Here in America, it seems like you can't turn on the news without hearing about another mass shooting. The constant shootings lead to deep sadness, extensive indignity and feelings of hopelessness because gun violence has gotten way out of hand in the United States.
One person is killed by a firearm every 17 minutes. Guns are weapons. By simply pulling a trigger, a life can be taken. And yet, guns have become commonplace in America. Owning a gun, being armed 24/7 and regularly going to the shooting range are all practices that seem to fit the character of the "Old Wild West," but are still accepted practices of the modern 21st century. Guns have become a necessity, when they ought to be feared. Weapons, like guns, with such extreme power deserve to be left to officials that have appropriate knowledge and training to operate such objects: the military, policemen and hunters. Not for anyone and everyone.
Gun control is the only solution to changing the course of the vicious, frightening path that America is currently on. Americans seem to believe in the idea that guns save lives when, of course, it is the other way around. Guns are the weapons that take lives, and many studies support the fact that high gun ownership leads to an elevated risk of homicide.
More guns means more murders. It is common sense that having more items around with the ability to kill will result in more people being killed. But if that doesn't seem like common sense, allow the meticulous study done by Boston University School of Public Health researcher, Dr. Michael Siegel to convince you. From the study, which started back in 1981 and continued until 2010, Siegel found that "for each 1 percentage point increase in proportion of household gun ownership, firearm homicide rate increased by 0.9 percent." This means that "if in Mississippi the gun ownership rate were 57.7 percent (the average for all states) instead of 76.8 percent (the highest of all states), its firearm homicide rate would be 17 percent lower," which translates to 80 lives being saved in just one year in Mississippi alone. With just a 20 percent decrease in gun ownership, 80 lives could be saved in just one state. This demonstrates the huge ability gun control has to stop homicides and save lives.
The United States has one of the highest gun homicide rates of all other civilized countries. America strives to be one of the most civilized and developed countries in the world, and yet, our shootings prove to the world otherwise. The gun homicide rates of European countries don't even come close to that of America, which points to the biggest difference between Europe and America: gun control. Surely, there are other issues adding to gun violence in America other than gun ownership, such as race discrimination, economic inequality and the financial influence of the NRA on government. It can not be forgotten, however, that no matter what else, if guns were not so accessible, then the rate of gun homicide would inevitably decrease.
It's time that America takes control of the NRA, instead of the NRA controlling America. It's time for things to change. It's time for gun control to be put in place, and it's time for 11,000 American lives not be ended by gun homicide every year.
