Question: How should the U.S. address the violence of school shootings and random massacres? What legislation should the U.S. pass, if any? Should the U.S. arm teachers?
Gun control has become an issue in our country because of school shootings and massacres that have happened with guns. How are we going to address this problem? In my opinion it is not the guns that need laws, it’s the people. It is people killing people; guns can’t shoot people on their own. We need to better screen backgrounds for those who shouldn’t have guns. Is there any legislation that we should pass to help prevent this? The answer is yes. Our country should petition that those with a criminal record and are mentally disabled cannot have guns. It is dangerous for us and for them to have guns. And finally, should we arm our teachers? I think it isn’t a good idea to arm teachers since they are under stress enough with having to deal with the students themselves that putting a gun in their hands could ultimately make their mental capacity snap and they will shoot the students. How are we going to address the problem of school shooting and massacres? As I said above it is the people who need the control and by controlling who gets guns is one of the ways. Screening people for any criminal history is one of the ways to keep guns out of dangerous hands. And since once you get arrested any of your rights can be taken away, they should take away their right to bear arms if they are criminals. Also we should screen for any mental disabilities that can be violent and not allow them to get any guns either. That should help with much of the problems that we have been having with shooting and massacres. And by doing this we would pass a legislation where background screening is required for anyone wanting to get a gun. And finally, should we arm our teachers? In Wisconsin, over 1,000 teachers have already been armed. In my opinion, that was a very bad idea. Teachers have lots of stress dealing with students and having to grade papers and creating tests. And putting a gun in their hands will only stress them out more. This is making it a possibility that one of those teachers could snap and start shooting up the students. And this is not an environment I would want my niece to be in when she starts school in two years. I want her to feel safe going to school, not having to worry about if the teacher will pull the gun on her.
The following is the first half of Danika's blog ... I agree with most of the people living in the United States. Random massacres are too common today in America, but I do not believe the solution is to outlaw or restrict guns any more than our country already does. Background checks on all gun buyers should be thorough, but no guns should be outlawed. Our nation has to bring morals (yes, Christianity!) back into our country to stop these massacres. Legislation will not stop bad people from doing bad deeds. Finally, I definitely think that if a teacher wishes to own a gun and carry it at school, he or she should have that right! It can only help them.
First off, should our country allow teachers to own guns at school? My answer is of course!! The New York Times released a recent article called, “Your Brain Under Fire,” which says, “it’s also possible that the mere presence of armed teachers or guards could deter a shooter from attacking altogether.” Schools often announce that they are gun-free zones. John R. Lott, one of our country’s leading gun experts told Newsmax, “that gun-free zones become ‘a magnet’ for deranged killers who hope to burn their names into the history books by running up a big body count.” It could not hurt a teacher to carry a gun. Rather if his or her classroom was being attacked, he or she could have the opportunity to do something to stop the attacker. Pull out his or her gun. Of course, I also agree that if a teacher does not feel comfortable enough to handle a gun, he or she should not carry one. It should be the teacher’s choice. I believe the President or legislature shouldn’t be the ones deciding what the right path of action is when they always have armed guards around them. It should be the school’s decision. It should be the teacher’s decision.
The following is the second half of Danika's post ... Legislation should not ban guns or put up anymore restrictions on guns. Our country, by passing more and more restrictions on guns, is taking away our second amendment rights. I believe, like many other Americans, that slowly, if our Congress keeps banning more and more guns, soon our freedoms will be taken away. NRA President Wayne LaPierre said it best when he told FoxNews, “I think without any doubt, if you look at why our Founding Fathers put (the Second Amendment) there, they had lived under the tyranny of King George and they wanted to make sure that these free people in this new country would never be subjugated again and have to live under tyranny.” Of course, background checks are needed. We cannot make it too easy for criminals to receive or buy guns. I believe that if we carefully can obtain information about peoples’ pasts, we can keep some madmen from buying guns. Legislation will not stop those evil doers, though. Take it from the liberal gun rights activist in Europe name Piers Morgan. According to the Business Insider, he said that banning assault weapons “will not solve the gun crime problem in America,” but then went on to say America should anyways.
So what is the solution? How do we stop school shootings and random massacres I 100 percent agree with Mary when she said that the guns cannot kill people by themselves. It is people killing people. We, as a country, need to address the problem of our morals in America. Obviously, if there are so many shootings, there is something wrong with what people living here are being taught about the meaning and value of life. According to Rachel Alexander, editor of Intellectual Conservative, “there is a direct correlation between the increase in violence and the gradual degradation of morals, ethics and parenting.” Alexander says that, “ Parents are no longer taking their children to church, where they would learn stability and morals. Fewer than 20% of Americans now regularly attend church. Every year there are 3000 fewer churches across the U.S, even though the population is growing. God and morality have been taken out of the public schools and replaced with political correctness and non-judgmentalism. ‘Public virtues’ are no longer taught in today's schools. People who do not attend church are more likely than churchgoers to have stress and to be less optimistic about the future. When parents split up and there is no father to take the children regularly to church, the children are much less likely to become regular churchgoers than if their mother regularly takes them.” Why is Christianity the answer? The answer lies in 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says,
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Israel and Judah turned from the Lord, and the result was exile to Assyria and Babylon. But if we turn from dysfunctional lives to the Creator of all things and start obeying and living for him, God promises in Psalms 1 that “he watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” I believe if we begin to improve the morals in this nation, violence will decrease.
We can all see by the recent massacres of last year that controlling mass murders is a big problem. But maybe it isn’t about what type of guns are sold; maybe it is more about who they are sold to, because really it is the people who kill people, not the guns. I think that we should not go on full gun control laws because it violates the second amendment of the constitution. I think that we should just be stricter in background checks and not make buying a gun (especially assault weapons) so easy. This might lower the risk of school shootings and random massacres.I disagree with Mary that arming teachers is a bad idea because I think that if schools are worried for the students’ safety, then it would be a good idea to arm teachers if they are experienced in handling firearms or if they have taken and passed a gun safety course the first time around, and also that they have passed the background checks and have no criminal record. But I do agree with Mary that we need to have more background checks and also look at the buyer’s criminal record
There have been a lot of shootings lately in the U.S and this has prompted people too want to rethink gun control laws in our country. We should get some new laws to regulate the gun trade so that it is slightly harder to obtain a gun and to ensure that the people who are purchasing the guns are stable individuals. The issue of arming teachers is being widely discussed today. And lots of people are for it. People in the U.S. would like for there to be stricter laws regarding guns and who can sell and purchase them. The NRA is very much against any type of law like this. They are meeting in Hartford Connecticut to speak out against the proposed gun laws. They are saying that the laws contain failed policies that violate the second amendment. I agree with Danika that if congress continues to try and take away our second amendment rights we won’t be able to purchase guns at all anymore. Many people are for the arming of teachers because they feel it will make schools a safer place. In South Dakota a bill was passed that will allow teachers and school staff to carry weapons. They say it will act as a deterrent to potential shooters. I think that it is a bad idea to arm teachers. When there is a school shooting the police will have a difficult time identifying the shooter if a lot more people have guns. Banning guns will not make school shootings magically go away.
Gun Control has recently become one of the big issues that needs to be dealt with in the United States. This is mostly because of the recent school shootings, mass murders, and also gun accidents. First of all, we need to look back at the past to try to learn what to do. This isn’t our first rodeo. What happens when we make things illegal? Does the problem cease to exist? No. Take examples such as drugs. Drugs are illegal but people still have them. Same with Alcohol, when it was abolished people still were able to get their hands on it. If we make guns illegal then the same thing will happen. If people want them, they will get them. Second we need to look at the actual problem. Where is the source of the violence? Do guns kill people all by themselves? No! I agree with Mary when she said that “guns can’t kill people on their own.” The source of the violence is the people. We need to limit the people that do these things, not the tools that they use. Finally, we need to see how these things are put to a stop. In our reading, we learned that most incidents are put to a stop by civilians. If the civilians have firearms to protect themselves and others, than we will have fewer deaths than if we leave it completely up to the police force, although I am thankful for the men and women who serve our country through this occupation. People have a right to protect themselves, and I personally believe that this right should be protected and gun bans should not be put into place.
Gun control has become a major issue in the U.S. due to the violence of school shootings and random massacres across the country. I believe the government needs to provide funding for schools to improve the schools safety/security in the buildings, institute stricter background checks, even in gun shows, and begin to change the moral fabric of our country without arming teachers to begin to act on the violence of shootings in our schools and other places.
I believe schools need to enhance their safety/security measures structurally by placing double air lock doors and buzz-ins from the office before anyone is allowed inside the school and partnering with the local city police instead of arming teachers. However, in high risk areas the states should be allowed to determine if the teacher has the right to carry a concealed weapon. Guns shouldn’t be forced on any teacher who isn’t comfortable with having one; that can be counterproductive because if they aren’t comfortable with having a weapon, something worse could happen if they were put under pressure. In “Your Brain under Fire” Glennon comments how cops aren’t trained well enough, so how will teachers have enough training to protect themselves and their students in an actual shootout? He said “it’s not enough just to carry a gun.” This being the case, police officers should have a more active presence in and around the school buildings along with preventative measures for school access. Double air lock doors and buzz-ins from the office enhances the security of the school by allowing the personal to know who and what comes into the building. I believe if the government funded these safety measures they could prevent school shootings better than the government forcing teachers to carry weapons.
I agree with Danika when she said “background checks are needed. We cannot make it too easy for criminals to receive or buy guns. I believe that if we carefully can obtain information about peoples’ pasts, we can keep some madmen from buying guns.” The government needs to institute stronger background checks to ensure any felons or people with mental disorders are not able to own guns such as criminals or anyone who has had a run-in with the law with weapons. According to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence page (csgv.org) “current federal law requires criminal background checks only for guns sold through licensed firearm dealers, which account for just 60% of all gun sales in the United States. A loophole in the law allows individuals not ‘engaged in the business’ of selling firearms to sell guns without a license—and without processing any paperwork. That means that two out of every five guns sold in the United States change hands without a background check.” Outlawing guns all together or putting heavy restrictions on them won’t solve the issue with guns that we have today, preventing “madmen” from obtaining guns could effectively reduce shootings in the U.S. One of the statistics given in class said that even though guns are illegal in China, shootings still occur with illegal weaponry.
I believe we need to change the moral fabric of our nation to end the violence now prevalent in it. Our morals have fallen so low in movies, video games, entertainment that our children are callused to the effects of violence and the game continues in real life when they take other people’s life. Surgeon General David Satcher said “we clearly associate media violence to aggressive behavior however small compared to other things.” For some kids media has a major impact on their psyche. Some school shootings we have actually come from the students of those schools themselves. In California a 16 year old student arrived late to class armed with a 12-gauge shotgun; he injured one of his classmates and fired at another but missed before his teacher talked him into lowering the gun. In order to prevent such shootings, more counselors in schools are needed to help troubled students and a spiritual leader in the white house to institute moral fabric into the U.S.
The following is from Micki ... Gun control has become a major issue in the U.S. due to the violence of school shootings and random massacres across the country. I believe the government needs to provide funding for schools to improve the schools safety/security in the buildings, institute stricter background checks, even in gun shows, and begin to change the moral fabric of our country without arming teachers to begin to act on the violence of shootings in our schools and other places.
