Kashazta
1
Susan Kashazta
Ms. Marits
English 111
Essay 3
December 5, 2008
Virginia’s
guns out of control
The first
use of the hand gun is known to have been around since as early as the 13th century. Sometime around 1515 the rifle
became known for use in hunting, but so much has evolved since the days of hunting and gathering. Guns today are utilized
more for humans killing one another and themselves than they are for sports and hunting to provide meals. We have all heard
of the great gangster himself Al Capone and the rough era in which he made himself famous for violence and illegal activities.
It was because of this period, that the federal government was awakened and made further regulations on guns in America. Before
this time gun control was never really taken seriously if it was even practiced at all. The National Firearms Act of 1934
enforced that all weapons were to be registered and a $200.00 tax charged if carried across a state line (Milestones, 1).
As of today this ridiculous tax has gone unchanged. This era could easily be labeled as an unfortunate milestone in gun activity
in the United States.
Statistics
show that gun related violence in our communities today is overwhelming. In 2004 about every four days approximately 32 children
were killed from gun attacks in America (Edelman, 1). That’s nearly 3,000 children
that year, and 3,000 children too many. To make a gruesome comparison, that’s close to the same number of military personnel
killed in Iraq and Afghanistan over a four year period. When thinking about it like that it’s completely mind blowing.
When we hear of a death where there was a gun involved, most of the time our minds immediately connect it with
homicide. Data shows that over
half of firearm related deaths are suicides. The Virginia Department of Health
statistics board states that in 2003 there were 446 suicides caused by firearms, 330 murders, and 11 deaths that were accidental
(Injury, 1). Because of the easy access to weapons in the United States, especially Virginia, we will continue to have an
alarming rate of violent and unnecessary deaths unless stringent rules on gun control are enforced within our federal government.
Unfortunately
it wasn’t until 1968 and the assassinations of some of America’s powerful leaders like John F. Kennedy and Martin
Luther King Jr. that the first Gun Control Act came about. If you were a felon or mentally ill were no longer allowed to purchase
or own a firearm. Manufacturers had to be licensed, maintain records of all sales, and the weapons they were selling were
required to have serial numbers. Still sounds much too simple. Even prompting this act doesn’t seem like it would stop
most criminals from obtaining a weapon of choice does it? Just because a person hasn’t been diagnosed with a mental
disorder doesn’t mean there are not those who are unstable, on drugs, or about to lose it walking our streets and still
able to purchase a firearm. It just seems these weak government Act’s are more for show than anything else. How effective
have they really been? It gives the impression that guns in America are anything but under
control.
The article,
“In Virginia, firearms aren’t a tough sell” published on the PilotOnline stated some chilling facts. In
Virginia you can purchase an AK-47 with five 30 round clips for somewhere around $375.00. Not just that, but a private owner
can place an add in the Tidewater Trading Post for and AK-47 or a .50 caliber rifle with a
scope of one mile and sell
it to another private owner. The law states that a licensed owner is to conduct a background check before a sale is finalized.
Well in the state of Virginia if you own a gun and want to place an add in the paper as a private owner and someone comes
knocking at your door with $50.00, you are not even required to check that persons identification. People don’t just
do this illegally and get away with it, this is legal and it’s alarming. This isn’t gun control, its guns out
of control. It’s frightening to even put this information out there, but as accessible as these weapons are through
internet and especially on the streets, simply stating these facts doesn’t seem to hurt.
These weapons
are so easily obtainable it’s hard to grasp why a group as the National Rifle Association (NRA) even exists. The NRA
was established in 1975 basically to maintain the rights of the second amendment which is to purchase and own a firearm while
obeying the laws of that ownership (Who We Are, 1). They talk about honest citizens
being able to own and properly use their weapon. Well who is judging who is honest and who’s not? There are many gun
shows in Virginia every year and thirty-five percent of the sales at these shows are made between private owners. It’s
all authorized though. There is not much difference in buying one at a gun show with no ID
or going out on the street
and buying one in all honesty. They are so concerned about protecting their killing machines that they have they forgotten
about protecting our children and the rest of us citizens? So the NRA is supposed to keep up the fight to protect America’s
right to bear arms, but so many who do have that right abuse it and are careless with it. This is why we hear on the local
news about the accidental deaths of innocent children and teens in their own homes. Ownership of a gun shouldn’t be
completely wiped out, but there must be some kind of significant effort to enforce a powerful gun control movement in the
U.S government. It’s understood how the skills and enjoyment of hunting and things such as that come into play when
it comes to ownership of a firearm, but we are all so scared of our own neighbors and community we feel the need to purchase
a weapon to protect ourselves. What kind of environment is that to grow and prosper in? It’s seems like a vicious cycle
and a never ending one if we don’t do something to stop the purchasing and distribution of these deadly tools.
Government
research and attempts to pass any kind of action in Congress in the past several years has all fallen to the way side for
the most part. There is not enough concern for the subject as a whole with the current status of the United States economy
and the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government’s attention has been focused on other issues at hand that certainly
are important, but we can’t forget about our own safety in our homes and when we walk the streets in our own communities.
In 2004 about 81 people died every day in the America from gunfire. The Center for Disease Control states online that 29,569
people were killed that same year total. Now remember this is the number of actual deaths. The number of injuries related
to guns was triple that amount.
We will
continue to have violent and unnecessary deaths in Virginia unless strict laws are put in place by the government. The Virginia
Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho, had a history of mental illness, but was never committed anywhere and doctors found there was
never a reason to believe that he was a harm to others. He purchased both weapons used in the tragedy legally. One was bought
online and picked it up at a pawn shop and
the other
from a gun store (Warner 2). This mass killing has been a real awakening and has raised questions about the inadequate gun
control laws in Virginia. How easy is it for a semi disturbed person to walk into a shop, purchase a weapon and take others
lives into his or her own hands? Why is this so easy? Well the answer is, it shouldn’t be. Citizens have to come together
and get gun control in control. It is a weak and worn out law with failed attempts to pass Weapons Acts in Congress. The United
States has one of the highest rates of gun related murders in the world, but is also a country known to be the land of the
free and the home of the brave. America is not so brave when it has to lower itself to buying guns because it doesn’t
trust those down the block, and not so free when it feels it’s a requirement to protect the places we lay our children
down to sleep at night with a firearm.
Works Cited
Edelman, Marion Wright. “We
must stem violence in our communities” The Philadelphia Tribune.
http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu
Hays, Jakon. “In Virginia,
firearms aren’t a tough sell.” Pilot Online.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/03/virginia-firearms-arent-tough-sell
“Injury & Violence
Prevention by Topic.”
http://www.vahealth.org/civp/Topics/gunsafety.asp
Marsh, Bill. “An Accounting
of Daily Gun Deaths.” 21 Apr 2007.
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/04/21/weekinreview/
“Milestones in gun control”
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/03/milestones-gun-control
“More than half firearm
deaths are suicides”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/30/guns.suicides.ap/index.html
Warner, Margaret. “Shooter’s
Purchase of Handguns Raises Questions about Gun Control Laws.” 20 Apr 2007. Online News Hour.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june07/guncontrol_04-20.html
“Who We Are, And What
We Do”
http://nra-ila.org/
