The Florida School Shooting and the Gun Control Debate in America

Introduction

• According to CBSNews on the 14^th of February 2018, the Florida School shooting was one of America’s largest mass shooting, that added up to the list of America’s history of mass shootings (1).
• On this particular day Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a high school in Broward County in Florida tragically lost the lives of seventeen of its members (CBSNews 1).
• CBSNews pointed out that, amongst these lost lives were three of the school’s members of staff and fourteen of the school’s students (1).
• Not forgetting the seventeen other accounted for survivors who went through this tragic ordeal and escaped with several severe wounds.
• CBSNews calls the Florida School shooting to be amongst the deadliest of America’s mass massacres (1).

People Also Read

• Preventing School Shootings: Examining the Gun Control Debate in America
• Write a Literature Review That Stands Out: Why Entrusting the Task to Professionals is Worth It
• Top 100 High School Senior Thesis Topics

Mass shooting problem in America

• The horrific ordeal of February 14^th, 2018 triggered a bigger fire in the ongoing debate amongst two major movements and campaigns, the campaign for gun control in America and the campaign against gun control in America (PBS NewsHour 1).
• This has been an ongoing battle over many years in the world, but mostly in the United States with aim of resolving the growing mass shooting issue in America (PBS NewsHour 1).
• Wallenberg points out that mass shooting has been a growing menace in America over decades (5).
• The growing number of reports of mass shootings in America presents a grave issue in America that needs to be resolved and eliminated in the long run, and as soon as possible (Wallenberg 5).
• Giroux points out that the debate on gun control has been way overdue, and to come to a concrete long-lasting solution both sides of the debate need to be highly and equally considered (6).

Anti-gun point of view

• The anti-gun campaign presents quite a strong argument to convince the United States Government towards stricter, and tougher policies to enable effective gun control in America (Giroux 11).
• They argue that violent crimes are those committed with the use of guns and that most crimes committed by guns are those with legally purchased guns.
• According to Gabor, the anti-gun campaign also points out that with gun control policy those with psychological and mental imbalance will be vetted out and will be unable to attain firearms (26).
• Furthermore, with gun control, the number of suicides, as well as crimes of passion committed, are most likely to reduce.
• Nevertheless, the anti-gun campaign argues that ownership of guns in households increases the risk of landing into children’s hands (Wallenberg 18).
• Lastly, they stand firm in the belief that with gun control terrorist activities as well as mass shooting massacres such as the Florida school shooting are likely less to happen.

Pro-gun point of view

• On the other hand, the pro-gun campaigns present facts and statistics that present a firm stronghold against the anti-gun campaign fight.
• The pro-gun campaign argues that gun ownership is important for the protection of America’s citizen’s to prevent them from criminals who utilize firearms as well (Giroux 22).
• Giroux states that the pro-gun campaign points out that the second amendment to the United States Constitution protects the rights of citizens to own guns (22).
• Also, they argue that the police are highly overwhelmed by the growing rate of crime and therefore need the support of the citizens to ensure security (Gabor 21).
• According to Wallenberg, the pro-gun campaign points out that unnecessary gun control will fuel the black market (36).
• They also argue that restricting gun ownership will enable tyranny in the Government, as well as limit the American citizen’s liberty.
• Hunting will face rather harsh policies with the banning of gun ownership.
• Lastly, the pro-gun debate argues that the entire gun control debate can be cure with the education of appropriate self-gun control.

Conclusion

• With this raging debate, it is clear that for America to come up with a solution to avoid mass shootings such as the Florida school shooting it is important to carefully consider both sides of the debate, both for and against gun control in America.

Works cited

PBS NewsHour. “School Shootings like the One in Florida Are No Longer Rare. Are Schools More Prepared?” YouTube, YouTube, 14 Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ohynbsEMU.

CBCNews. “Florida School Shooting: What Happened on Feb. 14.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tm1V2TokhU.

Copeland, Edward. “Money.” The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen, edited by Copeland and Juliet McMaster, Cambridge UP, 1997, pp. 131-48.

“America at War with Itself.” America at War with Itself, by Henry A. Giroux, City Lights Publishers, 2017, pp. 15–30.

“Confronting Gun Violence in America.” Confronting Gun Violence in America, by Thomas Gabor, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, pp. 10–60.

“The Pros and Cons of the Gun Control Debate: How Do Obama’s Laws Impact Gun Ownership.” The Pros and Cons of the Gun Control Debate: How Do Obama’s Laws Impact Gun Ownership, by Danica Wallenberg, Geezer Guides, 2013, pp. 1–50.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.