I believe schools need to enhance their safety/security measures structurally by placing double air lock doors and buzz-ins from the office before anyone is allowed inside the school and partnering with the local city police instead of arming teachers. However, in high risk areas the states should be allowed to determine if the teacher has the right to carry a concealed weapon. Guns shouldn’t be forced on any teacher who isn’t comfortable with having one; that can be counterproductive because if they aren’t comfortable with having a weapon, something worse could happen if they were put under pressure. In “Your Brain under Fire” Glennon comments how cops aren’t trained well enough, so how will teachers have enough training to protect themselves and their students in an actual shootout? He said “it’s not enough just to carry a gun.” This being the case, police officers should have a more active presence in and around the school buildings along with preventative measures for school access. Double air lock doors and buzz-ins from the office enhances the security of the school by allowing the personal to know who and what comes into the building. I believe if the government funded these safety measures they could prevent school shootings better than the government forcing teachers to carry weapons.
I agree with Danika when she said “background checks are needed. We cannot make it too easy for criminals to receive or buy guns. I believe that if we carefully can obtain information about peoples’ pasts, we can keep some madmen from buying guns.” The government needs to institute stronger background checks to ensure any felons or people with mental disorders are not able to own guns such as criminals or anyone who has had a run-in with the law with weapons. According to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence page (csgv.org) “current federal law requires criminal background checks only for guns sold through licensed firearm dealers, which account for just 60% of all gun sales in the United States. A loophole in the law allows individuals not ‘engaged in the business’ of selling firearms to sell guns without a license—and without processing any paperwork. That means that two out of every five guns sold in the United States change hands without a background check.” Outlawing guns all together or putting heavy restrictions on them won’t solve the issue with guns that we have today, preventing “madmen” from obtaining guns could effectively reduce shootings in the U.S. One of the statistics given in class said that even though guns are illegal in China, shootings still occur with illegal weaponry.
I believe we need to change the moral fabric of our nation to end the violence now prevalent in it. Our morals have fallen so low in movies, video games, entertainment that our children are callused to the effects of violence and the game continues in real life when they take other people’s life. Surgeon General David Satcher said “we clearly associate media violence to aggressive behavior however small compared to other things.” For some kids media has a major impact on their psyche. Some school shootings we have actually come from the students of those schools themselves. In California a 16 year old student arrived late to class armed with a 12-gauge shotgun; he injured one of his classmates and fired at another but missed before his teacher talked him into lowering the gun. In order to prevent such shootings, more counselors in schools are needed to help troubled students and a spiritual leader in the white house to institute moral fabric into the U.S.
Shootings are a big problem in the U.S. I honestly don’t think there is anything we can do to stop this issue. Some people are just always going to break and disobey the law. Yet, it’s not the guns that kill people; it’s the people that kill people. This issue is something that we need to act fast on; I think we should make it harder for people to obtain guns. Maybe even put more regulations on guns. There has been a major push for gun control due to the Connecticut shooting. We can’t arm our teachers because what if they don’t know how to use a gun? What if they are so afraid they don’t even think of grabbing a gun? If we want to stop this madness we should make it harder for people to get guns and make people go to anger management classes. This should hopefully help slow the shootings down. The only problem would be what about the people who already have guns? We can’t really do anything about them, all we can do is hope they don’t do anything crazy with the guns. Once again it isn’t the guns that kill the people, it’s the people that kill people.
School shootings and random massacres have created new awareness to gun control laws. These acts of violence are causing questions for what legislation needs to pass, if any and whether teachers in schools should be armed. I believe it is good for the government to review laws and make changes when necessary. The recent shootings have a lot of people talking about gun control. I understand where both sides are coming from. Some think that changes to the gun laws concerning assault weapons should happen. Many of the tragedies have involved these weapons. According to a New York Times article by Erika Goode entitled “Even Defining Assault Weapons Is Difficult,” these weapons “were designed for the battlefield, where the goal is to rapidly kill as many enemy soldiers as possible, and they have no place in civilian life.” The other side argues that guns are needed for hunting and protection, and it is a Constitutional right to have them. I think the more important aspect is controlling who has guns. Increasing background checks and testing is important. However, if we take these guns away, people who want them will find a way to get around the system. Oftentimes, they steal weapons from family members or friends who got them legally. I believe the important thing for our government to do is continually review laws and make changes when necessary. It is not about eliminating guns; it is about eliminating crime. I believe the U.S. needs to continue to address the violence that is behind these tragedies. It is not the gun itself that caused the massacres, but the person who used the weapon. I do not think we need to get rid of all guns, but we need to make sure that laws are strict enough. The U.S. should look at what happened in these shootings and see if we can learn anything from them, like we do from all historical events. Some people are pushing to allow teachers to carry guns in school, even if the school is considered a weapon-free area. I do not think this is necessary for several reasons. First, if a teacher has a gun in the classroom, then it either needs to be locked away or hidden somewhere. If it is locked away, then what good would it do in an emergency situation? It may take too much time to get it. If it is hidden, then kids may have access to it if they find it. A small child might think it is a toy or not understand what it is and he could accidently shoot something or someone. Again, many violent acts with guns happen when a weapon is stolen. Secondly, trained officers who are “involved in gunfights typically hit their intended targets only 18% of the time, according to a Rand study.” If officers, who are trained to face these situations every day, miss that often, then how do we expect teachers who are not in situations like this often to handle it and shoot accurately? If someone in a school building is going to have a gun, I think the principal or office staff should have them. Finally, if teachers were permitted to have guns, then I would be concerned that someone planning a shooting would become a teacher or substitute teacher so they would have access to the school. Jenna had a good point when she said “I think that it is a bad idea to arm teachers. When there is a school shooting the police will have a difficult time identifying the shooter if a lot more people have guns.”
The occasion has risen on putting tons of control on guns. The reason for this is the number of school shootings, public massacres, and just overall crime that involve guns. We need to just control ourselves and hope no more of these kinds of things, at the very least, slow down. I think one thing the U.S. should do to respond to these killings is post a war veteran at every school they can. I think this would work. This idea would work because these people would intimidate any criminal wanting to do something to hurt the children. Another reason this would work, is not only protection, this would provide jobs to those veterans who need them. A topic from NBC News U.S. six days ago, the heading reads “Unemployment among post-9/11 veterans still running heavy”. In the article to sum up one point is the post-9/11 unemployment was at 203,000 and last year was only at 153,000. For me, this is not okay. In another source “By 2009, the unemployment rates of male veterans rose to 8.1 percent.” The government should be able to see these reasons and act. I believe that legislation should not try and pass any new laws. My reasons are these will only affect the law abiding citizen and give that much more control over the people to the government. In the Constitution we have the right to bear arms. We should own up to that. Besides, the criminals are going to somehow get a gun from somewhere and keep doing illegal activity. I agree with Collin when he says “Drugs are illegal but people still have them. Same with alcohol, when it was abolished people still were able to get their hands on it. If we make guns illegal then the same thing will happen. If people want them, they will get them.” Teachers should not be allowed to have a gun in a classroom, period. That is no environment for a child to be put in. I feel if our teachers were ‘packing’ I would feel my security go out the window. I would not feel safe sending my child to school, knowing that there are that many more guns there. For a strong side note, we as a country do not need gun control we need people control or society control. Guns do not kill people, people kill people. That would be like saying ‘food did not make me fat my spoon did.’ The gun is used as the spoon is but the action is from people.
In 2012, there were 16 mass shootings in the U.S., leaving at least 88 people dead. 25% of these mass shootings occurred in schools or universities. Obviously, according to these statistics, school violence and random massacres is a big problem in our country today. Because of these shootings, some people believe that civilians should not have the right to own a gun, or at least that those rights should be lessened. I believe, like Collin, that the solution to this problem is not to outlaw guns completely. Like Collin said, in the past, outlawing things (like alcohol) has not been proven beneficial to this country. Even though it was illegal, many, many people still made moonshine and or purchased some other form of alcohol. I believe that outlawing guns will just create a similar scenario. People who are willing to brutally shoot down kindergarteners will be willing to illegally purchase, steal, or smuggle guns into the U.S.. For example, the man who was responsible for the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School did not own the gun that he used to kill the people at the school. His law abiding mother, however, did own a gun, so the killer killed his own mother with her gun and then took the gun to shoot up the school. I do believe that our government should be stricter on the purchasing of guns. The government should make sure that thorough background checks occur along with every gun purchase. Also, the government should maintain a watchful eye on black markets to make sure that they are not selling guns to dangerous criminals. Also, I think that the sale of bullets should be regulated as well. I think that there should be background checks and stricter security for the purchase of bullets as well as for the purchase of guns. I, like Danika, also believe that shutting Christianity out of government and public schools has an effect on these mass shootings. Our country needs good, Christian morals to be taught to American children as well as adults. If our country stuck to these morals as a whole, I believe that we would have a lot less violence in our country as a result. A very controversial question that has arisen since the Newtown shooting is: Should we arm school teachers? I believe that arming teachers would be much more beneficial than it would be harmful. If the teachers at Sandy Hook would have each been armed, the death toll may have been much smaller. I believe that it would make schools safer. Another way to increase school safety would be to have armed security guards at every entrance to the building. Also, the doors should remain locked unless opened by the security guard after the person wanting to enter has received security clearance from the office or security guard. I think that this would help prevent shooters from even entering schools and causing harm to students and teachers.
The recent violence of school shooting and random massacres is a big problem in the United States today. I think should be addressed by passing laws that are stricter about who can buy the guns, and not limit gun rights. Also, I do not think we should arm teachers and instead have armed guards at each school. The United States should address these shootings as a major problem in our country. Something needs to be done. I believe we can achieve more safety by making laws that ensure stricter background checks on people who can buy guns. The National Rifle Association’s President David Keene welcomes Joe Biden’s ideas about increasing money given for school security and aggressive prosecution for people who illegally try to buy weapons. He is even willing to have stricter background checks for people who want to attend gun shows. Forty percent of gun sales take place at these shows. He doesn’t agree that law abiding citizens should have to put up with laws that limit firearms and magazines. I do not think getting rid of guns will help the problem. According to Keene, people are looking for way to protect their kids, not a way to band guns. Representative Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head by a mad man, and Steve Mostyn are looking for ways to promote gun safety with PACs. Mostyn sleeps with a gun beside him and owns a gun range in Texas. He is not against guns, just against stupidity when using guns. Most guns aren’t gotten in pawnshops. Of the 129,817 federally licensed firearms in the U.S., 61,562 are from collectors and 51,438 are from gun stores and licensed retailers. Forty-nine percent of U.S. households have a gun in their possession since January 2013. I believe that if gun rights were taken away, almost half of the United States citizens would be outraged. Even if we get rid of guns, it won’t help the situation. The madmen will still get guns, just like moonshiners still made whiskey as Collin said. I agree with Micki when she says that schools need to have higher security systems. We could hire veterans that have come back and need jobs. They would be previously trained and it would provide them with jobs, which would decrease our unemployment rate. I believe that if we arm teachers that there will someday be some crazy teacher who will get mad at a student and shoot him for not listening. It also takes a lot of time and money to train these teachers. Also, if we have special locks or check-ins to get allowed into the school it will be harder for a madman to enter.
