...Psychological Analysis of Firearm Misuse and the Public Perspective of Firearm Violence Colin R. Moran Columbus State Community College, Ohio Abstract Every year, more and more people are subjected to the lifelong fear created by events of isolated firearm misuse. This paper will explore the psychological aspects of firearm misuse, question the means which the media uses to distribute information about the events, and apply published research from various reliable sources to conclude the problems created by the methods we approach this issue. This research will also discuss the many hardships that the experts face in predicting and preventing these events, while suggesting possible changes that might lead to improved accuracy and...
Words: 1038 - Pages: 5
...Gun violence is not a new issue, nor is gun control a new argument. The “war on guns” dates all the way back to the infancy of the United States of America; the right to bear arms was guaranteed in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, and has been seen, in the more than two centuries since, as a cornerstone of American liberty. However, in the last few years, repeated mass killings have placed the gun control debate at the eye of the American political storm. In an effort to balance beliefs from both ends of the political spectrum - that gun ownership needs to be protected, while restricted enough to keep guns out of the hands of those who may do deadly harm with them - has come a lack of serious, effective legislation on the matter. The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act - seen at its enactment as a milestone in the gun control movement - has proven itself ineffective at preventing the type of mass shooting that is, unfortunately, all too common today. These killings, and the high rates of gun violence overall, challenge the core values of social work practice, and the short- and long-term economic impact of this violence is, at best, counter-productive. Based on the research outlined in this document, it is necessary as social workers to create a culture of safety, and as a country to enact sensible gun...
Words: 1428 - Pages: 6
...Gun violence in the United States may not be as sever as it once was, but it is again highly publicized because of the recent school shooting. With the recent mass murders that have happened in the United States, the question arises about how to prevent these acts from happening again. Some people believe that we should take away all guns while others believe stricter gun laws should be enacted. The purpose of this paper is to explore the gun control laws that we have in the United States as well as their effectiveness as a deterrent for gun violence. Another aspect that we will be looking at is whether stricter gun laws would help prevent gun violence any better. It is apparent that the gun control laws in the United States do not act as a...
Words: 1002 - Pages: 5
...Current Events in Business Research Debra Blackwelder RES/351 March 10, 2014 John Gilpin Current Events in Business Research The business research process begins with the collecting of data and then processed into information that can be used to define more details on where, when, how, what type of business is needed for that type of buyer. You have to clarify the research question by discovering the management dilemma, defining the management question, defining the research question(s) and finally refining the research question(s), which is called the exploration of research. Then the research proposal is done, followed by the research design strategy, then data collection and preparation. Next are the data analysis and interpretation, then research reporting finishing with the management decision. The article that the Arthur used for this paper talks about how President Obama issued a list of executive orders, one of which is for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) received $10 million to research gun control violence. In the wake of all the different school shootings, the Obama Administration and anti-guns proponents thought the evidence would be irrefutable to support why guns make Americans less safe. They were not expecting what the CDC report found in their Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence. Their report study findings are that armed citizens are likely to be injured by an attacker, defensive uses of guns are common and that mass...
Words: 316 - Pages: 2
...Persuasive Research Paper ENG 102 August 11, 2013 Karen Halusek Persuasive Research Paper In America, guns have been a part of the country’s society since its birth. Throughout history, citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, and to hunt for food. In the United States, gun control is an issue that has both sides firmly imbedded in their beliefs. The parties in favor of gun ownership and the right to keep and bear arms rely on the fact that provisions for such rights are protected by the Constitution. No legitimate study in the US has ever shown that gun control has any positive impact on crime. Society benefits from firearms in the hands of responsible citizens. In this time of turmoil and growing violence, gun advocates feel more than ever that their position is justified. The issue of gun control continues to remain a controversy. A large number of citizens believe that if gun acts are strictly enforced, that violence and the threat of crime will reduce everywhere. On the other hand, a large amount of society feels that they deserve the right to bear arms and will stop at nothing to protect their second amendment. The challenging issue of gun control takes a harmonizing act of extreme measures. Weighing the rights and liberties for each individual against the welfare and safety of the public is a risky balancing act. Attempts to keep firearms away from these citizens do more harm than good. People believe that the banning...
Words: 2321 - Pages: 10
...ANGELES | POLICY RESEARCH PAPER | POLS 462 PUBLIC POLICY | | Victor Chang | 3/18/2013 | [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] | It can be easily argued that we are currently living in a culture of violence. As we watch, read or listen to the news; daily incidents of individuals becoming victims of gun violence trumps the headlines. With tragic incidents such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that occurred in December of 2012, as well as the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado in July of 2012 occurring less than six months away from each other, prompted debate on a national level regarding the importance of gun control and mental illness. Other highly publicized mass shootings, such as the one that occurred in Tucson, Arizona in January of 2011, involving former US Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the mass shooting at Virginia Tech, along with the two events mentioned above, “all shared two common characteristics: all four shooters were mentally ill, and all four used guns with large capacity magazines, allowing them to fire multiple rounds of ammunition without reloading (Barry, 2013).” As the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to bear arms, the issue at hand is: how can the government prevent guns from landing in the...
