Tanis Hales
Persuasive Speech
Gun Control
1. Introduction
a. Hi my name is Tanis and I’m here to talk about gun control in the United States.
Gun control has been a big topic in the United States for years now. Taking away
any right to bear arms is a huge breach in our second amendment constitutional
rights. If these constitutional rights keep being challenge, this country will no
longer be the land of the free. These rights are ours as Americans. It is in our
decision of whether we support them or not. That decision cannot and should
not be made for us. I am for gun ownership and carrying.
b. The first gun law to be passed in the United States was in Georgia in 1837 which
banned handguns in that state, later ruled unconstitutional and thrown out.
Then in 1927 the mailing of concealable weapons was banned. Throughout the
years the gun laws have been altered in many ways in an effort to keep the
United States citizens safer. So should U.S. citizens have the right to carry arms?
What affect have the current/past gun control laws had? Is the government
focusing on the wrong means for a solution? Is it possible that people just need
to be better educated with firearms and firearm safety? These are some of the
questions that I will answer in this speech.
2. Body
a. Should United States citizens have the right to carry arms? The answer is clearly
yes. This is our second amendment, “Right to bear arms” as stated in the U.S.
constitution. It is our right and privilege to carry arms if we so choose. As stated
Tanis Hales
Persuasive Speech
Gun Control
in the Second Amendment: “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”. Someone that would take legal measures to obtain a fire arm or
concealed carry permit does not have any intention of using firearms unlawfully.
In 2012 the police average response time was 9.1 minutes, a long time period to
wait for help. In most cases every second counts, 9.1 minutes is 546 seconds
with the means to protect yourself you will remain much safer.
b. What affect have the current and past gun control laws had? The data shown
from different studies shows that once the gun carry laws go into effect the
murder rates decline. Criminals don’t want to risk committing a crime to
someone if they believe that they have a weapon on them. It has been proven
time and time again that gun owners have prevented crimes and saved lives
because they had access to a gun. Pearl High School in Mississippi, Trolley
Square Mall in Utah, Clackamas Mall in Oregon; all examples of when a near-by
armed protector prevented more deaths and injuries. As Mitt Romney said “I
believe we need to focus on enforcing our current laws rather than creating new
laws that burden lawful gun owners I believe in responsible gun ownership and
that anyone who exercises the right to keep and bear arms must do so lawfully
and properly. I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all federal approach to gun
ownership because people keep and use firearms for different reasons. Lawabiding citizens have a right to protect their homes and their families”. To put
Tanis Hales
Persuasive Speech
Gun Control
these gun control laws into effect will have no impact on the target group.
Someone who has unlawful intentions isn’t even going to second guess doing
one more unlawful act to do what they intend to do.
c. Is the government focusing on the wrong means for a solution? The government
should stop focusing on the guns and start focusing on the people that commit
crimes that involve guns. A gun is just a tool it cannot control the users
intentions or incompetence. The government should look at all the different
mental disorders, past actions and other relevant data that is in common with all
of the criminals that use violence as a solution. They really need to research and
find out what would cause a person to commit a violent action such as a
shooting. Then they should help treat people with these conditions to help
prevent incidents from happening in the future. There are so many other
objects that can be used as weapons or cause accidental injury. Many of these
things like vehicles, poisons, falls, suffocation, and more cause more death and
injury than guns. They need to look in a different place for a solution if they
manage to eliminate guns something else will just take its place because the gun
is not the problem.
d. Is it possible that people just need to be better educated with firearms and
firearm safety? Both groups that are for and against guns both can agree that
everyone should be well educated and take precautions when using and storing
a firearm. Almost all gun accidents are caused because the gun owner is
Tanis Hales
Persuasive Speech
Gun Control
incompetent or neglects the safe keeping of a gun. All guns should be stored in a
safe storage area such as a gun safe. Then each gun should have some sort of
lock on the firing mechanism. As an extra precaution the ammunition should
also be locked up but in a separate storage area than the gun. Every gun owner
should be better informed about their firearm. They should know how it works,
how to use it, and all of the safety precautions that they should take to ensure
that they are not an endangerment to themselves or others around them. More
courses should be offered for free to inform people about firearm safety.
Including courses for children that will teach them that guns are not toys, and
that they should not play with them, and what to do if they encounter a gun or
situation with a gun. Maybe by taking more precautions and keeping people
better informed it will decrease the number of firearm related accidents.
3. Conclusion
a. Should U.S. citizens have the right to carry arms? What affect have the
current/past gun control laws had? Is the government focusing on the wrong
means for a solution? Is it possible that people just need to be better educated
with firearms and firearm safety? These are questions debated each day. There
is no doubt that United States citizens should have the right to bear arms and
make the decision in whether or not to do so. Almost all concealed carriers have
the intentions to do good and help protect people. Police response time can
sometimes not be fast enough, so it is good to have that extra support to keep
Tanis Hales
Persuasive Speech
Gun Control
you safe. Carrying laws make this a better safer nation. In events such as Pearl
High School in Mississippi, Trolley Square Mall in Utah, Clackamas Mall in Oregon
when there is an armed bystander or officer near, massacres can be stopped
quickly or even avoided. The laws that are currently in place should be focused
on instead of trying to add more laws. Then it’s not the gun that is committing
these crimes, so the government needs to stop focusing on the guns and focus
more on who is using the gun and help them in any way that they can. Finally,
free courses should be offered to the public about firearms, so they can be
better informed about the safety of using and storing guns. There is so much
evidence that proves that we should maintain the right to bear arms and allow
citizens to carry guns legally. As shakespear said “From this day to the ending of
the world, But we in it shall be remembered”. It is the choices that we make
today that will affect us tomorrow.