Gun violence has become a very big issue in our country. Recently we have had several shooting which have affected the lives of many law abiding citizens, such as the sandy hook school shooting that took the lives of many students. The question we as Americans face is whether or not to limit the control on guns, but it is not always guns that are the problem. For example in 1927, at an elementary school in Bath, Mich. A school board member killed over 45 people using dynamite. That is one of the biggest massacres on record. So removing guns is only going to solve a small portion of the problem. I do agree with Emily that tighter rules when it comes to the purchase of guns can do some good. If a citizen is really that unstable they will find other means to cause harm. In the sandy hook shooting he stole the gun from his mother. Like Mary said “guns can’t kill people on their own” If we have to much control over owning a gun then how are we going to protect ourselves from non law abiding citizens who want to cause us harm. The answer is we can’t. More shootings could be stopped simply by a licensed gun carrying citizen. I do think that arming teachers might have a worse outcome than the reward would be. They do not have the proper training, and in a life and death situation may not react like they normally would. We should not force them to arm themselves but if they would like should be allowed to have a weapon in the school. Just the thought of knowing school staff could be armed may keep criminals at bay and save the lives of many. But taking away our guns completely will not have a positive result.
The following is from CJ ... I believe that the U.S. should not make legislation against guns because that would be going against the Second Amendment. I do believe that we should tighten up the background checks to be able to get a gun. I believe that teachers should be able to have guns if they so choose. Teachers should be able to have guns because if something like what happened in Connecticut happens at their school they could reason with the one shooting or stop him before it gets out of control. Teachers not comfortable with having a gun don’t have to have one. I agree with Danika when she says that guns shouldn’t be outlawed. I agree with this because I believe that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Guns being outlawed wouldn’t help anything. A black market for guns would arise and the guns would be here illegally anyways. Criminals even have the technology to make their own rapid fire weapons. They could just make guns if they were outlawed or use a different weapon or method to do things.
The following is from Drew ... As a Christian I believe that the problem that we have here is not with guns but with people. We as Christians need to focus on improving the morals of people, part of which in evangelizing. I also believe that congress can help curve the violence by passing laws that allow people like teachers to carry to have guns in their class rooms. The source of our problem is not with guns but with the people. Our people’s morals are down grading and crime in general is increasing. Our country’s founding fathers gave out bibles to people because they knew the value of a people who have high morals. If you compare at the morals of countries like Mexico, which has low morals and has a high gun violence rate, and Japan, where respect is everything in the country and has a gun murder rate of 0%, you can see the difference morals can make. It is the role of Christian to spread the Gospel in the hope that people will believe, raising the morals of our country. I also believe that our country can help protect our citizens by passing laws that allow train and qualified teacher and administrator to have guns in their rooms. Teachers have proving they are willing to risk their lives for the children. An example is at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Eye witnesses of the shooting saw teachers and staff rush in the direction of the gun shots, hoping to try and save the kids. We cannot always rely on the Police. 2/3 of shootings are stopped by citizens and if teacher have guns available and have the proper training, then they will be able to stop the shooter fast, saving lives.
The following is from Wyatt ... Recent school shooting has raised big questions today, what can we do to prevent these shootings? What is causing these shootings? What type of people is involved in these shootings? They are saying that arming teachers is the way to go. Personally I agree with Taylor I think it’s a terrible idea because there will be that one teacher that goes crazy and shoots all his/her students. I agree with the vote that was taken on background checks. In order to buy a gun you must get a background check so no convicted felons. According to time magazine “the next gun fight” by Michael Sherer a vote was taken and 92 % of people voted for background check. In the movie we watched in class about whether or not we should take guns away or not I strongly agree with the lady that we should encourage more guns to be bought by people. The more guns there are the less crime. I know that sounds funny but if you take guns away from law abiding citizens the criminals will still have guns, and cops can’t always be there to protect you. Sometimes you have to defend yourself.
As a Christian I believe that the problem that we have here is not with guns but with people. We as Christians need to focus on improving the morals of people, part of which in evangelizing. I also believe that congress can help curve the violence by passing laws that allow people like teachers to carry to have guns in their class rooms. The source of our problem is not with guns but with the people. Our people’s morals are down grading and crime in general is increasing. Our country’s founding fathers gave out bibles to people because they knew the value of a people who have high morals. If you compare at the morals of countries like Mexico, which has low morals and has a high gun violence rate, and Japan, where respect is everything in the country and has a gun murder rate of 0%, you can see the difference morals can make. It is the role of Christian to spread the Gospel in the hope that people will believe, raising the morals of our country. I also believe that our country can help protect our citizens by passing laws that allow train and qualified teacher and administrator to have guns in their rooms. Teachers have proving they are willing to risk their lives for the children. An example is at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Eye witnesses of the shooting saw teachers and staff rush in the direction of the gun shots, hoping to try and save the kids. We cannot always rely on the Police. 2/3 of shootings are stopped by citizens and if teacher have guns available and have the proper training, then they will be able to stop the shooter fast, saving lives.
Because there have been so many shootings in the United States, gun control has become an issue. It is important to do whatever we can to prevent school shootings and random massacres, but taking away weapons does not seem to be the issue. I think owning guns should be permitted and that the government should not take away this right. The U.S. wants to arm some teachers in schools to prevent violence, but I do not think this is a good idea. Many people believe that the violence of school shootings and random massacres can be prevented if weapons are taken away. I believe that taking guns away is not the issue. The people who are behind these acts must have something wrong with them. It is not the guns that kill people; people kill people. The government should continue to find ways to help these people who have problems. I believe that guns should be permitted, but that some steps should be taken to make sure they are safe. People who own guns should have background checks and permits. If anything on the background check shows any history of violence, illegal activity, or mental illness, then they should not be allowed to own a gun. I agree with Danika when she said, “Background checks are needed. We cannot make it too easy for criminals to receive or buy guns. I believe that if we carefully can obtain information about peoples’ pasts, we can keep some madmen from buying guns.” The U.S. is considering whether teachers should carry guns. I do not think this is a good idea. I think it gives reason for more worry. Other problems could come from it. If someone was planning a school shooting, he could become a teacher or substitute teacher. It would make it easy for him to carry out his plan if teachers were allowed to carry weapons. Background checks are needed, both for those who own guns and teachers, but teachers do not need to have guns at school. Also, according to the article “Your Brain Under Fire” by Amanda Ripley, “The research on actual gunfights…reveals…winning a gunfight without shooting innocent people typically requires realistic, expensive training and a special kind of person…In the New York City police department, officers involved in gunfights typically hit their intended target only 18% of the time.” Teachers do not have the same level of training as these officers. In a sudden situation, they may not respond well, which would not help.
Gun violence has become a problem that is very big in our country.And because of gun violence,there have been many school shootings and random massacres happening. An example would be the Columbine High School massacre which occurred April 20, 1999. Two senior students murdered 12 students,one teacher and also injuring 21 other students. Massacres like this cause people to debate on whether or not we should have gun control laws. I agree with Mary and Danika when they say it is people killing people and we need to bring morals into our country.I think moral values have disappeared because alot of people are raised without any morals and media can teach people wrong.I dont think the US should make a gun control legislation because it might cause people to go againts the law and get more guns, and it also goes againts the second amendment. I dont think that the US should arm teachers because the teachers might have to be put through training if they don't know how to use a gun. Some teachers probably don't want to carry a gun either, because they are a teacher not a gaurd. Arming teachers will also give some students an idea that bringing a gun to school is okay and may promote more shootings.
Over the past year there have been about 16 mass shootings in the U.S. Because of all the shootings this year, legislation has been asking questions whether they should arm teachers or have stricter gun laws. I believe we should place armed guards and or have teachers carry a gun if they choose to.
I do believe we should be stricter on gun control, but just putting restrictions on guns will not be enough. Like Collin said, when alcohol was abolished, people where still able to get their hands on it. It won’t do any good to outlaw guns because people will still smuggle them in. They have found a way to get drugs and alcohol, what is going to stop them from getting guns? I think that if legislation where to pass anything, it would be to make it harder for people to own a gun, not outlaw guns completely. The Constitution says we have the right to bear arms so we shouldn’t go against the Constitution.
Should teachers be required to carry a gun? No, I don’t think we should require teachers to carry a weapon. I think teachers should carry only if they are comfortable with carrying a weapon; if they aren’t, what do you think they would do when they need to use their gun? As Danika mentioned in her post, “gun free zones become a ‘magnet’ to deranged killers who hope to burn their names into the history books by running up a big body count,” said John R. Lott. But I also disagree with teachers carrying guns. Teachers carrying guns can be dangerous. What if the teacher/teachers suddenly lose it and start shooting students just like the before. The people who were involved in the mass shootings were obviously not all right in the mind. So what if this happens to the teachers? I think the best way to keep schools safe is to place a guard of some sort at schools. As Stormee said in her post, “place post war veterans at schools because most of them do not have jobs when they come back from the war.” I do think this is a good idea because they know how to handle guns when under attack.
Mrs. Draayer I thought that the class blog could use a fresh idea considering that I am reading echoes on that website. Please excuse some of the minor punctuation i.e. parenthesis and the cruder writing style. I am trying to conceal my identity not because I am scared of being ostracized in the class, but like I said the blog needs a different idea. So, I thought I would explain to you why this blog doesn’t sound like my opinion. Thank you for the extra time. Sincerely, Zack Halma Note: please edit out all above typing also, if you want a laugh put this blog up in front of class and watch their reaction
I disagree with everyone on this blog in that, I believe that the only way to end gun violence in the United States is to restrict all use of guns. Guns maybe don’t kill people, but guns make it much easier for people to kill people. In reality then people are the problem (but they are much harder to get rid of) so instead we should remove all fire-arms from those who haven’t had the proper training and experience (this includes teachers). First off, countries which have extremely strict gun laws such as the United Nations and Japan have the lowest gun violence rates in the world. Britain has some of the strictest gun laws in the world and it has on average one death by gunshot, including accidental, every four years according to BBC news. In the opposite direction, nations which have little legislation for guns have much higher shootings. A ratio was formed by the BBC world news company and I suggest that you check it out. It gives a correspondence between the number of guns owned and the number of gun related deaths [http://uscrossfire.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/factors-of-gun- violence/]. There is a relation between the amount of gun deaths and the amount of legislation on gun control. One of the few exceptions to the correlation of the amount of gun control and is the country of China. Using China as counter evidence is like saying all Caucasians are racists. China also has one of the highest corruption rates in world according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, which rates countries at a zero for highest corruption and 10 for lowest. China was a solid three according to Transparency International in comparison to the US which is around seven-and-a-half. China also probably has the same reasons for gun control as the British did in American in the 1700’s, or Stalin in the U.S.S.R., preventing the rebellion of the people. And contrary to the beliefs of you paranoid republicans, OBAMA IS NOT A MILITARY DICTATOR! China cannot be included in the statistics of gun controls correlation to gun violence. I don’t believe that people can be trusted with guns because of man’s sinful nature. When Adam, Eve, Cain, and Able were living out in the wilderness, Cain was able to conquer the weeds that cursed his farm, because of the sin of his parents, with virtually a stick. With this stick he provided for his family, and with this same stick he killed his brother. It is the same with guns granted they can be fun, but they are designed to kill and destroy. That is their only purpose and they are very successful at completing their purpose. For example, completely hypothetical situation, say I wanted to kill someone. There is only one problem; he is a three-hundred pound, solid muscle, football linebacker. All I need to do though is get my handgun which I had previously used for target practice, and it doesn’t matter if he can bench my body weight with ease. Muscle isn’t bullet proof. The normal person cannot be trusted with any kind of gun or firearm.