Words: 2685 - Pages: 11
...Gun legalization benefits and disadvantages in the USA Introduction The question on whether violence and crime could be tackled effectively and consequently minimized by ultimately legalizing guns in the United States has remained a hard nut to crack over the past decade. On the other hand, ardent debate has been going on getting the guns off the streets. There are valid points on both sides of the issue where legalizing of guns will have benefits as well as disadvantages to the American society. In states where legalization of guns has been effected, citizens have realized numerous benefits. However, the legalization of guns has not been without disadvantages because when the guns find their way into the hands of gangs and children owing to the availability, high rates of crime and deaths are witnessed. Therefore, gun legalization in United States is an issue which has come to the forefront and should be accorded all attention bearing in mind the benefits as well as the disadvantages (Blek 121). Cook, Molliconi and Cole (60) state that guns are weapons that can be used to mitigate crime or violence but can be used to perpetuate violence and crime. It is true that guns do not do the real shooting: people do the shooting. It is the person who possesses the gun and the intent to do harm that we should be worried about. The pride of a person with a gun can actually make him or her to impose his or her will upon other people. This aspect is what puts the legalization of guns...
Words: 2585 - Pages: 11
...Understanding of Reality on Gun Control Introduction The wake of gun violence in the United States has seen various proposals on how to handle the gun issue. Occasionally, people have woken up to shocking incidences of gun violence on various quarters. Perhaps the most outrageous incidents are the ones that involved shooting of school going children by a fellow student, seemingly unstable, or at least for that moment. It is important to note that in these incidences, the media coverage of the live happenings have always been extensive, giving the perpetrator of such violence a lot of fame. Various segments of the society have reacted to such incidences with diverging and converging opinions on what should be the best way forward. While the Obama administration has been on the forefront proposing stringent measures for the purposes of reducing or eliminating repeat occurrence, Republicans have a different view on how to address the whole matter. Religious groups and civil society have not spoken in one voice although one may deduce that everyone desires some changes in regards to how the whole issue should be addressed. Some of the emerging schools of thought that have come out have to do with logic behind issuance of guns, the ethical and practical implications of the solutions proposed for adoption as policy. Probably the big challenge is that the incidences that have occurred cannot qualify to be categorized as organized crimes. They are spontaneous reactions...
Words: 3957 - Pages: 16
...Gun Control – Does it reduce Crime? There are so many sides to gun control that covering all of them in one paper would kill far too many trees to consider. For that reason, I have decided to cover only how gun control affects crime rates and if it increases or decreases victims’ injuries and/or deaths. I will look at the effect an armed victim has on an offender and how gun control affects only the law abiding citizen. One small town in Georgia went to extremes to reduce its crime rate. That town is Kennesaw, GA. In 1982 a city ordinance was passed that requires all heads of household to keep at least one firearm, with ammunition, in the home (Baldwin). After the law went into effect, crime against persons plummeted 74 percent compared to 1981, and fell another 45 percent in 1983 compared to 1982. Admittedly, the crime rate in Kennesaw was not very high to begin with. Robert Jones, Kennesaw Historical Society president says, “[The crime rate] was eleven burglaries per 1,000 residents in 1981." According to the Kennesaw Police Department, the city's most recent crime statistics show 243 property crimes per 100,000 residents in 1998, or .243 per 1,000. A similar Georgia city, Decatur, recorded 4,049 property crimes per 100,000 residents, or just over 4 per 1000. Kennesaw’s crime rate continues to be below all other metro Atlanta city with similar populations. One can’t help but think that this has something to do with the fact that “all” of the residents are armed. Obviously...
Words: 1820 - Pages: 8
...that gun related violence is not a problem that requires attention. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, firearm homicides account for roughly 11,000 of the 16,000 homicides that occur the United States annually (2013). The subject of gun control has been a topic that has generated an enormous amount of controversy and attention. When one hears the term “gun violence”, vile acts against humanity, such as the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and Columbine High School, come to mind. More recently, the rise in extremist acts of terror has heightened the public’s concern over gun control. In the aftermath of multiple occasions, President Obama has publically called for stronger gun control laws, specifically calling for stricter background checks among other provisions. In response to the public’s concern for safety, the president used executive action which increased the number of businesses which require federal licenses to sell guns, thus increasing the number of dealers requiring background checks when selling firearms (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2016). This is, of course, not a one-sided argument. The subject creates strong feelings across the political spectrum. Gun rights groups, such as the NRA, suggest that gun control laws are not only unconstitutional, but actually leave citizens in more danger by preventing them from using their best form of protection (National Rifle Association, 2015). In 1994 Congress enacted the Brady Gun Control...
