States with higher rates of crime and gun ownership tend to have looser gun control, while states with lower rates of crime and gun ownership …show more content…
The reason why individuals have been able to inflict damage upon others by using a firearm is simply because there are not enough strict gun control to prevent these incidents happening. The lack of gun control has provided the opportunity for individuals to conduct violent, heinous crimes, especially mass shootings. A mass shooter is identified, according to the FBI, as a person kills four or more people in a single incident. One such example would be Elliot Rodger, the 22 year-old who killed five people and injured thirteen on May 24 of this year, in Isla Vista, California. Now although mass murders do not often happen, the problem is that they do occur every year, even though they can be prevented, just like the rates of crime and suicide in the United States. This is because stronger gun laws would restrict certain guns, namely assault rifles, and would require a stronger background check in order to make sure that no one with a history of mental health issues would be able to obtain a gun. These stronger laws would need to be implemented not only in states with weak gun control, such as Tennessee, but all across the United …show more content…
Over the course of three decades, from 1982 to 2012, there have been roughly sixty-two mass shootings in the United States. The problem is, most of these shootings could have been avoided if correct gun laws had been around. For instance, on June 20, 2012, James Eagan Holmes unleashed a barrage of firepower upon the audience in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Carrying an entire arsenal of firearms, including an AR-15 assault rifle and a semi-automatic rifle, which had a magazine of 100 rounds, he killed twelve people and injured seventy others. As one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States, there were several debates revolving around concerns of the loose gun control. And although there were many arguments between the two perspectives on gun control, one thing was clear: if there had been a gun law that prohibited the purchase of assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, many of those murdered by Holmes would still be alive today. This principle applies to all other mass shootings that have occurred over the last three