Lately there have been several mass murders and school shootings which have made many people question whether or not guns are safe. Another issue brought up was the idea to let teachers carry weapons in school so if a gunman came and began shooting the teachers could take action to take down the gunman. I think that we should tighten up the background checks to help keep criminals from getting them. People have been questioning whether or not guns are safe, but I agree with Mary and Collin guns don’t go out and kill people. It takes a person working the gun in order for the gun to kill anyone. I don’t think that guns should be banned at all because making something illegal doesn’t keep those willing to work outside of the law from getting what they want and would take away a citizen’s right, by the second amendment, to own guns. Making guns illegal is under a whole new category that marijuana and alcohol don’t fall under. When a person goes outside the law to get weed or alcohol then that is just them choosing to have something they want while as taking guns away is taking away a citizens ability to defend themselves from someone willing to go outside the law and has one. The criminals would then have all the power, they could just walk into your house, point a gun at you take what they want and leave. By the time the cops get there they are gone. The criminals could come back too because they know you are unarmed and the cops can’t get there in time to stop them. My view of arming teacher is that we should give them the option to carry the gun if they want to. There should be requirements like: they have to complete a 1-2 week course that would be for maybe 2 hours a day so that they can be trained for those scenarios, they have to obtain a special permit to carry the gun in school, and every so often must take an exam and run through a course to ensure that their training is sticking with them. I think the training is so important because of what we read in the article “Your Brain Under Fire” by Amanda Ripley which talked about when in a scenario where you are under fire only training keeps you from making what could be a fatal mistake to an innocent person.
Gun control has become a very important issue in our country lately due to the recent school massacre in Sandy Hook. Our country has become split on the debate of how we should control guns in our country. In a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, 54 percent said “gun control laws should be made more strict,” 34 percent said they should be left as they are and 9 percent said they should be less strict. The poll also found that 92 percent would favor “a federal law requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers.” Also many people have debated on whether to arm teachers or not. In South Dakota and Arizona new laws are being passed that would allow teachers to carry guns in schools. In New Hampshire, however, a bill to arm teachers just got rejected. I believe that teachers should have the right to carry a gun to school, but also believe that we need to conduct more thorough background checks on gun buyers. First of all I believe that we should never outlaw any guns in our country. The second amendment was put in our Constitution for a reason because our founding fathers had just escaped from a tyranny and did not want the government to take away any of our rights. I agree with Collin in that our government tried to ban alcohol and that didn’t work so I don’t think banning guns would work either. Criminals do not follow laws so what is going to stop them from obtaining guns illegally. Also I agree with Mary in the fact that, “It is people killing people; guns can’t shoot people on their own.” In my opinion I think teachers should absolutely have the right to carry a gun to school. Do you not think the parents in Connecticut would have wanted that one of the teachers in the classroom there was armed and could have killed the shooter before he would have killed their children? Also Taylor said that if we arm teachers then they might start shooting at the students. If that it is true than it doesn’t really matter if we have a law that lets teachers carry guns because what law would stop a crazy teacher from shooting up a school. I personally would feel much safer if our teachers or our principal had a gun to stop the killer before he started shooting at us. I do however believe that the government should have more background checks to buy a gun, but should never outlaw any guns. Since the government knows everything else about us, they should be able to find out if we are stable enough to own a gun. We cannot make it too easy for gunmen to obtain guns. However the government can never completely stop criminals from getting guns so I believe the only way to stop massacres is that our country needs to return to our Christian roots and needs to install better morals in our public schools.
Gun control has been a big issue as of late in the US. I think that in order to stop school shootings and massacres we need to set stricter laws on being able to buy a gun. As for the laws that Legislation should pass, they should pass the laws I just spoke of that way they are enforced in every state. Instead of arming teachers I think we should have armed guards at schools. In order to stop shootings and massacres we need to take away the cause of the problem. that would be the shooter. In order to that we need to have stricter laws on who is allowed to buy a firearm. Things like background checks should be made and anything else that would help keep unstable people from obtaining weapons. If we can get this sort of law in place then we would save many lives from shootings. Legislation can't afford to pass laws that would get rid of the black market and get all the unregistered guns off the streets right now. so instead they need to pass cheaper laws that will have as much impact as possible. Like the law I proposed earlier about placing stricter laws on be able to obtain a weapon. This would make sure that all states enforced these rules and could potentially save many lives. I personally find the idea of giving teachers guns a joke. Studies have shown that even some highly trained marksman have trouble reacting to live fire, so how can we expect a teacher to react to a shooter and protect the students? I agree with Taylor with her idea of having armed guards placed in all schools. This would not only better protect the school from shootings but deter most shooters from even attempting to attack a school. whether or not you agree with me is your own opinion but I think we can all agree that something needs to be done with our certain situation.
What do you call a fake noodle? An “impasta”! I just could not resist the joke, sorry. The topic of discussion for this particular blog is “gun control” and how we should approach this issue based on the increasing number of mass shootings where an assault rifle was used. In my mind I think the government is really blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Yes, the Sandy Hook shooting was a horrific tragedy, (I can only begin to imagine the trauma of losing little children in such a horrendous manner) but if you look at the statistics side of that story you begin to realize that only 26 people died in the Sandy Hook shooting. I realize this comment will probably be quite inflammatory, (that is, if any of you actually read these) and will be viewed as insensitive, but I am only focusing on the statistical aspect of the shooting right now. The death of 26 people is nothing compared to how many people die behind the wheel of a car every day. According to http://www.braincontour.com/2012/07/20/list-and-statistics-of-mass-shooting-in-the-u-s-since-2005/ since 2005 a total of 109 people have died in mass shootings in the U.S. (277 total victims-injured/dead). Even if you add the Sandy Hook numbers into the equation, this pales in comparison to automobile-related deaths. According to Fox News, approximately 40,000 people die every year in car crashes. That comes to about 110 per day. They want to ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines because of these shootings. Based on this logic, we should all vote to ban high performance cars or cars with high capacity gas tanks. There are bigger issues that could be focused on in this country besides shootings. I agree with Collin, if people want it, they can get ahold of it. The prohibition failed miserably because people had the smarts to get ahold of their “contraband”. Banning guns is not the answer to the world’s problems. Neither is arming teachers, for that matter. I mean, come on, let’s be honest here guys, do we REALLY want a teacher to have a gun??? Think it through, you really don’t. Lack of training and/or proficiency with a firearm will just add more fuel to the fire in a deadly situation. Armed guards at every school could be helpful, but I don’t think anyone is going to get in line to pay for this spendy acquisition. In conclusion, I think it is in our country’s best interest to focus on other issues and let shootings/gun control take a back seat on the “to do” list. While these shootings are tragic, they are a drop in the bucket compared to other issues. Every generation has their issues to contend with, this is ours.
The following is from Josh A ... Lately there have been several mass murders and school shootings which have made many people question whether or not guns are safe. Another issue brought up was the idea to let teachers carry weapons in school so if a gunman came and began shooting the teachers could take action to take down the gunman. I think that we should tighten up the background checks to help keep criminals from getting them.
People have been questioning whether or not guns are safe, but I agree with Mary and Collin guns don’t go out and kill people. It takes a person working the gun in order for the gun to kill anyone. I don’t think that guns should be banned at all because making something illegal doesn’t keep those willing to work outside of the law from getting what they want and would take away a citizen’s right, by the second amendment, to own guns. Making guns illegal is under a whole new category that marijuana and alcohol don’t fall under. When a person goes outside the law to get weed or alcohol then that is just them choosing to have something they want while as taking guns away is taking away a citizens ability to defend themselves from someone willing to go outside the law and has one. The criminals would then have all the power, they could just walk into your house, point a gun at you take what they want and leave. By the time the cops get there they are gone. The criminals could come back too because they know you are unarmed and the cops can’t get there in time to stop them.
My view of arming teacher is that we should give them the option to carry the gun if they want to. There should be requirements like: they have to complete a 1-2 week course that would be for maybe 2 hours a day so that they can be trained for those scenarios, they have to obtain a special permit to carry the gun in school, and every so often must take an exam and run through a course to ensure that their training is sticking with them. I think the training is so important because of what we read in the article “Your Brain Under Fire” by Amanda Ripley which talked about when in a scenario where you are under fire only training keeps you from making what could be a fatal mistake to an innocent person.
The following is from Brandon Gun control is a major issue in the US today, and has been brought up in our history a number of times, such as in 1837, when Georgia banned handguns. The Georgia ban was soon shut down by the Georgia Supreme Court, because of the Second Amendment. The current debate was brought around by the shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and although I agree that these shootings are unacceptable, I also think that more control of guns is not the answer. I agree with Collin when he says “This isn’t our first rodeo. What happens when we make things illegal? Does the problem cease to exist? No. Take examples such as drugs. Drugs are illegal but people still have them… If we make guns illegal the same thing will happen. If people want them, they will get them.” In 1775 Parliament made restrictions on guns for the colonies, 1 year later the American Revolution occurred. You just cannot take peoples guns. The source of the shootings are not guns as most people think, the source is the crazy people that use the guns. More people in the US have died from stabbings in the last few years than guns, but guns get all the attention. The politicians in Washington do not know the real problem, and think they can solve it like they always do, but they cannot. There is also no easy way to quell the people, who call for the bans of guns. I agree with Danika that the only way to solve the problem is to address the morals of our country “We, as a country, need to address the problem of our morals in America.”
The following is from Betsy ... The United States should stop worrying so much about gun control. People are making way to big of a deal about it. School shootings are going to occur whether we regulate guns or not. If we do try to take away guns, people aren’t going to be able to protect themselves in a shooting. Taking away guns would do more harm than good. The U.S. is spending way too much time and money on this topic. How long has this been debated? And what solutions have the come up with? Next to nothing. We should learn from other countries who have tried to enforce gun control laws. China, Guatemala, Germany, Turkey, Uganda, and Cambodia all tried to establish gun control and all ended with the slaughtering of thousands of people. Albert Einstein once said insanity is doing something over and over again expecting a different result every time. Trying to bane guns and expect everyone to live in peace is what Albert Einstein would call insane. School shootings have become more frequent but were focusing on the wrong aspect of the problem. Trying to take away guns will not help. It’s so easy for people to get guns from the black market. The reason people go to a school for a mass shooting is because there are so many unarmed people. They wouldn’t walk into a gun show and try to kill everyone. If we arm teachers shootings will occur less. It would make me feel safer knowing if someone walked into a school and tried to shoot everyone we would be able to defend ourselves. I don’t think teachers should be required to carry a gun but if they want to they should be able to. I disagree with Mary when she says “I think it isn’t a good idea to arm teachers since they are under stress enough with having to deal with the students themselves that putting a gun in their hands could ultimately make their mental capacity snap and they will shoot the students.” Banning guns is not a good solution. The U.S. needs to stop making such a big deal about guns. Yes shooting are a horrible thing but it’s not going to do anything to take away guns. History tends to repeat itself so why don’t we look at those other countries and instead of repeat their history, learn from it. We need to stop wasting our time and money on gun control so we can focus on more important issues.
