Gun Control

According to the US news, schools all across America want stricter gun control laws. From the results of a poll on stricter gun laws, almost half, 45% of the students said they felt stricter laws were necessary. One of the proposals was raising the age of being able to own a gun to 21, which many people agreed with. The other proposal was arming our teachers, however over half, 55% disagreed.

According to the US news article, Trump is definitely interested in improving the background check system. He made it very clear that he wants to still support the second amendment. The main consideration for this gun control meeting was to keep schools safe, mental health reform, and also to keep guns away from dangerous people.

A recent poll shows that more than 22% of Americans own one of more guns, this poll also shows that more than half of gun owners are men rather than women. Many gun owners refer back to the Second Amendment when asked about guns. It is said that they own them for the purposes of local home invaders and protection. Different states have different laws, also over time laws have become very different. For example, back in the year of 1643 it was required of at least one man per household to own a firearm for protection against Native Americans. Now, men have the option of owning a gun with a thorough background check, waiting periods, and proper registration to either purchase or sell a gun. On February 20, 2018 the US Supreme Court ruled a 10-day waiting period.
It was not until June 27, 2016 that the Supreme Court ruled that anyone convicted of "recklessly" using a gun would disqualify an individual from being able to own a gun.

For my Civic Engagement blog I chose the topic of Gun Control. Gun Control is definitely a nation wide issue at the moment. I chose to interview 3 different individuals and ask them all the same questions. The questions I chose to interview them with were as follows:

1. Are you pro or anti gun control? And why?

2. Do you believe providing our teachers with guns is a good idea?

3. Do you believe raising the age for owning a gun would help? 

Mario Ramirez

1. "I'm pro gun control, I strongly believe in the right to bear arms. However I do believe there should be a few restrictions when it comes to guns, also a thorough background check must be given. For example, the Las Vegas shooter was completely normal, no history of psychological disorders so it's very unpredictable with people. I do believe letting people make their own choices is very important. The whole country shouldn't be held accountable for the mistakes of others." 

2. "Yes I do however with proper quarterly training every 3 months. Also I believe the teachers should be given a thorough background check as well before given a gun." 

3. "Age isn't the issue. I don't believe raising the age would help. Here in the United States you have to be 25 to be a cop, and 18 to join the military. When it comes to other countries, there are no gun laws like we have. In the third world countries they believe in killing for their religion. Everyone should have the right to make their own choice. 

Ana Ornelas

1. "I'm anti gun control, there's a lot of people who have guns and aren't trained to have them. They're not emotionally or intellectually competent to own them."

2. "No, if I were a teacher I wouldn't want the authority to own a gun. I'd be scared, in a classroom children should feel safe and with a gun kids would be uncomfortable. If a kid gets a hold of the gun it would be very dangerous for everyone as well."

3. "I don't believe it would help completely, however it'd definitely be a stepping stone. I've read somewhere that your frontal cortex which is the part of the brain that makes decisions isn't fully developed until the age of 25. Perhaps raising the age to 25 would be a great start."

Beatrice Ramirez

1. "I'm pro guns, I believe in banning idiots, not guns. If you purchase a gun you should be given a thorough background check. I believe guns are needed for protection."

2. "I believe not. It can be frustrating being a teacher depending on the student. Students have been hit before by teachers, also it'd be difficult for a student to concentrate knowing their teacher has access to a gun. Even if a teacher is armed, there are still possibilities of being caught off guard by a school shooter and still getting hurt."

3. "No, I don't think it'd help because now and days you can get a gun at any age if one really is determined to get one."

Reflection

I chose this topic because I felt it is a very big social topic that many individuals have different opinions about. While interviewing my chosen individuals, I discovered that everyone has a different opinion when it comes to gun control. There are many people for it and many people against it even after the tragic events our country has faced. I did receive feedback that surprised me, for example the question I asked about arming our teachers. Some of the people I interviewed were for arming teachers, they thought it was a great idea when others thought it was a horrible idea. This is a perfect example of how different our society is and shows that nobody's opinion is right or wrong. 

References

“Background of the Issue - Gun Control - ProCon.org.” Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted in the United States?, gun-control.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=006436.

“Home.” NRA.ORG, home.nra.org/.

“Poll: High School Students Overwhelmingly Support Stricter Gun Control.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/data-mine/articles/2018-03-22/poll-high-school-students-overwhelmingly-support-stricter-gun-control.