Words: 9972 - Pages: 40
...Debate Paper: Gun Ownership versus Gun Prohibition Mark Mitchell XBCOM-275 April 27, 2014 Daniel Anderson Debate Paper: Gun Ownership versus Gun Prohibition Gun control (prohibition) is one of those matters on which practically every person has a view and those views are deeply maintained. Whether a person is pro-gun or anti-gun is based on each's opinion and are repeatedly established not on real details but rather on crude passions driven by extensively broadcasted distortions regarding the use and misuse of guns. Additionally, most people have the same opinion that gun-related injuries or death of unintended person should by no means tolerated, although there is a wide range of opinions on what the course of action to take in an attempt to obtain a proper solution. So in the interest of clarifying this subject of which is right and proper, whether it is the Private ownership of guns or the prohibitions of guns (or if the answer lies somewhere in the middle) is truly right for the country; enter the debate. As to reasons in support of pro-guns ownership for private citizens, comes from one of the founding fathers Thomas Jefferson (n.d.) who eloquently stated “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." He also said," No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” This belief was not his alone but that of all the founding fathers. This belief was so...
Words: 2218 - Pages: 9
...Gun Control In America As most people know Barack Obama and many political officials are working on laws that prevent people from having the right to own a firearm. The reason I want to talk about this topic is because I do not feel the same way as others about the gun control laws. I believe that American citizens should have the right to own a firearm due to the crime that we have in America. Although weapons are not always the right choice many people feel the need to have a gun in their homes for their own protection. At the same time I believe that we should all have the write to bare arms, I also believe that there should be a well controlled process in order to keep weapons out of the hands of those that are unstable or criminals and who would use these weapons on the people as a whole to cause undo danger and inflict harm. It is never a good start to your day to turn on the TV or radio only to discover that there has been another school shooting were innocent children have been targeted. Turn on the nightly news; you are sure to hear about home invasions, carjacking and stores being robbed. For those of us who work hard to get where we are and are upstanding citizens, we should have the right to protect our selves from those who believe that they are better than the average person and that they are owed something. I believe that guns in the hands of properly trained individuals would drastically reduce the violence inflicted on unsuspecting citizens...
Words: 1636 - Pages: 7
...decided to take the guns of his mother and take the life of 20 children and 8 adults, including his mother's and his own. This atrocity hasn't been the first one. In the weeks since the massacre, gun control supporters have called for a new federal ban on assault weapons and for reductions in the number of concealed-carry permits issued to private citizens. However, to blame assault weapons for this tragedy makes sense like blaming airplanes for the 9-11 attacks. The problem lies with the perpetrator, not the tool used to commit the crime. It is an illusion that further gun control will protect the public since no law, no matter how restrictive, can protect us from people who decide to commit violent crimes. Guns should never be banned in the United States, because the possession of guns ultimately helps improve public safety. Embodied in the Second Amendment to the Constitution is the truth that self-governing individuals should bear the responsibility for defending themselves. The Amendment states, 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. Cramer and Joseph examined the history of pistols in early America that tells us the Framers' original intent in protecting the right of the people to keep and bear arms with no apparent limitations concerning handguns. Many pro gun control supporters adhere to the belief that the availability of guns make violent crime happen and, more...
Words: 699 - Pages: 3
...Revised Draft Paper #2 Dr. Michael Furlong and Dr. Gale Morrison explore in “The School in School Violence: Definitions and Facts” character qualities that may influence the people involved in school violence, educators and administrative professionals roles in school settings and analyze surveys and other methods of research conducted on school violence in order to clearly define the term “school violence”. Morrison and Furlong give a brief overview of educators and administrative professional’s boundaries by explaining that these educationalists have the right to feel that their attention is best kept in the educational realm. Because of this their response to behavioral issues has become “hands-off”. However, unsupervised areas such as hallways and playgrounds are the places that school violence is most likely to occur because no professional administrator will take responsibility for them. The definitional boundaries by investigated the use of the term “school violence” are explained to have been increasingly researched at an alarming rate over the past 10 years. The authors explain that “it was not until 1992 that the label “school violence” itself was used widely as a term to describe violence and aggressive acts on school campuses”. The author’s also examine character qualities that may play factor in influencing school violence. These characteristics include gender, age and ethnicity/radical identification. Morrison and Furlong found that violent/aggressive acts by...
Words: 785 - Pages: 4
...Limit the buying and selling of guns Limit the buying and selling of guns Limit ammunition magazine sizes Limit ammunition magazine sizes Stronger Gun Control Laws in the United States Stronger Gun Control Laws in the United States Understand the psychology of the killer Understand the psychology of the killer Reinstate the Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 Reinstate the Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 1. Narrowed Topic Stricter Gun Control Laws in the United States I chose this topic because it is something that interests me a lot. I believe that it is absolutely absurd how many mass shooting occur in the United States each year. We are supposed to be the best country on Earth, yet so many innocent people are killed each year. When I go out to public places, I am always extra careful of my surroundings and what is going on around me because you never know what can happen at any place and anytime. You cannot trust anyone and you never know who can turn on you in just minutes. My dad and my other my family members work in law enforcement and it sickens me every time I hear about a scary job that they were apart of or even when you hear on the news that another police officer was shot and killed by a criminal. We are the United States, we have a solution to pretty much every problem out there, I strongly believe that something can and must be done to stop all of this unnecessary gun violence in our country. 2. Preliminary Claim: The United States...
Words: 2357 - Pages: 10
