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Scarlett Galvan

Lauryn Stephson

Humanities

9 December 2022

Why Assault Rifles Should Be Banned in the U.S

We are at risk every time we go outside.Over the years firearms have become the

number one cause of child deaths in the United States. Even though this has been a problem for

many decades, and many lives have been lost due to mass shootings, suicide, school shootings

etc. There are restrictions on the sale, manufacture, or possession of assault rifles, but they

aren’t as strict as we need it to be. Banning assault rifles and guns in general would prevent mass

shootings, injuries and deaths.

A study found from 2009 through 2018, people were 6 times more likely to get

shot or injured by an assault weapon than if another firearm were to be used. The United States

has 46% of the world's population that have possession of guns and has the highest homicide by

firearm rate. More people have died due to guns in the last 50 years, which is more than 1.5

million people, than in all American wars combined, which is 1.2 million. Assault rifles are very

dangerous and should not be so easily accessible to the public.

In the U.S. guns are the leading cause of death for Children or those under 17

getting injured or even shot by an active firearm. The U.S. has seen the highest increase in the

rate of child firearm deaths in the last two decades, an increase of 42% since the year 2000. The

U.S. accounts for 97% of gun-related child deaths all combined, now not all gun-related

incidents are due to violence but also include suicide attempts. In 2020 30% of child deaths

were ruled by suicide, 5% of those were unintentional or undetermined, but 65% of all child

firearm deaths are assault.

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As someone who is currently attending a high school, I don’t want to live in fear of

school mass shootings. Since I've been in 6th grade it has significantly increased and in 2022

alone there have been at least 47 school mass shootings. With the next presidential election, the

majority of us will be able to vote and with 53% of people saying that we should have stricter gun

laws we are able to represent our generation and actually be able to do something about this

since this has been going on since 1963 when this issue became more severe.

In the second amendment it states “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.”

The second amendment does not give the right to individuals to own guns, but rather reserves the

right for a militia to own guns, but the United States has no militia, therefore individuals have no

right to have guns. You could also say owning a gun may be used as protection for you and your

loved one but when it is actually used as a source of protection realistically. Those who live or

own a gun are at a higher risk of getting shot and killed in a domestic violence incident than

those who don’t, and the vast majority of those victims are women, which is up to 84%.

In conclusion, assault rifles are very dangerous. All guns, in general, are dangerous,

and if we had stricter restrictions we wouldn’t lose as many lives as we have already lost in the

last few decades. Guns are not something that should be so easily accessible to the public, when

you don’t know whether or not someone plans on doing it with a gun. Whether their intention is

good like protecting themselves or loved ones, or if it's bad and want to use it against others and

harm those around them. No one wants to go through a traumatic experience of having close

contact with an active firearm, nor lose someone to it as well.