...2000 to 2010 a total of 335,609 people died from guns” (“Just the facts: Gun violence in America”) these numbers are a striking and often shocking realization of the gun violence in America. . Gun legislation has become a prominent debate among government officials, and the general population has started to demand stricter gun laws. Gun violence is a major issue in our country - a problem we have been unable to address because of political pundits refusing to come...
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...instances. Yet, as we show, notions of mental illness that emerge in relation to mass shootings frequently reflect larger cultural stereotypes and anxieties about matters such as race/ethnicity, social class, and politics. These issues become obscured when mass shootings come to stand in for all gun crime, and when “mentally ill” ceases to be a medical designation and becomes a sign of violent threat.” (Am J Public Health. 2015;105:240–249. doi:10.2105/ AJPH.2014.302242) The most important line to take from the excerpt is the line that says “each of these statements is...
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...resolutions and goals for a new upcoming year. On New Years Eve, America fell short in making a resolution of safety and peace throughout the county. Eleven weeks into 2018 the country has seen more violence and shootings ever. Ringing in the new year with forty nine cases of mass violence including seventeen school shootings. What is one leading cause of this outbreak in mass violence? The failure tend to mental illnesses with support or outreach available to those with violent tendencies and symptoms. Although most of the mass shooting that have occurred across the world were caused by white male figures, especially in the United States, women have shown more mental illnesses cases. Dating back to 1982 to present 2018, men were in charge of 94 mass shootings, 2 were created by women, and lastly 2 occurrences were with both a male and female role. According to NIMH, or the National Institute of Mental Health,...
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...Gun Control…Why Not? A few months back Obama stated at a mid-day announcement at the White House, "While there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there's even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there's even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try it." I absolutely agree with Obama that we, as Americans, have an obligation to protect our communities and children…what better place to start than placing a greater emphasis on not only gun control but security and mental health awareness as well. In recent years there has been a spike in gun violence and mass killings leaving a trail of broken people trying to make ends meet, why was it their child, brother, father, etc. who was shot. This increase in guns ending up in the hands of dangerous people must be addressed; something must be done in an attempt to reduce these horrific acts of violence such as the recent Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. The argument has been made that those who own guns typically only use them for safety and are responsible law abiding citizens. Also, the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms. But in an attempt to protect ourselves, our communities, and our children from tragic mass shootings Obama has devised a Gun Control Act that includes four steps that will reduce the gun violence uproar. 1....
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... Woking up in the morning, getting your kids ready for school. Kissing them and sending them to school. That moment was the last time you see your children alive. I don’t remember any teacher or administrator ever mentioning the subject. There was nothing like there is today, when school kids know what “lockdown” means.School is the first place that is safe you think. Two kids couldn't take the pressure anyone and let it out by killing everyone. Thousands of lives ruin by a child with a gun. School shooting is the number one problem in your country. When was little I didn't think about school shooting or someone coming into your school and shooting us. Knowing that your kid meant be the shooter is what ames your breath away. Thinking not my kid, anyone can be the shooter, you just have to look very close on the signs that child has like mental illness, guns, video games. Rampage school shooting occurs when students attack their own school. Which Michael and Thomas did they woke up and carried out his crime and though they would get away. On the day of December 1, 1997 Michael Carneal open fire at his own high school at the age of fourteen. The shooting took place in the quite West Paducah, Kentucky. The shooting happen in Heath High School. Michael was planning the attack at the same age of five. Planning to bring the gun to show and tell and open fire to everyone that didn’t like it, but getting gun at age five is not likely. On the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day...
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...that needs to be addressed. The definition a mentally unstable person who is threat to himself or others. Examples of mental illness are: anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia/psychotic disorders, dementias and eating disorders. These are just five of the most common mental illness there are several more. The point is anyone with a mental disorder like the ones listed above or any other mental illness should not be allowed to have weapons. Anyone experiencing theses illness has a higher chance of snapping. I'm not willing to take that chance are you? I believe one of the first steps we need to do is to make a national registry for anyone that has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, psychotic disorders, dementias etc. from purchasing a hand gun. We also need to update our gun laws. Federal law only mandates background checks meant to keep convicted felons and people with mental illnesses from legally acquiring guns, but the rules only apply to people who buy weapons from licensed dealers -- meaning that people, including those with mental illnesses, can buy what they please from other individuals at gun shows or elsewhere. At the state level, standards vary and are bedeviled by poor tracking and a lack of coordination with federal authorities, making enforcement spotty. By doing this alone will cut down the amount of people purchasing guns who shouldn't be. It will not eliminate the problem completely but it's a start. I am not targeting the mentally ill...
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...Guns Are Not the Problem, People Are Violence in school environments have become a major issue, and there are many precautions we can take to prevent this violence. Precautions such as better background checks before purchasing a gun will greatly decrease deaths due to gun violence. In America, the average number of school shootings is approximately 1.37 per week (Davies). There are too many lives lost throughout the year to gun violence. It is time for America to step it up when addressing the flaws in the laws and regulations in the systems. Seeing that gun violence in school environments have recently become such an issue, the United States must address these issues head on by enforcing more and existing laws and change the laws that contain imperfections. Gun violence has not only spread throughout the United States but also in many other countries as well. On an average day in America, there are at least ninety-six deaths resulting from gun violence (Guns). Every day, seven teens and children from ages zero to nineteen die due to gun violence. This means that four out of...
