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Michael Wagner
English IV A
Mrs. Burcroff
11 Nov, 2014
Gun Control or Citizen Control
“It’s human nature to want to do something when confronted with a tragedy. It
makes us feel good. It makes us sleep better. It makes people vote for us” (Beck xii). Yet
when it comes to gun control, “…we end up focusing so much on the how of these
crimes… that we stop ourselves from asking the far more appropriate question: why”
(Beck xii, xiii). Regardless of their current views, people need to open up their eyes and
see we are slowly but surely losing our basic human rights. Someone needs to be that one
person to stand up for the constitutional rights of every American that we were given so
long ago. In order for people to truly understand what is happening right under their
noses, they must first learn how gun control even came to be, why it exists, why it is a
problem, why it does not work and how guns have actually been proven to save lives.
Some people have the impression that gun control is a modern issue, that it only happens
in the U.S or that it originated here in the United States, but that is entirely wrong.
As far back as the early 20th century, governments can be seen implementing gun
control forcibly on the masses. Back then there was more than just one person pushing
for control, the entire government was responsible. They made a difference so infamous,
it is required to be taught in class. These governments pushed for gun control, not for the
good of their people but for control of their people and the good of themselves.
“Governments with legal monopolies on lethal weapons have in the past century killed
people by the millions” (Gun Control). In other words, countries like the Soviet Union,
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China, and Germany, have forced gun control down their citizens’ throats. Using this
tactic, these countries were able to commit genocide on a massive scale. How were they
so able? No opposition. A more detailed example most people do not know about is the
Armenian genocide that happened during World War I. The Turkish government
disarmed the Armenians in 1915 and completely wiped almost half the Armenian
population through starvation, massacre, death marches, etc. Why did the Armenians not
fight back? The government took away all of their guns and had no way of fighting back.
The same method can be seen two millennia ago. Now obviously it would not be
called gun control since black powder was not invented until around 1200 A.D; however
it is referred to as arms control and still has the same principle. So let us go even further
back, all the way back to the time of the Romans, when there were no guns at all. The
Carthaginians surrendered their arms to the Romans in exchange for promises of peace
and security. Soon after, the Romans moved into the city and burned it to the ground.
“The people forged new weapons and fought to win back their land and their freedom,
but could not overcome the advantage they had ceded by their previous surrender” (Gun
Control). Some people would ask: Why does this exist? Why do governments impose
such restraint on their people?
Gun control (or arms control depending on the time period) has existed for two
reasons: hysteria and control over the populace. Modern gun control has been solely
controlled by how much hysteria the media creates. Think about it. School shootings,
massacres, and mass killings have been getting far more attention ever since the media
has become more involved in our daily lives. The media is twisting the information
against guns, gun enthusiasts and law-abiding citizens. Some might ask: Well how does
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“hysteria” effect the amount of gun control that politicians enforce? The media has a very
inappropriate tendency to ask the “how” instead of the “why” when it comes to gun
violence. They shed more lime-light on the guns themselves rather than the person who
committed the crime.
People might say “Well the media doesn’t always pay attention to the weapon
more than the criminal.” No, no they don’t, however the only time they do is when a gun
is involved. In 2012 “… in New York City a nanny stabbed to death the two young
children she was caring for. ...In the aftermath of the tragedy, the media focused on the
nanny’s background, trying desperately to figure out her motive. Everyone wanted to
know if there was something that should have tipped people off or some way to prevent
this from ever happening” (Beck xiii). Nobody talked about the knife, they instinctively
knew that this woman could have used a gun, a knife, or her bare hands. The weapon did
not matter because it was just a tool. Unfortunately, when it comes to guns this kind of
lenient analysis is usually turned upside down. After someone is shot, everyone
immediately starts going over the type of gun used, the capacity of its magazine, and how
it was acquired. The “why” comes later and even when it does we usually hear what we
want to hear. As a result, gun violence becomes a more and more pressing topic, and
since people ask “how” they ultimately think guns are the problem and not the people.
Because of this, people push the government for stricter gun laws.
On top of all that, governments like the Nazis, the Soviet Union, and Communist
China, used this tactic to gain control over their citizens by disarming them. If citizens
are disarmed, they lose all hope in defending themselves. Or in the case of the citizens of
all of these genocidal governments, they lose the ability to retaliate and topple their
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terrible regimes. These examples, upon many more, are just irrefutable proof why gun
control is not something that should be enforced, especially in a place like the U.S.
