongertobeprocesseditisworththewait.Federal
firearmbackgroundchecksareconductedusingtheFBI'sNationalInstantCriminal
BackgroundChecksystemtoensuretransactionsdonotviolatefederalorstatelaws(State
FirearmBackgroundChecks:NICSDate).Therearetoomanyloopholesinthebackground
checkswehavetoday.FederalLawonlyrequireslicenseddealerstoconductchecks
(StateFirearmBackgroundChecks:NICSDate).Oneexampleoftheseloopholesisthe
gunshowloophole,whichispeoplenotneedingbackgroundcheckstobuyagunata
gunshowfromprivatesellers.UndertheGunControlActof1968federallawclearly
definedprivatesellersasanyonewhosoldnomorethanfourfirearmsperyear.Butthe
1986FirearmOwnersProtectionActliftedthatrestrictionandlooselydefinedprivate
sellersaspeoplewhodonotrelyongunsalesastheprincipalwayofobtainingtheir
livelihood(StateFirearmBackgroundChecks:NICSData).Thelawfrom1986has
moreofagreyareawhichcausesmoreloopholesinthesystem.Somepeoplethatshould

NathanLillestol
English12
Mrs.Warneke
December22,2015
notbeallowedtoowngunsorneedmoreindepthchecksareindividualswithviolent
backgrounds,individualswithabackgroundofmentalillness.
Thisproblemcanbegreatlyimpactedbychildrengrowingupwithahealthyhome
environment.Minneapolishasacommunitythatisaddressingthisproblemheadon.Mayor
BetsyHodgesofMinneapolisbelievesThecommunityholdsthekeytostoppinggun
violence(ALookAtGunViolenceInMpls.&TheCommunitysResponse).Shesaid
Weneedtohelpcreatepositivespaceforpeopletogoandthatisoneofthekeythings
thecommunitycando(ALookAtGunViolenceInMpls.&Mpls.&TheCommunitys
Response).Parentsneedtoprovideahealthyenvironmentforchildren.Theycandothis
bytakingadvantageofcommunityprogramsandgivingtheirchildrenactivitiestodoto
positivelymakeuseoftheirtime.Childrencannotberaisedtothinkgunsaretoys,ora
joke.Theyneedtounderstandtheaffecttheycanhaveonlives.Byattendinggunsafety
coursestheycanlearnproperandresponsiblegunownership.Thecommunitycanhelpby
addressingIssueswithpoverty,andlackofemployment,housingandprogramstokeep
youthengaged.
GunsareneededinAmerica,thetypeofgunsbeingsoldisinsomecases
unnecessary.Assaultrifleswithhighcapacitymagazinesarenotneeded.Highcapacity
havebeenusedineverymassshootinginrecenthistory,includingtheColoradoshooting
andtheDecembermassacreatSandyHookElementaryschoolinNewtown,
Connecticut(DebateClub).Itistooeasyforindividualstobuytheseweaponsthatarenot
necessary.Thereneedstoberegulationsonammunitioninmagazines.Thereneedstobe
discussiontoestablishareasonablelimitonroundscarriedinamagazine.Guntrafficking

NathanLillestol
English12
Mrs.Warneke
December22,2015
mustbemadeafederalcrimetokeepillegaltypeofweaponsoutofthehandsof
Americans.
Inmyopinionamixtureofallofthepreviouslylistedsolutionsishowwecurbgun
violenceinAmerica.Mixingallofthesesolutionsisthebestway.Thereisnosingle
solutiontoresolvinggunviolenceinAmerica.Itissuchacomprehensiveproblemthatit
requiresmanydifferentsolutions.Wecannotrelysolelyonthegovernmenttoresolvethis
problemitneedstobehandledbythecitizensofthiscountry.
Thistopicisaveryimportantone.Itisimportantbecausegunviolenceisbecoming
moreandmoreprevalentintoday'ssociety.Youhearaboutsometypeofshootingevery
day.Theuseofgunsisnottheproblem,itistheabuseofthem.ForustomakeAmericaa
safeandnicerplacetolivewemustaddressandimprovethisproblem.Ifwecontinueto
donothing,anothermassshootingwillstrikeanotherunsuspectingcommunity.Itwill
happennextyear,nextmonth,nextweek,maybeeventomorrow(DoingNothingisNo
LongeranOption).

NathanLillestol
English12
Mrs.Warneke
December22,2015
WorksCited
ALookAtGunViolenceInMpls.&TheCommunity'sResponse."
CBSMinnesota
.Trans.Reg
Chapman.20Oct.2015.Web.30Nov.2015.
"BradyCampaigntoPreventGunViolence."
KeyGunViolenceStatistics
.Web.30Nov.2015.
DebateClub.ShouldHighCapacityAmmunitionMagazinesBeBanned
U.S.News.
7Jan.
2013.Web.
Doingnothingisnolongeranoption.
PostBulletin.
3Dec.2015.A7.Print.
StateFirearmBackgroundChecks:NICSDataGoverning,1April2015.Web.9Dec.2015.