Write the thesis statement in my persuasive essay on gun control.

Name: Christine Hampton
Course: PHI-105
Date: July 25, 2016
Instructor: Christal Abron

The Right to Bear Arms
Ratified in December 1791, the Second Amendment says: "A 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" (Second Amendment). Gun-control advocates have been a leading force and cause for several changes happening today. Most gun advocates and non-gun owners do not understand or know how to deter shootings such as the most-recent shooting in Orlando Florida; 49 people were gunned down with a AR-15. Many innocent lives were taken away at no cost to the individual doing the shooting, and now gun control is back in the spot light again. Ratified in December 1791, guns do not kill people; people kill people. Crime can happen at any minute, and people should have a right to protect themselves and their families. However, guns are being blamed for these crimes and tragic events when really the irresponsible one is the person holding the gun.

When the Second Amendment was ratified in the United States, in the Second Amendment, it states that people have the right to bear arms, and it shall never be infringed. To shed more clarity on this United States, law in the Second Amendment, Americans have this right that no one can take away not because they were given to us, but because as an American US citizen, we are born with these rights (the Second Amendment is our birth right). "The Second Amendment guarantees us the absolute ability to defend ourselves from anyone who would take away our liberties or our lives" (Cottrol, 1999, p. 6). Many shootings like the tragedy in Orlando where 49 people were gunned- down with an AR-15, there is so much misinformation out in the world, and it seems like after every single shooting that makes it into the news, you can count on people to report this misinformation, further perpetuating the massive ignorance that is put out there. Was the Orlando shooting, really, in fact, the "deadliest" mass shooting in the United States and the worst terrorist attack since 9/11. Watching the news can make anyone feel like we are on the cusp of falling into a dark time, and it is understandable that emotionally we deal with the incidents that unfold in front of us. However, it would not hurt the media to frame the news with a little less "dramatic" and a little more context and factual information.

"Guns don't kill; people do." In its flyers, the NRA repeatedly stresses that strict national gun laws, especially registration and licensing, would have no effect on criminal violence, "as criminals, by definition, do not obey laws" (Carter & Lee, 2000, p. 69). Criminals do not follow or respect our laws and do not value human life. Take a single mother of two young kids with a husband who works away from home all the time, if someone were to break into her home while her kids were home and had no means of protection to protect herself and children. I guarantee I would not have enough time to call the cops, and the cops would not be able to make it to my home in time before any violence initiated. It only takes a matter of "seconds" for things to go wrong when a criminal is forcing him or herself in the victim's home and the victim never knows if they are armed with a weapon or not. So why are some still pushing for more gun restrictions? A gun is a tool that can be used for good or evil, and it all depends on whose hands it is in. A gun was made to protect yourself and those you love in defense of your life and liberty. Restricting gun laws is only effective at preventing law-abiding citizens from stopping criminals with guns.

People have always been shooting, punching, stabbing, and kicking each other. They just do a lot less of it today. Homicide rates, for example, have been falling at the point where in 2014 the last year of FBI data offered it was at 4.5 per 100,000 people, which is the lowest rate since 1963, when it was at 4.6 per 100,000 people. There was a slight increase in violent crime in 2015, making it the second-lowest year for homicides in the past 51 years (Smith, 2014). These statistics may not appear or seem to show a huge decrease in gun-related crime and violence if you look at some of the percentages, but these statistics do show proof that gun-related crimes and violence have been slowly decreasing rate for the past three or four decades.

Guns do not kill people; people kill people is a saying that I truly believe to be true and right. In today's society, especially with all the recent shootings happening all over the United States. People are blaming guns for these tragic happenings when really the person/people holding the gun and pulling the trigger are to blame, we as a society start talking about banning guns whenever something bad happens such as the Orlando Florida tragedy. When a crime is committed there may be a weapon involved, but it is always forced upon by the hands of a human and not the gun itself. Why do people blame guns for all these crimes and violence happening all over the world, every day? The only thing I consider to be a weapon in today's society is we the people. We are our own tools of violence and chaos for we are the ones who choose to kill people and not kill; guns do not choose for us. People do.

References

•Carter, G. L. (2000). Dueling statistics. Forum for Applied Research & Public Policy, 15(4), 68-75. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofs&AN=510152000&site=eds-live&scope=site

•Cottrol, R. J. (1999). Taking second amendment rights seriously. Human Rights, 26 (4), 5. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.27880165&site=eds-live&scope=site

•FBI: US homicide rate at 51-Year Low. (2014). In, Mises Wire.
Retrieved from
https://mises.org/blog/fbi-us-homicide-rate-51-year-low

•Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution&oldid=727975372

•Thomas Jefferson. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Jefferson&oldid=731421175