Gun control has become an issue in our country because of school shootings and massacres that have happened with guns. How are we going to address this problem? In my opinion it is not the guns that need laws, it’s the people. It is people killing people; guns can’t shoot people on their own. We need to better screen backgrounds for those who shouldn’t have guns. Is there any legislation that we should pass to help prevent this? The answer is yes. Our country should petition that those with a criminal record and are mentally disabled cannot have guns. It is dangerous for us and for them to have guns. And finally, should we arm our teachers? I think it isn’t a good idea to arm teachers since they are under stress enough with having to deal with the students themselves that putting a gun in their hands could ultimately make their mental capacity snap and they will shoot the students.
ReplyDeleteHow are we going to address the problem of school shooting and massacres? As I said above it is the people who need the control and by controlling who gets guns is one of the ways. Screening people for any criminal history is one of the ways to keep guns out of dangerous hands. And since once you get arrested any of your rights can be taken away, they should take away their right to bear arms if they are criminals. Also we should screen for any mental disabilities that can be violent and not allow them to get any guns either. That should help with much of the problems that we have been having with shooting and massacres. And by doing this we would pass a legislation where background screening is required for anyone wanting to get a gun.
And finally, should we arm our teachers? In Wisconsin, over 1,000 teachers have already been armed. In my opinion, that was a very bad idea. Teachers have lots of stress dealing with students and having to grade papers and creating tests. And putting a gun in their hands will only stress them out more. This is making it a possibility that one of those teachers could snap and start shooting up the students. And this is not an environment I would want my niece to be in when she starts school in two years. I want her to feel safe going to school, not having to worry about if the teacher will pull the gun on her.
The following is the first half of Danika's blog ...
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the people living in the United States. Random massacres are too common today in America, but I do not believe the solution is to outlaw or restrict guns any more than our country already does. Background checks on all gun buyers should be thorough, but no guns should be outlawed. Our nation has to bring morals (yes, Christianity!) back into our country to stop these massacres. Legislation will not stop bad people from doing bad deeds. Finally, I definitely think that if a teacher wishes to own a gun and carry it at school, he or she should have that right! It can only help them.
First off, should our country allow teachers to own guns at school? My answer is of course!! The New York Times released a recent article called, “Your Brain Under Fire,” which says, “it’s also possible that the mere presence of armed teachers or guards could deter a shooter from attacking altogether.” Schools often announce that they are gun-free zones. John R. Lott, one of our country’s leading gun experts told Newsmax, “that gun-free zones become ‘a magnet’ for deranged killers who hope to burn their names into the history books by running up a big body count.” It could not hurt a teacher to carry a gun. Rather if his or her classroom was being attacked, he or she could have the opportunity to do something to stop the attacker. Pull out his or her gun. Of course, I also agree that if a teacher does not feel comfortable enough to handle a gun, he or she should not carry one. It should be the teacher’s choice. I believe the President or legislature shouldn’t be the ones deciding what the right path of action is when they always have armed guards around them. It should be the school’s decision. It should be the teacher’s decision.
The following is the second half of Danika's post ...
ReplyDeleteLegislation should not ban guns or put up anymore restrictions on guns. Our country, by passing more and more restrictions on guns, is taking away our second amendment rights. I believe, like many other Americans, that slowly, if our Congress keeps banning more and more guns, soon our freedoms will be taken away. NRA President Wayne LaPierre said it best when he told FoxNews, “I think without any doubt, if you look at why our Founding Fathers put (the Second Amendment) there, they had lived under the tyranny of King George and they wanted to make sure that these free people in this new country would never be subjugated again and have to live under tyranny.” Of course, background checks are needed. We cannot make it too easy for criminals to receive or buy guns. I believe that if we carefully can obtain information about peoples’ pasts, we can keep some madmen from buying guns. Legislation will not stop those evil doers, though. Take it from the liberal gun rights activist in Europe name Piers Morgan. According to the Business Insider, he said that banning assault weapons “will not solve the gun crime problem in America,” but then went on to say America should anyways.
So what is the solution? How do we stop school shootings and random massacres I 100 percent agree with Mary when she said that the guns cannot kill people by themselves. It is people killing people. We, as a country, need to address the problem of our morals in America. Obviously, if there are so many shootings, there is something wrong with what people living here are being taught about the meaning and value of life. According to Rachel Alexander, editor of Intellectual Conservative, “there is a direct correlation between the increase in violence and the gradual degradation of morals, ethics and parenting.” Alexander says that, “
Parents are no longer taking their children to church, where they would learn stability and morals. Fewer than 20% of Americans now regularly attend church. Every year there are 3000 fewer churches across the U.S, even though the population is growing. God and morality have been taken out of the public schools and replaced with political correctness and non-judgmentalism. ‘Public virtues’ are no longer taught in today's schools. People who do not attend church are more likely than churchgoers to have stress and to be less optimistic about the future. When parents split up and there is no father to take the children regularly to church, the children are much less likely to become regular churchgoers than if their mother regularly takes them.” Why is Christianity the answer? The answer lies in 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says,
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Israel and Judah turned from the Lord, and the result was exile to Assyria and Babylon. But if we turn from dysfunctional lives to the Creator of all things and start obeying and living for him, God promises in Psalms 1 that “he watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” I believe if we begin to improve the morals in this nation, violence will decrease.
We can all see by the recent massacres of last year that controlling mass murders is a big problem. But maybe it isn’t about what type of guns are sold; maybe it is more about who they are sold to, because really it is the people who kill people, not the guns. I think that we should not go on full gun control laws because it violates the second amendment of the constitution. I think that we should just be stricter in background checks and not make buying a gun (especially assault weapons) so easy. This might lower the risk of school shootings and random massacres.I disagree with Mary that arming teachers is a bad idea because I think that if schools are worried for the students’ safety, then it would be a good idea to arm teachers if they are experienced in handling firearms or if they have taken and passed a gun safety course the first time around, and also that they have passed the background checks and have no criminal record. But I do agree with Mary that we need to have more background checks and also look at the buyer’s criminal record
ReplyDeleteThere have been a lot of shootings lately in the U.S and this has prompted people too want to rethink gun control laws in our country. We should get some new laws to regulate the gun trade so that it is slightly harder to obtain a gun and to ensure that the people who are purchasing the guns are stable individuals. The issue of arming teachers is being widely discussed today. And lots of people are for it.
ReplyDeletePeople in the U.S. would like for there to be stricter laws regarding guns and who can sell and purchase them. The NRA is very much against any type of law like this. They are meeting in Hartford Connecticut to speak out against the proposed gun laws. They are saying that the laws contain failed policies that violate the second amendment. I agree with Danika that if congress continues to try and take away our second amendment rights we won’t be able to purchase guns at all anymore.
Many people are for the arming of teachers because they feel it will make schools a safer place. In South Dakota a bill was passed that will allow teachers and school staff to carry weapons. They say it will act as a deterrent to potential shooters. I think that it is a bad idea to arm teachers. When there is a school shooting the police will have a difficult time identifying the shooter if a lot more people have guns. Banning guns will not make school shootings magically go away.
Gun Control has recently become one of the big issues that needs to be dealt with in the United States. This is mostly because of the recent school shootings, mass murders, and also gun accidents.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, we need to look back at the past to try to learn what to do. This isn’t our first rodeo. What happens when we make things illegal? Does the problem cease to exist? No. Take examples such as drugs. Drugs are illegal but people still have them. Same with Alcohol, when it was abolished people still were able to get their hands on it. If we make guns illegal then the same thing will happen. If people want them, they will get them.
Second we need to look at the actual problem. Where is the source of the violence? Do guns kill people all by themselves? No! I agree with Mary when she said that “guns can’t kill people on their own.” The source of the violence is the people. We need to limit the people that do these things, not the tools that they use.
Finally, we need to see how these things are put to a stop. In our reading, we learned that most incidents are put to a stop by civilians. If the civilians have firearms to protect themselves and others, than we will have fewer deaths than if we leave it completely up to the police force, although I am thankful for the men and women who serve our country through this occupation. People have a right to protect themselves, and I personally believe that this right should be protected and gun bans should not be put into place.
Gun control has become a major issue in the U.S. due to the violence of school shootings and random massacres across the country. I believe the government needs to provide funding for schools to improve the schools safety/security in the buildings, institute stricter background checks, even in gun shows, and begin to change the moral fabric of our country without arming teachers to begin to act on the violence of shootings in our schools and other places.
ReplyDeleteI believe schools need to enhance their safety/security measures structurally by placing double air lock doors and buzz-ins from the office before anyone is allowed inside the school and partnering with the local city police instead of arming teachers. However, in high risk areas the states should be allowed to determine if the teacher has the right to carry a concealed weapon. Guns shouldn’t be forced on any teacher who isn’t comfortable with having one; that can be counterproductive because if they aren’t comfortable with having a weapon, something worse could happen if they were put under pressure. In “Your Brain under Fire” Glennon comments how cops aren’t trained well enough, so how will teachers have enough training to protect themselves and their students in an actual shootout? He said “it’s not enough just to carry a gun.” This being the case, police officers should have a more active presence in and around the school buildings along with preventative measures for school access. Double air lock doors and buzz-ins from the office enhances the security of the school by allowing the personal to know who and what comes into the building. I believe if the government funded these safety measures they could prevent school shootings better than the government forcing teachers to carry weapons.
I agree with Danika when she said “background checks are needed. We cannot make it too easy for criminals to receive or buy guns. I believe that if we carefully can obtain information about peoples’ pasts, we can keep some madmen from buying guns.” The government needs to institute stronger background checks to ensure any felons or people with mental disorders are not able to own guns such as criminals or anyone who has had a run-in with the law with weapons. According to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence page (csgv.org) “current federal law requires criminal background checks only for guns sold through licensed firearm dealers, which account for just 60% of all gun sales in the United States. A loophole in the law allows individuals not ‘engaged in the business’ of selling firearms to sell guns without a license—and without processing any paperwork. That means that two out of every five guns sold in the United States change hands without a background check.” Outlawing guns all together or putting heavy restrictions on them won’t solve the issue with guns that we have today, preventing “madmen” from obtaining guns could effectively reduce shootings in the U.S. One of the statistics given in class said that even though guns are illegal in China, shootings still occur with illegal weaponry.
I believe we need to change the moral fabric of our nation to end the violence now prevalent in it. Our morals have fallen so low in movies, video games, entertainment that our children are callused to the effects of violence and the game continues in real life when they take other people’s life. Surgeon General David Satcher said “we clearly associate media violence to aggressive behavior however small compared to other things.” For some kids media has a major impact on their psyche. Some school shootings we have actually come from the students of those schools themselves. In California a 16 year old student arrived late to class armed with a 12-gauge shotgun; he injured one of his classmates and fired at another but missed before his teacher talked him into lowering the gun. In order to prevent such shootings, more counselors in schools are needed to help troubled students and a spiritual leader in the white house to institute moral fabric into the U.S.
The following is from Micki ...
ReplyDeleteGun control has become a major issue in the U.S. due to the violence of school shootings and random massacres across the country. I believe the government needs to provide funding for schools to improve the schools safety/security in the buildings, institute stricter background checks, even in gun shows, and begin to change the moral fabric of our country without arming teachers to begin to act on the violence of shootings in our schools and other places.
