Gun Control, Speech Example

Attention

The following points are the key reasons that support improved gun control:-

• The prevention of indiscriminate killing by people armed with guns
• The moral issue – We do not have the human rights to take the lives of others
• Safeguard of the Police – we need to protect our law enforcement officers
• Prevention of vigilante groups using guns to enforce their will on others
• Creating a safer society by the banning of guns from public places

Need

The amount of guns in American Society is overwhelming and this has resulted in a number of indiscriminate killings in public places.  Many believe that gun ownership is a constitutional right of all Americans who have the right to protect themselves.  This is supported by the large number of donations that come from pro-gun lobbyists to the political parties.  In order to reduce the amount of street crime and indiscriminate killings, using guns and other high powered weapons, there is a need for stricter laws for gun control in the USA.

This particularly relates to the use of hand guns that can be easily concealed and taken into public places.  In Canada and most of the countries in Europe these are banned and restricted only to members of licensed gun clubs for recreational purposes. Larger weapons like rifles, semi-automatic firearms are subject to tight gun controls in both Canada and Europe.  In both countries the use of fully automatic weapons by the public is prohibited.  Although it can be argued that such weapons can be obtained illegally and used to devastating effect like that of the insane killer in Norway.

The need is to increase awareness of the dangers to society and convince the public that there is not a need for such a heavily armed society.  The chart illustrates the position in 2006 with specific reference to firearm related homicides. It can be seen that the position is almost 8X more severe than that of Canada, Europe, Australia and England.  However, removing firearms out of the equation there is a much lower disparity in the range of non-firearm related homicides. (Socio).

Satisfaction

The only way that this problem can be resolved in the USA is by tougher gun control laws and restriction of the type of firearms that are freely available for purchase by the public.  There is no good legitimate reason to sell the public automatic weapons and assault rifles.  Equally it could be argued that certain types of handguns should be added to this list i.e. weapons of extremely high velocity, firing magnum load cartridges, those weapons that take large magazines of ammunition rendering them to be more lethal weapons and a danger to the public.

The danger with outright bans on weapons is that it tends to fuel the ‘black market’ and creates a conduit for even more weapons to be introduced into the marketplace.  This concept of tougher laws and controls needs widespread support of the public and there should be an amnesty period in which people can voluntarily hand in illegal weapons free from prosecution.

Visualization

The US could do a lot worse than follow the Canadian example in terms of gun control.  Canada has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world. Gun controls however essentially restrict these to high powered rifles.  Handguns and automatic weapons are prohibited in use and ownership in Canada.  Canada and the USA resemble one another but there are important cultural differences and these relate to the lower crime rates in Canada.   It is unlikely to ban gun ownership in the USA but the issue in terms of types of weapons could be restricted to sport rifles for hunting and recreational use. There are no real needs for handguns and automatic weapons in a civilised society.  If the USA fails to change this stance on gun ownership it is considered that the situation will further deteriorate and there will be more patterns of indiscriminate killings.  Gun crime is also linked to drug crimes, gangs, urban decay and poverty and making this a sociological issue in addition to a criminal one.

Action

The public needs to voice their concerns for change in improved gun control laws and tighter regulations.  This means increased lobbying through the media, raising the concern to local and state authorities and ultimately to Federal Government and Congress.  Real change will only come about through the majority will of the people.  America symbolises the taming of the wild west with heavily armed men on horseback. This is now history and the country needs to move forward to a more peaceful society where its people work together and live in harmony without the fear or threat of lone gunmen shooting at them.  There should only be what is termed as “legal guns” used for the protection of police and law enforcement officers.  The Common law protects the people and this is enforced by the police and federal law enforcement officers.  The model has worked well in the UK, Australia and Canada. (Singh)

Works Cited

Singh, Robert. “Gun Control in America Vol 69(3).” The Political Quarterly (1998): 288–296.

Socio, Mia Dauvergne and Leonardo De. Firearms and Violent Crimes. 9 8 2012. <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2008002/article/10518-eng.htm>.