Essay Sample about Gun Control

You can have all the gun control laws in the country, but if you don’t enforce them, people are gonna find a way to protect themselves. We first need to recognize that It’s not the law-abiding citizens or the person who uses it as a hobby. It is bad people who are doing bad things with these weapons. 

Realistically, the United States and other countries who try or want to completely ban guns, will have a hard time doing so. Taking firearms off the legal market is simple, sure, but keeping guns off the black-market or from being obtained illegally will be difficult for the government to control. For instance, drugs are highly illegal yet are still widely sold throughout the US. While it is a law that you cannot have or sell drugs, there is still always a way because when people want something they will find a way to get it legally or not. So why take firearms off the legal market when they are accessible to the wrong people and have the safety taken from people who use guns as protection. 

A major argument in the gun control talk is the background checks. Gun owners in NY must obtain a license prior to purchasing a handgun. The licensing process also involves a background check and other specific requirements to be eligible to purchase or own a firearm. In addition to the license requirement, New York law requires that a NICS background check be initiated by a licensed firearms dealer before the sale, exchange, or disposal of any firearm (including handguns). If a background check initiated by a dealer takes more than 30 days to clear, the dealer can proceed with the firearm transfer. Upon transfer of the firearm, the dealer must finalize a document that confirms that such a check was performed. All dealers must maintain transaction records on their premises and the records must be open at all reasonable hours for inspection by law enforcement. Under federal law, people are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms if they have been convicted of a felony or some domestic violence misdemeanors, or if they are subject to certain court orders related to domestic violence or a serious mental condition. I feel as if these laws cover just about all bases but the one place we are lacking is in mental health checks. I think there should be psychological evaluations as well as mental health evaluations. Some say “it is an infringement on the Second Amendment” but I think if you are wanting to own a gun for the right reasons you should have no fear or problem with taking a mental evaluation. Ideally an assessment will help prevent guns from ending up in the hands of people whose mental health challenges might trigger great harm. Guns don’t kill people; people kill people. Mental health assessments will help us not only prevent gun violence, but also help people who are struggling to find support. 

Not only do I think that we as US citizens should be able to have guns but I also think that taking guns away would simply cause more harm to our society than good. Having guns in the hands of people who are educated on firearms is more safe then completely banning them because there will always be guns in the U.S. legally or not.