I believe schools need to enhance their safety/security measures structurally by placing double air lock doors and buzz-ins from the office before anyone is allowed inside the school and partnering with the local city police instead of arming teachers. However, in high risk areas the states should be allowed to determine if the teacher has the right to carry a concealed weapon. Guns shouldn’t be forced on any teacher who isn’t comfortable with having one; that can be counterproductive because if they aren’t comfortable with having a weapon, something worse could happen if they were put under pressure. In “Your Brain under Fire” Glennon comments how cops aren’t trained well enough, so how will teachers have enough training to protect themselves and their students in an actual shootout? He said “it’s not enough just to carry a gun.” This being the case, police officers should have a more active presence in and around the school buildings along with preventative measures for school access. Double air lock doors and buzz-ins from the office enhances the security of the school by allowing the personal to know who and what comes into the building. I believe if the government funded these safety measures they could prevent school shootings better than the government forcing teachers to carry weapons.
I agree with Danika when she said “background checks are needed. We cannot make it too easy for criminals to receive or buy guns. I believe that if we carefully can obtain information about peoples’ pasts, we can keep some madmen from buying guns.” The government needs to institute stronger background checks to ensure any felons or people with mental disorders are not able to own guns such as criminals or anyone who has had a run-in with the law with weapons. According to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence page (csgv.org) “current federal law requires criminal background checks only for guns sold through licensed firearm dealers, which account for just 60% of all gun sales in the United States. A loophole in the law allows individuals not ‘engaged in the business’ of selling firearms to sell guns without a license—and without processing any paperwork. That means that two out of every five guns sold in the United States change hands without a background check.” Outlawing guns all together or putting heavy restrictions on them won’t solve the issue with guns that we have today, preventing “madmen” from obtaining guns could effectively reduce shootings in the U.S. One of the statistics given in class said that even though guns are illegal in China, shootings still occur with illegal weaponry.
I believe we need to change the moral fabric of our nation to end the violence now prevalent in it. Our morals have fallen so low in movies, video games, entertainment that our children are callused to the effects of violence and the game continues in real life when they take other people’s life. Surgeon General David Satcher said “we clearly associate media violence to aggressive behavior however small compared to other things.” For some kids media has a major impact on their psyche. Some school shootings we have actually come from the students of those schools themselves. In California a 16 year old student arrived late to class armed with a 12-gauge shotgun; he injured one of his classmates and fired at another but missed before his teacher talked him into lowering the gun. In order to prevent such shootings, more counselors in schools are needed to help troubled students and a spiritual leader in the white house to institute moral fabric into the U.S.
Shootings are a big problem in the U.S. I honestly don’t think there is anything we can do to stop this issue. Some people are just always going to break and disobey the law. Yet, it’s not the guns that kill people; it’s the people that kill people. This issue is something that we need to act fast on; I think we should make it harder for people to obtain guns. Maybe even put more regulations on guns.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a major push for gun control due to the Connecticut shooting. We can’t arm our teachers because what if they don’t know how to use a gun? What if they are so afraid they don’t even think of grabbing a gun? If we want to stop this madness we should make it harder for people to get guns and make people go to anger management classes. This should hopefully help slow the shootings down. The only problem would be what about the people who already have guns? We can’t really do anything about them, all we can do is hope they don’t do anything crazy with the guns.
Once again it isn’t the guns that kill the people, it’s the people that kill people.
School shootings and random massacres have created new awareness to gun control laws. These acts of violence are causing questions for what legislation needs to pass, if any and whether teachers in schools should be armed.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is good for the government to review laws and make changes when necessary. The recent shootings have a lot of people talking about gun control. I understand where both sides are coming from. Some think that changes to the gun laws concerning assault weapons should happen. Many of the tragedies have involved these weapons. According to a New York Times article by Erika Goode entitled “Even Defining Assault Weapons Is Difficult,” these weapons “were designed for the battlefield, where the goal is to rapidly kill as many enemy soldiers as possible, and they have no place in civilian life.” The other side argues that guns are needed for hunting and protection, and it is a Constitutional right to have them. I think the more important aspect is controlling who has guns. Increasing background checks and testing is important. However, if we take these guns away, people who want them will find a way to get around the system. Oftentimes, they steal weapons from family members or friends who got them legally. I believe the important thing for our government to do is continually review laws and make changes when necessary. It is not about eliminating guns; it is about eliminating crime.
I believe the U.S. needs to continue to address the violence that is behind these tragedies. It is not the gun itself that caused the massacres, but the person who used the weapon. I do not think we need to get rid of all guns, but we need to make sure that laws are strict enough. The U.S. should look at what happened in these shootings and see if we can learn anything from them, like we do from all historical events.
Some people are pushing to allow teachers to carry guns in school, even if the school is considered a weapon-free area. I do not think this is necessary for several reasons. First, if a teacher has a gun in the classroom, then it either needs to be locked away or hidden somewhere. If it is locked away, then what good would it do in an emergency situation? It may take too much time to get it. If it is hidden, then kids may have access to it if they find it. A small child might think it is a toy or not understand what it is and he could accidently shoot something or someone. Again, many violent acts with guns happen when a weapon is stolen. Secondly, trained officers who are “involved in gunfights typically hit their intended targets only 18% of the time, according to a Rand study.” If officers, who are trained to face these situations every day, miss that often, then how do we expect teachers who are not in situations like this often to handle it and shoot accurately? If someone in a school building is going to have a gun, I think the principal or office staff should have them. Finally, if teachers were permitted to have guns, then I would be concerned that someone planning a shooting would become a teacher or substitute teacher so they would have access to the school. Jenna had a good point when she said “I think that it is a bad idea to arm teachers. When there is a school shooting the police will have a difficult time identifying the shooter if a lot more people have guns.”
The occasion has risen on putting tons of control on guns. The reason for this is the number of school shootings, public massacres, and just overall crime that involve guns. We need to just control ourselves and hope no more of these kinds of things, at the very least, slow down.
ReplyDeleteI think one thing the U.S. should do to respond to these killings is post a war veteran at every school they can. I think this would work. This idea would work because these people would intimidate any criminal wanting to do something to hurt the children. Another reason this would work, is not only protection, this would provide jobs to those veterans who need them. A topic from NBC News U.S. six days ago, the heading reads “Unemployment among post-9/11 veterans still running heavy”. In the article to sum up one point is the post-9/11 unemployment was at 203,000 and last year was only at 153,000. For me, this is not okay. In another source “By 2009, the unemployment rates of male veterans rose to 8.1 percent.” The government should be able to see these reasons and act.
I believe that legislation should not try and pass any new laws. My reasons are these will only affect the law abiding citizen and give that much more control over the people to the government. In the Constitution we have the right to bear arms. We should own up to that. Besides, the criminals are going to somehow get a gun from somewhere and keep doing illegal activity. I agree with Collin when he says “Drugs are illegal but people still have them. Same with alcohol, when it was abolished people still were able to get their hands on it. If we make guns illegal then the same thing will happen. If people want them, they will get them.”
Teachers should not be allowed to have a gun in a classroom, period. That is no environment for a child to be put in. I feel if our teachers were ‘packing’ I would feel my security go out the window. I would not feel safe sending my child to school, knowing that there are that many more guns there.
For a strong side note, we as a country do not need gun control we need people control or society control. Guns do not kill people, people kill people. That would be like saying ‘food did not make me fat my spoon did.’ The gun is used as the spoon is but the action is from people.
In 2012, there were 16 mass shootings in the U.S., leaving at least 88 people dead. 25% of these mass shootings occurred in schools or universities. Obviously, according to these statistics, school violence and random massacres is a big problem in our country today. Because of these shootings, some people believe that civilians should not have the right to own a gun, or at least that those rights should be lessened.
ReplyDeleteI believe, like Collin, that the solution to this problem is not to outlaw guns completely. Like Collin said, in the past, outlawing things (like alcohol) has not been proven beneficial to this country. Even though it was illegal, many, many people still made moonshine and or purchased some other form of alcohol. I believe that outlawing guns will just create a similar scenario. People who are willing to brutally shoot down kindergarteners will be willing to illegally purchase, steal, or smuggle guns into the U.S.. For example, the man who was responsible for the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School did not own the gun that he used to kill the people at the school. His law abiding mother, however, did own a gun, so the killer killed his own mother with her gun and then took the gun to shoot up the school.
I do believe that our government should be stricter on the purchasing of guns. The government should make sure that thorough background checks occur along with every gun purchase. Also, the government should maintain a watchful eye on black markets to make sure that they are not selling guns to dangerous criminals. Also, I think that the sale of bullets should be regulated as well. I think that there should be background checks and stricter security for the purchase of bullets as well as for the purchase of guns.
I, like Danika, also believe that shutting Christianity out of government and public schools has an effect on these mass shootings. Our country needs good, Christian morals to be taught to American children as well as adults. If our country stuck to these morals as a whole, I believe that we would have a lot less violence in our country as a result.
A very controversial question that has arisen since the Newtown shooting is: Should we arm school teachers? I believe that arming teachers would be much more beneficial than it would be harmful. If the teachers at Sandy Hook would have each been armed, the death toll may have been much smaller. I believe that it would make schools safer. Another way to increase school safety would be to have armed security guards at every entrance to the building. Also, the doors should remain locked unless opened by the security guard after the person wanting to enter has received security clearance from the office or security guard. I think that this would help prevent shooters from even entering schools and causing harm to students and teachers.
The recent violence of school shooting and random massacres is a big problem in the United States today. I think should be addressed by passing laws that are stricter about who can buy the guns, and not limit gun rights. Also, I do not think we should arm teachers and instead have armed guards at each school.
ReplyDeleteThe United States should address these shootings as a major problem in our country. Something needs to be done. I believe we can achieve more safety by making laws that ensure stricter background checks on people who can buy guns. The National Rifle Association’s President David Keene welcomes Joe Biden’s ideas about increasing money given for school security and aggressive prosecution for people who illegally try to buy weapons. He is even willing to have stricter background checks for people who want to attend gun shows. Forty percent of gun sales take place at these shows. He doesn’t agree that law abiding citizens should have to put up with laws that limit firearms and magazines.
I do not think getting rid of guns will help the problem. According to Keene, people are looking for way to protect their kids, not a way to band guns. Representative Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head by a mad man, and Steve Mostyn are looking for ways to promote gun safety with PACs. Mostyn sleeps with a gun beside him and owns a gun range in Texas. He is not against guns, just against stupidity when using guns.
Most guns aren’t gotten in pawnshops. Of the 129,817 federally licensed firearms in the U.S., 61,562 are from collectors and 51,438 are from gun stores and licensed retailers. Forty-nine percent of U.S. households have a gun in their possession since January 2013. I believe that if gun rights were taken away, almost half of the United States citizens would be outraged. Even if we get rid of guns, it won’t help the situation. The madmen will still get guns, just like moonshiners still made whiskey as Collin said.
I agree with Micki when she says that schools need to have higher security systems. We could hire veterans that have come back and need jobs. They would be previously trained and it would provide them with jobs, which would decrease our unemployment rate. I believe that if we arm teachers that there will someday be some crazy teacher who will get mad at a student and shoot him for not listening. It also takes a lot of time and money to train these teachers. Also, if we have special locks or check-ins to get allowed into the school it will be harder for a madman to enter.
