Statistics Relating to Gun Crime - Essay Example

Client’s 29 March The purpose of this speech is to shed light upon gun crimes and how the same can be controlled. The role of the speaker will be to comprehensively throw light upon some very starling statistics relating to gun crime. Attention Grabbing Device “Roughly 16,272 murders were committed in the United States during 2008. Of these, about 10,886 or 67% were committed with firearms.” (Gun Control) Gun violence has become very common these days and it is very important to get hard on gun crimes otherwise the situation will soon get out of hands. Thesis It is very important to get tough on gun violence because gun crime has increased at a significant rate in the recent past. People are using guns against each other in the US, hand guns can be found commonly and this is really a bad sign. It is also reported that most murders that take place in the US are carried out with the help of a firearm and in most cases it is a hand gun. “In 2005, 11,346 persons were killed by firearm violence and 477,040 persons were victims of a crime committed with a firearm. Most murders in the United States are committed with firearms, especially handguns.” (Gun Violence) Justification These statistics are very alarming and it is more of a national issue, the recent statistics are even worse. It is really easy to get weapons and especially guns. It is very important to bring about a change and it should be done soon. It is important to ensure that people do not get their hands on these guns easily, it is sure to bring down the crime rate and especially gun violence. There must be stricter laws in place to ensure that people do not get easy access to arms, this is a certain way of bringing down gun violence. Credibility Gun control has always been a very debatable and a complex topic, law-abiding citizens are expected to follow the law but these days law has become a donkey on which the rich people ride. In several Asian countries people get away with gun crimes because of their influence and authority, there have been several cases in the US also wherein the guilty have gotten away with heinous crimes. Need There are many who just cannot handle firearms safely and it is quite obvious that firearms are not meant for those individuals. It is also a fact that firearms can be used for protection and guns can be useful provided they are in the hands of right individuals but it is very difficult to determine who is right and who is not became many a time the so called right people end up doing wrong things. This is exactly why this topic is very debatable and complex. Satisfaction Mental illness is also a very big factor when it comes to gun control, mentally ill people can easily go and purchase guns and run riot in the street, the very same happened in Norway a few months ago, a mentally ill person had easy access to firearms and the same resulted in a massacre. It is extremely important to place restrictions but this is something which is implausible, there are hardly any laws when it comes to purchasing a firearm, yes, one needs a license to obtain it but everyone these days is fully aware of the fact that licenses can easily be obtained by bribing officials and this is especially true in several Asian countries. Visualization There is a catch once again, John Hinckley, who tried to assassinate President Reagan had easy access to the firearm which was used to assassinate the President but at the same time a police check was conducted on John Hinckley days before he obtained his firearm and there were no cases of felony found and hence, he was given the firearm. John Hinckley was obsessed about Jodie Foster but he was not mentally ill, he tried to impress Jodie Foster by trying to assassinate the President, this was a very unique case and thankfully all the people involved in this bizarre case came out unscathed. Action The Brady Bill was passed in the US after the John Hinckley incident; this bill is greatly effective when it comes to avoiding crimes of passion. Crimes of passion are avoided because police usually conduct a five-day background check and this helps cool off any animosity towards a person. Signal Conclusion There is a catch yet again, in states like Virginia crimes of passion usually occur because the police conduct an instant background check and the results are determined within a day which means a person who applies for a firearm can get it within a day and this complicates things even further. There should be uniformity in law and it should not waver from state to state, this wavering in law has made things very difficult. Review Main Points “Marine Cpl. Rayna Ross of Woodbridge, Virginia, might be dead if a waiting period had been in effect. Instead, the instant check system in place in that state allowed her to defend her life against a former boyfriend three days after she purchased a pistol. The man, a Marine under orders to stay away from Ross because of previous assaults and threats, broke through a door and rushed into her bedroom with a bayonet. Ross fired twice, mortally wounding him. The shooting was ruled to be a case of self-defense” (Armed Citizen) Re-justify Purpose Gun crime can be prevented should there be punitive laws in place to punish the guilty but the laws are perhaps weak and this is why gun crime incidents dominate the headlines in several leading newspapers almost every day. Ending Clincher “The Brady Bill and the "Assault Weapon" ban in last years Crime Bill are examples of bad legislation, but some good firearms-related legislation was also passed last year. The Arizona Legislature recognized the benefits of firearms to our society and passed a law which enables many Arizona residents to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. There are restrictions in place to ensure that only responsible citizens are issued a permit. These restrictions cover age, criminal record, and mental competency.” (Korwin, Alan) To conclude it is very fair to say that firearms in the right hands can save lives but several lives are taken away each day when the same firearms are used by people who are incapable of handling them. Works Cited "Armed Citizen." American Rifleman October 1993: 8.  Gun Violence (2012). How Prevalent is Gun Violence? Web. Retrieved from: Gun Control (2012). Crime and Self-defense. Web. Retrieved from: Korwin, Alan. The Arizona Gun Owners Guide. Phoenix: Bloomfield Press, 1994.  Read More