In this New York Times article Erik Eckholm uses mass shootings such as the Columbine, Virginia tech and Sandy Hook shootings to demonstrate the need for stricter gun laws. The writing of this article was sparked by the most recent shooting in Roseburg, Oregon. By using these tragedies along with very supportive statistics he is able to persuade the reader to believe that the current laws and restrictions simply are not enough. 90 people a day are killed by guns, two thirds of that statistic are suicides. This goes to show that Eckholm understands that sometimes “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
Mass shootings always get the media attention, and the same goes for the shooting in Oregon. Christopher Harper-Mercer, the shooter, took the lives of 9 people in his college writing class. Even though Christopher had a severe case of Asperger’s syndrome, he had access to a total of 14 guns the were bought legally by him and his mother. It is well understood that these types of killings are very, very difficult to prevent, however Eckholm mentions that there is a new initiative in California specifically for cases like this. The law will allow for family members or police to request a temporary gun violence restraining order against someone experiencing an ominous emotional downward spiral. Eckholm made sure he made not of a perfect example to support the law. In Isla Vista, California the family of a gunman feared that Elliot Rodger, the gunman, was becoming unstable and notified police. When officers visited Rodgers they sensed no mental illness’s that required action, however they never checked his gun purchase records or his home. According to Dr. Wintemute of the University of California if they searched they would have found three guns along with 40 loaded magazines. Some people argue that background checks have no affect on the gun market and violence, but Eckholm cites from another source two examples that prove otherwise. In 2007, Missouri halted background checks and experienced a 25% increase in gun homicides over a span of three years. Meanwhile in 1995 Connecticut began background checks and witnessed a 40% decrease in gun homicides over a span of 10 years. These statistics male it very hard to go against the idea that more precise gun laws wouldn’t have an affect on violence. As a civilian, it is very unsettling to know that its not a hard task what so ever …show more content…
Who knows why he decided to take those guns and make use of them. The one thing that is clear though is that Christopher was highly motivated and there is no way he just woke up that morning and decided to take nine lives. The act was a build up of multiple emotions and different variables.
Events such as school shooting certainly have a negative impact on the society. They leave people with a sense of helplessness and drag down some peoples hope for our beautiful country. This is why the debate on gun laws is recurring and highly influenced on, so many people have multiple different views and has proven nearly impossible to make a compromise so far. Some believe more gun control laws are the answer, others pull more towards the mental state of shooters, and blame the mental health system for not having more control over their
Mass shootings always get the media attention, and the same goes for the shooting in Oregon. Christopher Harper-Mercer, the shooter, took the lives of 9 people in his college writing class. Even though Christopher had a severe case of Asperger’s syndrome, he had access to a total of 14 guns the were bought legally by him and his mother. It is well understood that these types of killings are very, very difficult to prevent, however Eckholm mentions that there is a new initiative in California specifically for cases like this. The law will allow for family members or police to request a temporary gun violence restraining order against someone experiencing an ominous emotional downward spiral. Eckholm made sure he made not of a perfect example to support the law. In Isla Vista, California the family of a gunman feared that Elliot Rodger, the gunman, was becoming unstable and notified police. When officers visited Rodgers they sensed no mental illness’s that required action, however they never checked his gun purchase records or his home. According to Dr. Wintemute of the University of California if they searched they would have found three guns along with 40 loaded magazines. Some people argue that background checks have no affect on the gun market and violence, but Eckholm cites from another source two examples that prove otherwise. In 2007, Missouri halted background checks and experienced a 25% increase in gun homicides over a span of three years. Meanwhile in 1995 Connecticut began background checks and witnessed a 40% decrease in gun homicides over a span of 10 years. These statistics male it very hard to go against the idea that more precise gun laws wouldn’t have an affect on violence. As a civilian, it is very unsettling to know that its not a hard task what so ever …show more content…
Who knows why he decided to take those guns and make use of them. The one thing that is clear though is that Christopher was highly motivated and there is no way he just woke up that morning and decided to take nine lives. The act was a build up of multiple emotions and different variables.
Events such as school shooting certainly have a negative impact on the society. They leave people with a sense of helplessness and drag down some peoples hope for our beautiful country. This is why the debate on gun laws is recurring and highly influenced on, so many people have multiple different views and has proven nearly impossible to make a compromise so far. Some believe more gun control laws are the answer, others pull more towards the mental state of shooters, and blame the mental health system for not having more control over their