A Mass Shooting in Texas, Essay Example

There have been debates concerning the country’s laws on gun control, and the impact restrictions would have on mass shootings and homicides. Surveys and polls have been conducted around the country to determine Americans’ thoughts regarding gun control laws and various opinions have been raised about the recent mass shootings in Las Vegas and Texas. Americans have shown significant division concerning the issue of gun control and how it would prevent mass shootings and gun-related crimes. However, some Americans do not see how gun control will help reduce the shootings and other crimes. The topic is relevant because there has been an increase in mass shootings in the country and this can be attributed to the less restrictive gun control laws that allow people to own guns. If the government would make it difficult to buy and own a gun, then the number of mass shootings would reduce in the country.

Based on online research conducted, it is clear that Americans have mixed feelings about gun control laws because some feel that control will have no impact on mass shootings, while others feel that it will help reduce crimes such as mass shootings and homicides (Marie and Swanson). According to a poll conducted in the country, it is clear that Americans are divided on the issue of gun control laws with about half agreeing that mass shootings will reduce. Considering the Las Vegas mass shooting in August, the five dozen lives would not have been lost if strict gun control laws existed in the country (Marie & Swanson). Barely three months later, more than two dozen of people among them children lost their lives at a mass shooting in a church in Texas (Gopnik). The increased rate of mass shootings in the country explains why the majority of the people support tighter laws concerning buying, owning, and the use of guns in the country.

The government should focus on ensuring that the sale of illegal firearms is restricted in the country by developing stricter punishments for illegal dealers (Marie & Swanson). The restriction would ensure that unlicensed firearms are not available in the country and mass shootings would reduce. In the case of the Las Vegas mass shooting, it was the deadliest in U.S modern history, and stricter laws should be enacted to ensure that it does not happen in future. Those on the other side of the divide are against the revamping of gun control laws may be because they would like to protect their firearms (Gopnik). Similarly, the government should make it harder for an individual to buy a gun by implementing tougher requirements that one should meet before getting a gun license (Marie & Swanson). This way, the government would control the number of people owning guns and ensure that they are responsible for having the gun licenses to avoid losing lives as a result of mass shootings.

Finally, it would be necessary for the government to limit the availability of some devices that can be used in shootings such as the bump stocks the Las Vegas shooter used for his semiautomatic weapon to mimic an automatic weapon (Marie and Swanson). If the device were highly restricted and unavailable, the Las Vegas shooter would not have murdered the five-dozen people. Although the stricter gun control laws would not completely reduce the mass shootings and other cases of gun violence, they would limit gun availability in the American society. Therefore, gun violence would go down because it would not be easy to buy a gun legally.

In conclusion, the government should make it difficult to buy and own a gun to reduce the number of mass shootings and gun violence in the country. Stricter laws on gun ownership should be established with a restriction of devices that can aid in mass shootings and gun violence.

Works Cited

Gopnik, Adam. “A Mass Shooting in Texas and False Arguments Against Gun Control.” The New Yorker. November 6, 2017. Available from https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-mass-shooting-in-texas-and-false-arguments-against-gun-control

Marie, Pane, L. and Swanson, Emily. “Las Vegas Shooting Didn’t Change American Minds on Gun Control: Poll.” Global News. October 20, 2017. Available from https://globalnews.ca/news/3816461/las-vegas-shooting-gun-control/