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...multiple tragedies involved, and are extending every alternative to prevent the growing epidemic of gun violence in the United States. Gun violence is defined as any form of violence enacted upon with the use of a gun, whether it be as a defensive act or an intended method to evoke damage. With nearly 10,000 more violent incidents involving a gun occurring in the United States since 2014, as noted by the Gun Violence Archives, it is needless to say that there is a fervent desire to bring these numbers down (2). Gun violence is directly related to psychological deficiencies, a disturbance in one's cognition and behavioral patterns resulting in dysfunctions in mental functioning (Maisel,...
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...carrying a gun? Some students may feel more protected while others might feel threatened. In the summer of 2015, the law was passed to let students open carry a gun on college campuses. Students should not be allowed to open carry a gun on campus because a gun is known to be unsafe and could always end up in the wrong hands. Guns could end up in the wrong hands. A person with a history of mental illness can easily get their hands on a gun. In “Is There a Link Between Mental health and Gun Violence?” the author points out that a young boy, Jaylen Fryberg, in Marysville, used a gun killing four students and then himself. Reports stated that “he just wasn’t in the right state of mind.” Although, a gun may end up in the hands of a mentally unstable person, one may argue a background check is required for anyone to be allowed to carry a gun. According to “Students Debate Guns on Campus-Pro,” Tina Divara declares, “Texas has strict regulations on who can and cannot carry concealed weapons.” Meaning you must be 21 years or older and have a clean background just to apply for the gun license. It may be true that Texas has strict regulations on getting a gun license. However, a gun could end up in the wrong hands of a person with a history of mental illness. For Example, in 2007, at Virginia Tech University, Seung Hui Cho, a student at the school, opens fire leaving 32 people dead. This student had a background of mental health problems, but was still able to purchase the gun he used...
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...Throughout the history of the United States, the issue on gun control has been an intense debate. Adam Lankford, a University of Alabama criminologist, conducted a survey in 2007 which unearthed an astonishing “ownership rate of 88.8 firearms per 100 people”. With over 3/4 of the United States population owning guns, most would think that the owners would treat their weapons with respect; however, the national average of gun-related deaths in 2009 was 10.2 deaths per 100,000 people (“Gun Control Issues, Public Health, and Safety”). Seeming like a small number to most, if the numbers are calculated using the countries prior population in 2009 of 308 million people, there would be about 31,416 deaths each year. Slowly swelling over the years,...
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...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 wrong hands, while at the same time, providing better mental health services for those in need. In this paper, I will explore and compare the agenda setting process regarding two landmark gun control legislations that were passed along with the agenda setting process today – proposed by President Obama in the wake of the tragic shootings at Sandy...
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...The culture of weapons is the biggest reason for the US be leaders in death by firearms among developed countries. Mass shooting is defined by FBI as incidents which four or more people get shot or kill in a single event, at the same general time and location, not including the shooter. During the year of 2015, there were 372 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2015, killing 475 people and wounding 1,870 (FBI) and those numbers indicate that mass shooting events are also occurring at bigger frequency, specifically with mass public events or places, usually where the victims do not know the shooter. Those attacks are often pre-meditated with the purpose of retribution, mass-murder, terrorism, or mass-hysteria. Additionally, more than one a day is how often, on average, shootings that left people wounded or dead in the United States (Cohen, Sarah, Lafraniere and Oppel)....
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...day, as a couple walks into a diner in a small town escaping the cold of winter. The lady is a fourth-grade teacher of thirty years at one of the local schools. The gentleman is in administration at one of the local mills with thirty years of service. They are greeted by other couples they know as they go and sit down in an open booth. It is quite the busy place as others must have the same idea for celebrating the day. The waitress comes over with glasses and fills them with water. She hands them menus as they each talk about their work day. The nightly news is beginning on the television in the corner behind the gentlemen. It headlines the broadcast with the news of another school shooting that just occurred...
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...Mass Shootings in America: Who Else Is Responsible? As everyone may or may not know, murder by gun occurs almost everywhere in the world; however, in America the percentage of people killed by guns is higher than any other country. For instance, in the article published in USA Today “11 mass shootings, 11 speeches: how Obama has responded”, has reported several places where many people were killed and wounded, such as: “Fort Hood shooting, Tucson congressional event shooting, Aurora Movie Theater shooting, and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting…etc” (Gregory). These are the places where mass shootings have happened in America, and we all might know that those tragedies are very painful and sad for Americans; especially the victim's families...
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...In an article I found by the staff of Windspeaker, a magazine producer, titled “Mental Illness, Access To Guns Drive Murder-Suicides By Men: UBC Study” (2016) suggests that murder-suicides are more common among males and can be directly linked to bullying, access to guns and mental illness. They support this claim by first saying, “our research suggested that masculine identities and how they are informed by society and taken up by some men plays an important part in these violent acts” then by saying, “in a lot of cases there wasn’t an established pattern of mental illness. And that might be because the men weren’t really seeing a doctor or formally diagnosed and being treated” and finally by saying,“research across different countries shows...
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