Gun Violence

Jeriah Shepperd

Kristen Berry

Writing and Reporting Section 401 Fall 2020 CO

1 November 2020

Gun violence has been a global disaster due to humans being imperfect, but I am going to talk about one issue. Should any citizen who does not have a criminal record be permitted to carry a concealed weapon? I think not, even though the second amendment gives citizens the right to bear a concealed weapon. It would be better if law enforcement were to carry concealed weapons instead of citizens. If the government were to create a law that did not allow people to have weapons there would be fewer killings and murders. Now I am just going to state the obvious cons to this issue. The 2nd amendment gives citizens the right to own a concealed weapon, which really does not help citizens who are against concealed weapon permits and there really cannot be any changes. Even though the 2nd amendment allows citizens to have the right to defend themselves, what about the people who are not responsible and dangerous, do we just let them have a concealed weapon and wait for them to start their criminal record. Every year, gun violence imposes an unacceptable toll on people in the United States. I think that versus what the amendment says, it would be better if law enforcement was to carry concealed weapons. If criminals were not allowed to have a weapon, it still would not stop them from getting one from a friend or family member, they would still pose as a threat. I have gone and did some research on should citizens be permitted to carry a concealed weapon and here is what I found. My source was an article that was published in 2016 and it states, “In 2014, 33,599 people died from gun violence; most of these deaths were suicides, and firearm homicides accounted for more than 11 000 deaths. Unintentional shootings, in which children are often the shooter or victim,2,3 comprised more than 500 deaths in 2013” (Wolfson). Teenagers and young adults are more at risk than ever. Today young kids get involved in crazy things and end up dead because of it. The band on concealed weapons would decrease the dearth rate on young adults like myself. When young adults get a hold of a weapon, I can guarantee you that 30 percent of young adult’s lives will go into a downward spiral. So, to prevent kids from going to jail or worse I think it would be best for everyone if citizens including myself do not have the right to carry a concealed weapon. The article also states, “In addition to firearm fatalities, in 2013, more than 84,000 people in the United States suffered from nonfatal gunshot wounds, including both injuries resulting in hospitalization and injuries that were treated in emergency rooms but did not require admittance to the hospital” (Wolfson). In some situations, there is always that few that are just at the right or wrong place at the wrong time. Citizens should have to worry about going to the movies, concert, or even walk down the street with the possibility to get shot at or gunned down. It would be better if we best let law enforcement that way people can feel safe walking down the street again.

Wolfson, Julia A., et al. “The American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) from the American

Public Health Association (APHA) Publications.” American Public Health Association (APHA) Publications, American Journal of Public Health, ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303712.