The United States was built on the Constitution. The Founding Fathers knew what
they were doing when they wrote it. There’s a reason why only one amendment was
ratified. The government finally figured out that a law and words was not going to stop
people from drinking alcohol. It is the same with guns, even when guns are completely
legal, people will still illegally obtain and use guns. But do not let that statement fool you
into thinking that gun control will solve it. Criminals do not care about words written on
a sign or a law, they are called criminals for a reason. If guns were outlawed right now,
people would still find a way to obtain guns, just like people did during the prohibition. If
we just sit here and not fight the politicians on this, sooner or later the prohibition on
alcohol won’t be the only prohibition anymore.
Not only will we lose one of our most basic rights as human being, but we will
lose countless lives as a result. Example; October, 1991 at Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen,
Texas. At the time Texas (contrary to what people believe Texas’ laws to be like
concerning guns) was among quite a few states who didn’t allow concealed carry. “50
shot. 23 dead. Hundreds robbed of mother, father, sibling, and friend. All despite the
nation’s strictest gun laws” (How Gun). The Luby shooting in Texas is just one of many
reasons why gun control is a very big problem. It’s preventing people from protecting
themselves when they truly need it. A survivor of this tragic shooting, Dr. Suzanna Hupp,
believes that if the CPL restriction in Texas didn’t exist she might’ve been able to save
her parents and countless others. Hupp said in a testimony to congress, “I reached for my
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purse… But then I realized that a couple of months earlier, I had made the stupidest
decision of my life. I took my gun out of my purse and left it in my car…” (How Gun).
Dr. Hupp had to leave her firearm in her car, it was against the law to carry in certain
public places. People like her and many others have experienced this, Columbine, Sandy
Hook, Aurora. All of these massacres could have been stopped, or at the very least been
cut short, if gun restrictions weren’t so tight. Even with all the facts on the table, the
history behind it, listing reasons why Gun Control is a problem, there are people who still
wouldn’t be persuaded.
Despite what gun control advocates want us all to think, guns can be a good tool
when used correctly or for the right reason. There are countless instances where lawabiding gun owners have saved lives, but the media and every gun control advocate out
there shoves them aside like it didn’t happen. Looking at other credible statistics it would
easily be seen that guns can be used in many instances to save lives. These weapons used
by the men and women who committed these acts of bravery are all law-abiding gun
owners. Eighteen months before the Columbine shooting, a 16-year old boy slit his
mother’s throat, grabbed her rifle and drove to Pearl High School, which he attended. He
went into the school and shot nine people and killing two. His plan was to drive to the
junior high and do the same but was confronted by a Colt 45. to his windshield. It was his
Vice Principle who had ran to his truck when he heard the shooting. He held the boy at
gun point until the police arrived and no one else was harmed. Ten years later, December
9th, 2007, a twenty-four-year old man showed up at a youth mission program and
murdered two teenagers. After that he drove to Colorado Springs, site of the New Life
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megachurch. Armed with a rifle, two handguns, and a thousand rounds of ammunition he
was ready to shoot up the densely packed church. A volunteer security guard, Jeanne
Assam, was ready for him. She confronted the man and when he would not comply, she
fired multiple shots and brought him down, he then shot himself in the head. The pastor
at the church later said `“she probably saved over a hundred lives,”`(Beck 38). These are
just two of the many cases where law-abiding gun owners saved countless lives using the
tool they legally obtained.
“It’s human nature to want to do something when confronted with a tragedy. It
makes us feel good. It makes us sleep better. It makes people vote for us” (Beck xii). Gun
control has good intensions but the wrong idea and the quicker people start realizing that,
the quicker they can start standing up for the constitutional rights of every single
American. Little by little the gun control advocates of our country are painstakingly
trying to take away our gun rights. People and gun control advocates alike need to realize
that all gun control will ever do is take lives away. Less guns does not mean less crime,
quite the contrary if you look at the facts stated by the very government organization that
exists to protect us, the FBI. Gun control has been around since the early 1900’s and arms
control, even earlier than that. History shows time and time again, gun control has been
instilled either because the government doesn’t want opposition or because the media
broadcasts so much fiction that people actually start believing it. The only cases where
gun control has actually worked is when the government implemented it for control and
genocide. Is that what’s happening to our country, maybe, maybe not, but that doesn’t
mean gun control should be implemented. It encourages criminals, it disarms the law-
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abiding, it slanders the very name of the Constitution our Founding Fathers fought so
hard for, but worst of all, it kills.