Entry #6. Implementing Gun Control.

Throughout the years, there have always been huge debates on whether gun control should be put into action. As many of you may know, the world's worst mass shooting happened in Las Vegas on the night of October 1, 2017. Many innocent lives were lost and injured in the hands of a dangerous perpetrator who owned many guns. Why was this individual allowed to own so many guns? How do citizens feel safe knowing one person can own as many guns as they wish to carry? How can people go to public gatherings like concerts, schools, churches, or even stores and guarantee that they will make it out alive? How many more massacres need to occur until stricter laws take into place?

Everyone wants these massacres to come to an end, but no one is really taking action to stop these horrific behaviors. If citizens want to prevent these violent actions from ever happening, then we should start implementing gun control! There is absolutely no valid reason for people to own guns besides safety assurance. After the horrific event that just took place, strict and demanding laws should be created like banning automatic weapons would be a great start. Such dangerous weapons should only be used for military purposes otherwise why would a single civilian need automatic weapons? Surely, not to ensure safety for him or herself.

There should be extreme background checks on individuals who wish to own a gun. Citizens should have no criminal record or committed any illegal act in the past, but according to a New York Times article, mass shooters tend to be people who have no criminal past and it makes it hard to identify which individuals should own a gun. Japan has one of the lowest gun homicide rates and it's all because of the way gun control has been executed. Most types of guns have been banned from the country such as handguns. As stated in the Atlantic article, it is extremely hard to own a gun because in order to own one, citizens must attend an all-day class and pass a written test. Then, citizens must pass a shooting range class. After that they have to get a mental and drug test from the hospital. Finally, a severe background check is made for any criminal pasts (Fisher).

Owning a gun is almost impossible in Japan, but there has only been twenty-two gun related deaths in history and that is pretty impressive to say the least. If America created a law like just like Japans, then there would definitely be less death rates involving guns. It already has been proven that gun control will work because of gun restrictions that have been made in Japan. If the people want to prevent gun related deaths, then America should take action by regulating gun control. Too many innocent lives have been taken away due to people owning guns.