Gun violence has become a very big issue in our country. Recently we have had several shooting which have affected the lives of many law abiding citizens, such as the sandy hook school shooting that took the lives of many students. The question we as Americans face is whether or not to limit the control on guns, but it is not always guns that are the problem. For example in 1927, at an elementary school in Bath, Mich. A school board member killed over 45 people using dynamite. That is one of the biggest massacres on record. So removing guns is only going to solve a small portion of the problem.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Emily that tighter rules when it comes to the purchase of guns can do some good. If a citizen is really that unstable they will find other means to cause harm. In the sandy hook shooting he stole the gun from his mother. Like Mary said “guns can’t kill people on their own” If we have to much control over owning a gun then how are we going to protect ourselves from non law abiding citizens who want to cause us harm. The answer is we can’t. More shootings could be stopped simply by a licensed gun carrying citizen. I do think that arming teachers might have a worse outcome than the reward would be. They do not have the proper training, and in a life and death situation may not react like they normally would. We should not force them to arm themselves but if they would like should be allowed to have a weapon in the school. Just the thought of knowing school staff could be armed may keep criminals at bay and save the lives of many. But taking away our guns completely will not have a positive result.
The following is from CJ ...
ReplyDeleteI believe that the U.S. should not make legislation against guns because that would be going against the Second Amendment. I do believe that we should tighten up the background checks to be able to get a gun. I believe that teachers should be able to have guns if they so choose.
Teachers should be able to have guns because if something like what happened in Connecticut happens at their school they could reason with the one shooting or stop him before it gets out of control. Teachers not comfortable with having a gun don’t have to have one. I agree with Danika when she says that guns shouldn’t be outlawed. I agree with this because I believe that guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
Guns being outlawed wouldn’t help anything. A black market for guns would arise and the guns would be here illegally anyways. Criminals even have the technology to make their own rapid fire weapons. They could just make guns if they were outlawed or use a different weapon or method to do things.
The following is from Drew ...
ReplyDeleteAs a Christian I believe that the problem that we have here is not with guns but with people. We as Christians need to focus on improving the morals of people, part of which in evangelizing. I also believe that congress can help curve the violence by passing laws that allow people like teachers to carry to have guns in their class rooms.
The source of our problem is not with guns but with the people. Our people’s morals are down grading and crime in general is increasing. Our country’s founding fathers gave out bibles to people because they knew the value of a people who have high morals. If you compare at the morals of countries like Mexico, which has low morals and has a high gun violence rate, and Japan, where respect is everything in the country and has a gun murder rate of 0%, you can see the difference morals can make. It is the role of Christian to spread the Gospel in the hope that people will believe, raising the morals of our country.
I also believe that our country can help protect our citizens by passing laws that allow train and qualified teacher and administrator to have guns in their rooms. Teachers have proving they are willing to risk their lives for the children. An example is at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Eye witnesses of the shooting saw teachers and staff rush in the direction of the gun shots, hoping to try and save the kids. We cannot always rely on the Police. 2/3 of shootings are stopped by citizens and if teacher have guns available and have the proper training, then they will be able to stop the shooter fast, saving lives.
The following is from Wyatt ...
ReplyDeleteRecent school shooting has raised big questions today, what can we do to prevent these shootings? What is causing these shootings? What type of people is involved in these shootings? They are saying that arming teachers is the way to go. Personally I agree with Taylor I think it’s a terrible idea because there will be that one teacher that goes crazy and shoots all his/her students. I agree with the vote that was taken on background checks. In order to buy a gun you must get a background check so no convicted felons. According to time magazine “the next gun fight” by Michael Sherer a vote was taken and 92 % of people voted for background check. In the movie we watched in class about whether or not we should take guns away or not I strongly agree with the lady that we should encourage more guns to be bought by people. The more guns there are the less crime. I know that sounds funny but if you take guns away from law abiding citizens the criminals will still have guns, and cops can’t always be there to protect you. Sometimes you have to defend yourself.
As a Christian I believe that the problem that we have here is not with guns but with people. We as Christians need to focus on improving the morals of people, part of which in evangelizing. I also believe that congress can help curve the violence by passing laws that allow people like teachers to carry to have guns in their class rooms.
ReplyDeleteThe source of our problem is not with guns but with the people. Our people’s morals are down grading and crime in general is increasing. Our country’s founding fathers gave out bibles to people because they knew the value of a people who have high morals. If you compare at the morals of countries like Mexico, which has low morals and has a high gun violence rate, and Japan, where respect is everything in the country and has a gun murder rate of 0%, you can see the difference morals can make. It is the role of Christian to spread the Gospel in the hope that people will believe, raising the morals of our country.
I also believe that our country can help protect our citizens by passing laws that allow train and qualified teacher and administrator to have guns in their rooms. Teachers have proving they are willing to risk their lives for the children. An example is at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Eye witnesses of the shooting saw teachers and staff rush in the direction of the gun shots, hoping to try and save the kids. We cannot always rely on the Police. 2/3 of shootings are stopped by citizens and if teacher have guns available and have the proper training, then they will be able to stop the shooter fast, saving lives.
Because there have been so many shootings in the United States, gun control has become an issue. It is important to do whatever we can to prevent school shootings and random massacres, but taking away weapons does not seem to be the issue. I think owning guns should be permitted and that the government should not take away this right. The U.S. wants to arm some teachers in schools to prevent violence, but I do not think this is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteMany people believe that the violence of school shootings and random massacres can be prevented if weapons are taken away. I believe that taking guns away is not the issue. The people who are behind these acts must have something wrong with them. It is not the guns that kill people; people kill people. The government should continue to find ways to help these people who have problems.
I believe that guns should be permitted, but that some steps should be taken to make sure they are safe. People who own guns should have background checks and permits. If anything on the background check shows any history of violence, illegal activity, or mental illness, then they should not be allowed to own a gun. I agree with Danika when she said, “Background checks are needed. We cannot make it too easy for criminals to receive or buy guns. I believe that if we carefully can obtain information about peoples’ pasts, we can keep some madmen from buying guns.”
The U.S. is considering whether teachers should carry guns. I do not think this is a good idea. I think it gives reason for more worry. Other problems could come from it. If someone was planning a school shooting, he could become a teacher or substitute teacher. It would make it easy for him to carry out his plan if teachers were allowed to carry weapons. Background checks are needed, both for those who own guns and teachers, but teachers do not need to have guns at school. Also, according to the article “Your Brain Under Fire” by Amanda Ripley, “The research on actual gunfights…reveals…winning a gunfight without shooting innocent people typically requires realistic, expensive training and a special kind of person…In the New York City police department, officers involved in gunfights typically hit their intended target only 18% of the time.” Teachers do not have the same level of training as these officers. In a sudden situation, they may not respond well, which would not help.
Gun violence has become a problem that is very big in our country.And because of gun violence,there have been many school shootings and random massacres happening. An example would be the Columbine High School massacre which occurred April 20, 1999. Two senior students murdered 12 students,one teacher and also injuring 21 other students. Massacres like this cause people to debate on whether or not we should have gun control laws. I agree with Mary and Danika when they say it is people killing people and we need to bring morals into our country.I think moral values have disappeared because alot of people are raised without any morals and media can teach people wrong.I dont think the US should make a gun control legislation because it might cause people to go againts the law and get more guns, and it also goes againts the second amendment. I dont think that the US should arm teachers because the teachers might have to be put through training if they don't know how to use a gun. Some teachers probably don't want to carry a gun either, because they are a teacher not a gaurd. Arming teachers will also give some students an idea that bringing a gun to school is okay and may promote more shootings.
ReplyDeleteOver the past year there have been about 16 mass shootings in the U.S. Because of all the shootings this year, legislation has been asking questions whether they should arm teachers or have stricter gun laws. I believe we should place armed guards and or have teachers carry a gun if they choose to.
ReplyDeleteI do believe we should be stricter on gun control, but just putting restrictions on guns will not be enough. Like Collin said, when alcohol was abolished, people where still able to get their hands on it. It won’t do any good to outlaw guns because people will still smuggle them in. They have found a way to get drugs and alcohol, what is going to stop them from getting guns?
I think that if legislation where to pass anything, it would be to make it harder for people to own a gun, not outlaw guns completely. The Constitution says we have the right to bear arms so we shouldn’t go against the Constitution.
Should teachers be required to carry a gun? No, I don’t think we should require teachers to carry a weapon. I think teachers should carry only if they are comfortable with carrying a weapon; if they aren’t, what do you think they would do when they need to use their gun? As Danika mentioned in her post, “gun free zones become a ‘magnet’ to deranged killers who hope to burn their names into the history books by running up a big body count,” said John R. Lott. But I also disagree with teachers carrying guns. Teachers carrying guns can be dangerous. What if the teacher/teachers suddenly lose it and start shooting students just like the before. The people who were involved in the mass shootings were obviously not all right in the mind. So what if this happens to the teachers? I think the best way to keep schools safe is to place a guard of some sort at schools. As Stormee said in her post, “place post war veterans at schools because most of them do not have jobs when they come back from the war.” I do think this is a good idea because they know how to handle guns when under attack.
Mrs. Draayer
ReplyDeleteI thought that the class blog could use a fresh idea considering that I am reading echoes on that website. Please excuse some of the minor punctuation i.e. parenthesis and the cruder writing style. I am trying to conceal my identity not because I am scared of being ostracized in the class, but like I said the blog needs a different idea. So, I thought I would explain to you why this blog doesn’t sound like my opinion. Thank you for the extra time.
Sincerely,
Zack Halma
Note: please edit out all above typing also, if you want a laugh put this blog up in front of class and watch their reaction
I disagree with everyone on this blog in that, I believe that the only way to end gun violence in the United States is to restrict all use of guns. Guns maybe don’t kill people, but guns make it much easier for people to kill people. In reality then people are the problem (but they are much harder to get rid of) so instead we should remove all fire-arms from those who haven’t had the proper training and experience (this includes teachers).
First off, countries which have extremely strict gun laws such as the United Nations and Japan have the lowest gun violence rates in the world. Britain has some of the strictest gun laws in the world and it has on average one death by gunshot, including accidental, every four years according to BBC news. In the opposite direction, nations which have little legislation for guns have much higher shootings. A ratio was formed by the BBC world news company and I suggest that you check it out. It gives a correspondence between the number of guns owned and the number of gun related deaths [http://uscrossfire.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/factors-of-gun- violence/]. There is a relation between the amount of gun deaths and the amount of legislation on gun control.
One of the few exceptions to the correlation of the amount of gun control and is the country of China. Using China as counter evidence is like saying all Caucasians are racists. China also has one of the highest corruption rates in world according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, which rates countries at a zero for highest corruption and 10 for lowest. China was a solid three according to Transparency International in comparison to the US which is around seven-and-a-half. China also probably has the same reasons for gun control as the British did in American in the 1700’s, or Stalin in the U.S.S.R., preventing the rebellion of the people. And contrary to the beliefs of you paranoid republicans, OBAMA IS NOT A MILITARY DICTATOR! China cannot be included in the statistics of gun controls correlation to gun violence.
I don’t believe that people can be trusted with guns because of man’s sinful nature. When Adam, Eve, Cain, and Able were living out in the wilderness, Cain was able to conquer the weeds that cursed his farm, because of the sin of his parents, with virtually a stick. With this stick he provided for his family, and with this same stick he killed his brother. It is the same with guns granted they can be fun, but they are designed to kill and destroy. That is their only purpose and they are very successful at completing their purpose. For example, completely hypothetical situation, say I wanted to kill someone. There is only one problem; he is a three-hundred pound, solid muscle, football linebacker. All I need to do though is get my handgun which I had previously used for target practice, and it doesn’t matter if he can bench my body weight with ease. Muscle isn’t bullet proof. The normal person cannot be trusted with any kind of gun or firearm.
