There have been more than enough mass shootings across America to make people start to question this. So this brings the heated question, should America have stronger gun control laws? With stronger gun control including ban of assault rifles, school shootings and violence overall will decrease. This will help keep our children safe along with reducing everyday fear that Americans should not have. 

When we increase the amount of control we as Americans have on guns we will help keep our schools safe. Without a ban on specific guns more school shootings are likely to happen. As said in an article about assault rifles, “In 2012... a gunman using an assault rifle shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children aged six and seven, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut,”(Assault Rifles). This is horrifying evidence that unfortunately proves that without gun control this will continue to happen in our schools. Evidence was also found that when gun control laws were lifted after the ban there became a higher rate of mass school shootings(“State firearm laws…”). Moreover, if we can increase gun control our schools will become a safer place for our kids. 

With more restrictions America will become a less violent filled place. After the ban on assault weapons expired in 2004 many mass shooters have used military styled weapons that would have been illegal under the ban (“Assault Weapons”). This proves that the past ban had a positive effect and a negative consequences when it was lifted. To further demonstrate this an article on assault rifles talks more in detail about the ban. This article states, “In December 2015, a married couple killed 14 people at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California, with rifles altered to be more powerful in a way that violated a state ban on assault weapons,”(“Assault Weapons”). If the federal ban on assault weapons was still in place these alterations would have been harder to obtain. Furthermore, with restrictions in place America can decrease the amount of violence and incidents within years. 

Lastly, if we as Americans can come together to put a ban on assault weapons we can thrive as a country. Assault rifles are the root for mass acts of violence. According to “Is it time to bring back the assault weapons ban” the graph shows that after the ban was lifted mass shootings have tripled in occurrence. This once again shows the importance of the negative impact that lifting the ban has caused.  Another example, “In 2017, a gunman armed with a variety of firearms, including assault weapons, shot down into a crowd from the 32nd floor of a hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, killing 60 people and injuring over 800 in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.” If the ban would have continued these weapons would not have been accessible and people would not have died. We need a ban to come into place to help prevent these too common tragedies. 

As many people may argue, it is our 2nd amendment right as US citizens to have the right to bear arms. This counter claim is right, everyone has the right to bear arms. However the type of arms they bear is what matters. As Americans we have the want to protect what's ours, and we need to protect our children and our lives. If we put restrictions on the types of protection we are able to get in contact with we can protect ourselves in our home as well as outside of our homes. As said before when we had a ban on assault weapons the mass shooting rate was significantly lowered(“Is it time…”).

If we as a country can come together we can protect our schools and decrease the violence if we put restrictions on types of available guns. Furthermore, America needs to put a restriction on guns in act. Should we have stricter gun laws? This question reigns today as mass acts of violence continue to happen throughout America and there needs to be a stop put to it. 

Works Cited

Additional information FundingThis work was supported by NICHD under grant no. R24HD087149. Funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HHS - NIH). Awarded to Regents Of The University Of Michigan. Awarded on Sep 5. “State Firearm Laws, Gun Ownership, and K-12 School Shootings: Implications for School Safety.” Taylor & Francis, tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15388220.2021.2018332. 

“Assault Weapons.” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 7 June 2021, icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTY1MzU=. Accessed 24 Feb. 2023.

“Is It Time To Bring Back the Assault Weapons Ban?” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 1 Jan. 2022, icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MjcwNTI5. Accessed 24 Feb. 2023.