Essay Sample on Should Gun Control Laws be Stricter?

“If you actively do nothing, people continually end up dead, so it is time to start doing something…We are going to change the law."  This quote from Emma Gonzalez, a school shooting survivor shows that lawmakers must take action and that laws need to change otherwise the number of people getting injured will increase drastically. Emma Gonzalez is willing to make a change because students do not want to fear having a place in a school building. There should be stricter gun control laws, higher age requirements to obtain a firearm, and requiring a valid reason to gain a firearm into a citizen’s possession.

To begin with, there should be firmer gun laws. This idea means a greater amount of background checks for people who want to attain a firearm. A database source explains how using background checks can limit gun violence because fewer people would have access to guns. The article, “ Legislators Must Make Stricter Gun Laws In Response” shows how a firearm of great destruction should not be so attainable for all people. This explains how making it less attainable would reduce the number of people who have one. Therefore, ensuring the greater safety of American citizens from gun violence. It has also been stated that it is important to have a reason why you want a highly destructive firearm. 

Another method that can be applied to better secure the safety of US citizens includes a higher age requirement to prevent gun violence from happening in-school locations. According to a database source, it explains that on February 14th, 2018, there was a school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School and there were 17 deaths. The March for Our Lives movement was a wave of activism speaking out on gun violence. This shows how these groups of students want to change the gun laws so they have been going to communities affected by gun violence. In March hundreds of students decided to demonstrate against gun violence in student-organized marches. Many of the same types of protests have occurred, all organized by students who do not want to take our freedoms away but to just make it stricter so lives are not being risked. Their target is to get the attention of the government in hopes of changing gun laws to better secure the safety of the US. 

To add to what has been stated to support the higher laws against gun rights, a valid reason should be provided for wanting a firearm. The Book, “Gun Control and the Second Amendment” shows that more harm happens when you own a gun than when you do not. If children are present in a household there should be a gun in the same house. Although all parents/guardians do not wish for their children or loved ones to get injured it always seems to occur. A gun may possibly be locked away, however children no matter the circumstances seem to find the weapon. It is imperative to eliminate them from family households. If the family is in serious danger it is better if you depend on the police than to have a gun that also threatens children.

Some people may argue that it is one of a citizen’s rights to keep guns but gun rights should not come in the way of a citizen’s life or wellbeing. As expressed before, it is imperative to make it less attainable for people to acquire a firearm. The solution consists of stricter gun laws, raised age requirements to gain access to a gun, and providing a rational reason to get a gun that can keep all citizens of America safe from gun violence.