Lately there have been several mass murders and school shootings which have made many people question whether or not guns are safe. Another issue brought up was the idea to let teachers carry weapons in school so if a gunman came and began shooting the teachers could take action to take down the gunman. I think that we should tighten up the background checks to help keep criminals from getting them.
ReplyDeletePeople have been questioning whether or not guns are safe, but I agree with Mary and Collin guns don’t go out and kill people. It takes a person working the gun in order for the gun to kill anyone. I don’t think that guns should be banned at all because making something illegal doesn’t keep those willing to work outside of the law from getting what they want and would take away a citizen’s right, by the second amendment, to own guns. Making guns illegal is under a whole new category that marijuana and alcohol don’t fall under. When a person goes outside the law to get weed or alcohol then that is just them choosing to have something they want while as taking guns away is taking away a citizens ability to defend themselves from someone willing to go outside the law and has one. The criminals would then have all the power, they could just walk into your house, point a gun at you take what they want and leave. By the time the cops get there they are gone. The criminals could come back too because they know you are unarmed and the cops can’t get there in time to stop them.
My view of arming teacher is that we should give them the option to carry the gun if they want to. There should be requirements like: they have to complete a 1-2 week course that would be for maybe 2 hours a day so that they can be trained for those scenarios, they have to obtain a special permit to carry the gun in school, and every so often must take an exam and run through a course to ensure that their training is sticking with them. I think the training is so important because of what we read in the article “Your Brain Under Fire” by Amanda Ripley which talked about when in a scenario where you are under fire only training keeps you from making what could be a fatal mistake to an innocent person.
Gun control has become a very important issue in our country lately due to the recent school massacre in Sandy Hook. Our country has become split on the debate of how we should control guns in our country. In a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, 54 percent said “gun control laws should be made more strict,” 34 percent said they should be left as they are and 9 percent said they should be less strict. The poll also found that 92 percent would favor “a federal law requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers.” Also many people have debated on whether to arm teachers or not. In South Dakota and Arizona new laws are being passed that would allow teachers to carry guns in schools. In New Hampshire, however, a bill to arm teachers just got rejected. I believe that teachers should have the right to carry a gun to school, but also believe that we need to conduct more thorough background checks on gun buyers.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I believe that we should never outlaw any guns in our country. The second amendment was put in our Constitution for a reason because our founding fathers had just escaped from a tyranny and did not want the government to take away any of our rights. I agree with Collin in that our government tried to ban alcohol and that didn’t work so I don’t think banning guns would work either. Criminals do not follow laws so what is going to stop them from obtaining guns illegally. Also I agree with Mary in the fact that, “It is people killing people; guns can’t shoot people on their own.”
In my opinion I think teachers should absolutely have the right to carry a gun to school. Do you not think the parents in Connecticut would have wanted that one of the teachers in the classroom there was armed and could have killed the shooter before he would have killed their children? Also Taylor said that if we arm teachers then they might start shooting at the students. If that it is true than it doesn’t really matter if we have a law that lets teachers carry guns because what law would stop a crazy teacher from shooting up a school. I personally would feel much safer if our teachers or our principal had a gun to stop the killer before he started shooting at us.
I do however believe that the government should have more background checks to buy a gun, but should never outlaw any guns. Since the government knows everything else about us, they should be able to find out if we are stable enough to own a gun. We cannot make it too easy for gunmen to obtain guns. However the government can never completely stop criminals from getting guns so I believe the only way to stop massacres is that our country needs to return to our Christian roots and needs to install better morals in our public schools.
Gun control has been a big issue as of late in the US. I think that in order to stop school shootings and massacres we need to set stricter laws on being able to buy a gun. As for the laws that Legislation should pass, they should pass the laws I just spoke of that way they are enforced in every state. Instead of arming teachers I think we should have armed guards at schools.
ReplyDeleteIn order to stop shootings and massacres we need to take away the cause of the problem. that would be the shooter. In order to that we need to have stricter laws on who is allowed to buy a firearm. Things like background checks should be made and anything else that would help keep unstable people from obtaining weapons. If we can get this sort of law in place then we would save many lives from shootings.
Legislation can't afford to pass laws that would get rid of the black market and get all the unregistered guns off the streets right now. so instead they need to pass cheaper laws that will have as much impact as possible. Like the law I proposed earlier about placing stricter laws on be able to obtain a weapon. This would make sure that all states enforced these rules and could potentially save many lives.
I personally find the idea of giving teachers guns a joke. Studies have shown that even some highly trained marksman have trouble reacting to live fire, so how can we expect a teacher to react to a shooter and protect the students? I agree with Taylor with her idea of having armed guards placed in all schools. This would not only better protect the school from shootings but deter most shooters from even attempting to attack a school. whether or not you agree with me is your own opinion but I think we can all agree that something needs to be done with our certain situation.
What do you call a fake noodle? An “impasta”! I just could not resist the joke, sorry. The topic of discussion for this particular blog is “gun control” and how we should approach this issue based on the increasing number of mass shootings where an assault rifle was used. In my mind I think the government is really blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Yes, the Sandy Hook shooting was a horrific tragedy, (I can only begin to imagine the trauma of losing little children in such a horrendous manner) but if you look at the statistics side of that story you begin to realize that only 26 people died in the Sandy Hook shooting. I realize this comment will probably be quite inflammatory, (that is, if any of you actually read these) and will be viewed as insensitive, but I am only focusing on the statistical aspect of the shooting right now. The death of 26 people is nothing compared to how many people die behind the wheel of a car every day. According to http://www.braincontour.com/2012/07/20/list-and-statistics-of-mass-shooting-in-the-u-s-since-2005/ since 2005 a total of 109 people have died in mass shootings in the U.S. (277 total victims-injured/dead). Even if you add the Sandy Hook numbers into the equation, this pales in comparison to automobile-related deaths. According to Fox News, approximately 40,000 people die every year in car crashes. That comes to about 110 per day. They want to ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines because of these shootings. Based on this logic, we should all vote to ban high performance cars or cars with high capacity gas tanks. There are bigger issues that could be focused on in this country besides shootings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Collin, if people want it, they can get ahold of it. The prohibition failed miserably because people had the smarts to get ahold of their “contraband”. Banning guns is not the answer to the world’s problems. Neither is arming teachers, for that matter. I mean, come on, let’s be honest here guys, do we REALLY want a teacher to have a gun??? Think it through, you really don’t. Lack of training and/or proficiency with a firearm will just add more fuel to the fire in a deadly situation. Armed guards at every school could be helpful, but I don’t think anyone is going to get in line to pay for this spendy acquisition.
In conclusion, I think it is in our country’s best interest to focus on other issues and let shootings/gun control take a back seat on the “to do” list. While these shootings are tragic, they are a drop in the bucket compared to other issues. Every generation has their issues to contend with, this is ours.
The following is from Josh A ...
ReplyDeleteLately there have been several mass murders and school shootings which have made many people question whether or not guns are safe. Another issue brought up was the idea to let teachers carry weapons in school so if a gunman came and began shooting the teachers could take action to take down the gunman. I think that we should tighten up the background checks to help keep criminals from getting them.
People have been questioning whether or not guns are safe, but I agree with Mary and Collin guns don’t go out and kill people. It takes a person working the gun in order for the gun to kill anyone. I don’t think that guns should be banned at all because making something illegal doesn’t keep those willing to work outside of the law from getting what they want and would take away a citizen’s right, by the second amendment, to own guns. Making guns illegal is under a whole new category that marijuana and alcohol don’t fall under. When a person goes outside the law to get weed or alcohol then that is just them choosing to have something they want while as taking guns away is taking away a citizens ability to defend themselves from someone willing to go outside the law and has one. The criminals would then have all the power, they could just walk into your house, point a gun at you take what they want and leave. By the time the cops get there they are gone. The criminals could come back too because they know you are unarmed and the cops can’t get there in time to stop them.
My view of arming teacher is that we should give them the option to carry the gun if they want to. There should be requirements like: they have to complete a 1-2 week course that would be for maybe 2 hours a day so that they can be trained for those scenarios, they have to obtain a special permit to carry the gun in school, and every so often must take an exam and run through a course to ensure that their training is sticking with them. I think the training is so important because of what we read in the article “Your Brain Under Fire” by Amanda Ripley which talked about when in a scenario where you are under fire only training keeps you from making what could be a fatal mistake to an innocent person.
The following is from Brandon
ReplyDeleteGun control is a major issue in the US today, and has been brought up in our history a number of times, such as in 1837, when Georgia banned handguns. The Georgia ban was soon shut down by the Georgia Supreme Court, because of the Second Amendment. The current debate was brought around by the shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and although I agree that these shootings are unacceptable, I also think that more control of guns is not the answer. I agree with Collin when he says “This isn’t our first rodeo. What happens when we make things illegal? Does the problem cease to exist? No. Take examples such as drugs. Drugs are illegal but people still have them… If we make guns illegal the same thing will happen. If people want them, they will get them.” In 1775 Parliament made restrictions on guns for the colonies, 1 year later the American Revolution occurred. You just cannot take peoples guns. The source of the shootings are not guns as most people think, the source is the crazy people that use the guns. More people in the US have died from stabbings in the last few years than guns, but guns get all the attention. The politicians in Washington do not know the real problem, and think they can solve it like they always do, but they cannot. There is also no easy way to quell the people, who call for the bans of guns. I agree with Danika that the only way to solve the problem is to address the morals of our country “We, as a country, need to address the problem of our morals in America.”
The following is from Betsy ...
ReplyDeleteThe United States should stop worrying so much about gun control. People are making way to big of a deal about it. School shootings are going to occur whether we regulate guns or not. If we do try to take away guns, people aren’t going to be able to protect themselves in a shooting. Taking away guns would do more harm than good.
The U.S. is spending way too much time and money on this topic. How long has this been debated? And what solutions have the come up with? Next to nothing. We should learn from other countries who have tried to enforce gun control laws. China, Guatemala, Germany, Turkey, Uganda, and Cambodia all tried to establish gun control and all ended with the slaughtering of thousands of people. Albert Einstein once said insanity is doing something over and over again expecting a different result every time. Trying to bane guns and expect everyone to live in peace is what Albert Einstein would call insane.
School shootings have become more frequent but were focusing on the wrong aspect of the problem. Trying to take away guns will not help. It’s so easy for people to get guns from the black market. The reason people go to a school for a mass shooting is because there are so many unarmed people. They wouldn’t walk into a gun show and try to kill everyone. If we arm teachers shootings will occur less. It would make me feel safer knowing if someone walked into a school and tried to shoot everyone we would be able to defend ourselves. I don’t think teachers should be required to carry a gun but if they want to they should be able to. I disagree with Mary when she says “I think it isn’t a good idea to arm teachers since they are under stress enough with having to deal with the students themselves that putting a gun in their hands could ultimately make their mental capacity snap and they will shoot the students.”
Banning guns is not a good solution. The U.S. needs to stop making such a big deal about guns. Yes shooting are a horrible thing but it’s not going to do anything to take away guns. History tends to repeat itself so why don’t we look at those other countries and instead of repeat their history, learn from it. We need to stop wasting our time and money on gun control so we can focus on more important issues.