It seems like every day there is a news report about someone being killed by a gun. This summer started with the tragic mass shooting in Pulse nightclub to shootings of innocent black men and, in more recent days, the killing of police officers.
People all over the world have come together to support the victims and families of many of these gun violence tragedies, but there are even more victims of shootings that go unnoticed. On average, 91 people die each day due to gun violence in America according to Gun Violence by the Numbers. The United States has the most owners of firearms and has the largest amount of gun violence out of any country. We are a country being run down by guns.
According to CBC News, the United States is ranked number one for being the country with the most firearms per capita. In my opinion, this is not something we should be proud of. In the U.S., 89 people out of every 100 own a firearm. The country with the second largest amount of gun ownership is Yemen, who has 55 out of 100 people owning guns. Switzerland ranks third with 46 out of every 100 people owning a gun.
There is an unfathomable difference between the first, second, and third ranked countries. There has been a study that correlates the number of firearms owned with the amount of gun violence. With the United States having the most firearm owners, we also have the largest amount of gun violence out of all the countries. I believe this to be true just by watching the news and seeing all the gun-related deaths.
A video shared by Vox called America's Gun Problems states that from 2000 to 2014, the U.S. experienced 133 mass shootings, a shooting that results in the death of four or more people. During this same amount of time, Germany experienced six mass shootings, three in Canada, two in Finland and Australia, and only one in Norway, Switzerland, and England. With this past year, the United States is now experiencing more shootings in shorter amounts of time from each other. On average, a mass shooting occurs every 60 days. In 2016 alone, there have been 30,604 gun shootings stated by the Gun Violence Archive.
The United States is in serious need of a resolution to this gun issue. Without a solution, thousands of people will continue to die from drive-by shootings, gang violence, homicides, suicides, and mass shootings. If this country is going to allow ownership of guns, I believe that we need to make it harder for "just anyone" to obtain a gun. The United States needs to tighten the laws to obtain a gun. In comparison to other countries, the United States has the most relaxed laws for obtaining a gun. Norway, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Iceland, and Australia require five credentials in order for someone to obtain a firearm (America's Gun Problems). The U.S. should require everyone wanting to purchase a gun to have a license, registration, share a reason of wanting to get the gun, receive a background check, go through proper safety training, and store the firearm safely. This will take guns out of the hand of previous criminals, people with mental health issues, and people associated with terrorism. It will also help those with depression and/or aggression from getting their hands on a gun and either harming themselves or others.
I'm not saying that this proposal will eliminate all gun violence, but it will surely decrease the amount of mass shootings and random killings. Guns need to be taken away from the sick people in this world that just want to hate, destroy, and hurt.
When will enough be enough with all this violence and killing? How many more news reports do we have to watch of innocent kids, police, friends, or family being killed by guns? At what point will we finally step up to make a change? Our country is being run down by guns and we need to decide to make a change today.
