Argument 2-Rough Draft

In the last seven years, there have been 25 mass shootings in which more than four people were shot and injured or killed. Mass shootings have tugged on the heartstrings of the citizens but until the mass shooting last year in Newtown, Connecticut, in which a shooter killed 20 elementary students, there was no call to action. However since that shooting in Newtown, Obama has called for action to be taken to help prevent further mass shootings such as banning assault rifles, high-capacity magazine clips, and more legislation requiring extensive background checks on the sale of firearms. In all of these shootings, excluding one, the shooting occurred in a public place by a lone shooter who obtained the gun legally. Requiring law abiding citizens to jump through more loops by requiring extensive background checks will not cause a reduction in mass shootings and will not address the main issue of gun sales on the black market.

            As debates on this issue, both parties are throwing out statistics to help strengthen their argument. Obama has repeatedly told the U.S. public that “Nearly 40% of all gun sales don’t require a background check under current law.” This quote, however, has many issues with it. This quote was taken from a report in 1997 and is based off data from 1994. In that same year, the Brady Act was signed into law requiring that background checks be conducted on individuals before purchasing a firearm. However, a more recent report shows reveals that in the recent years only between 15-20% of gun purchasers did not undergo a background check. Just like in the Newtown shooting, the firearms were purchased legally and a background check was conducted. Making it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to purchase firearms through more extensive background checks will not reduce mass shootings but just infringe on the 2^nd Amendment right of the citizens.

            Next, the installation of more legislation requiring more extensive background checks will not address the main issue of gun sales on the black market. It is illegal for a convicted felon, drug addict, or mentally unstable person to purchase or possess a firearm. However, it is still very easy for them to obtain firearms illegally from either the black market or through straw purchasers. A straw purchaser is a person with no criminal record who purchases a weapon on behalf of a convicted felon. Under current legislation, a straw purchaser can have a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, however, most straw purchasers are handled as a fraud case and spend less than one year in prison. Instead of legislation that would introduce more strict gun control laws, there needs to be an introduction of legislation with harder sentencing for straw purchasers and illegal gun distributors.