Through a comprehensive study of war-related deaths, the Congressional Research Service was able to determine that over 1.1 million Americans have been killed at war since our nation was born. According to Mark Shields of Politifact in 2012, they were able to confirm the total number of gun-related deaths in America since 1968 is over 1.3 million. This shows that since 1968, more Americans have died from gunfire than were killed in all the wars of this country's history combined. It also establishes that the topic of gun control is a controversial issue that has been widely discussed in the media as of late, as well as in politics. The issue becomes a hot topic following recent high-profiled shootings. These events, as well as many others in the past, led to a public outcry for Congress, as well as President Obama to push for gun control. This country should not be having this debate every time there is a shooting. What we want to do as a country is to prevent these types of events from happening again. This is why there should be tougher gun control laws.
The second amendment was adopted in 1791, and it states, "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The right to bear arms, however, has been debated in the past, as well as right now. Those who oppose gun control believe it is an infringement on their right to bear arms, but supporters, like myself, maintain that the second amendment does not protect regular citizens from criminals and the mentally ill from obtaining these weapons. .
We have seen our share of gun-related tragedies in the last few years alone. In 2011, Representative Gabrielle Giffords was badly wounded and six other people were killed by Jared Lee Loughner. On July 20, 2012, James Holmes walked into a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises and ended up killing 12 people and wounded 58 others.
