Intro:
Thesis - Gun control has been an issue the United States has faced for years, but the recent gun culture and school shootings has erupted the topic back into the media and politics and continued to grow.
• Mass school shootings have happened in the united states for hundreds of years, but not until recently have them become so terribly common
• Since 1999 the US has averaged around 3 fatal school shootings every year
• With as many as 9 in 2012, the number continues to rise
• The US has an unique gun culture
• Has more guns and more gun related violence than almost all other first world countries
• Guns have become almost normal in society caused by all the exposure we have to them from a young age
• Guns have been glorified in America since the days of the cowboys, but are much less needed and practical in today's society
• Such factors as America's gun culture, recent mass school shootings and how they are being reported and mental health have all led to an increase in gun violence and school shootings, and will continue to unless a solution is reached
1st Body: Gun culture
Topic - Over the years glorification and the commonality of guns in US society has lead to an increase in gun violence.
• At one point in the US guns were needed because we were constantly at war and we had to protect ourselves
• Since then the necessarity of civilians having firearms has decreased immensely
• US "fascinated with firearms"
• Becoming more toys than tools
• At this point almost half of households in the US own at least one gun
• The US has much more lax gun control laws than most other similar countries, and we own more by number and capita than any other country
• Kids grow up playing with guns since they are little, desensitizes them to violence and the real consequences and seriousness of guns
• Having guns so easily accessable and attainable has contributed to the number of gun crimes especially mass school shootings
2nd Body: Mass School shootings
Topic - The abundance of recent school shootings and how they have been reported on has lead to more troubled kids choosing to do the same thing.
• The number of fatal school shootings has sky rocketed in the past 15 years
• When young people see things like this on the news frequently, they can be easily influenced
• Kids can be influenced by media and the things they see on TV sometimes without themselves or their loved ones realizing
• Many school shooters weren't very popular and weren't payed attention to in school
• Committing one of these horrible acts puts them in the spot light and puts their name in the national attention
• So if this is part of what these kids are seeking, because the media has chosen to deal with these situations in this way of national
attention and publicity, it makes it more likely this pattern of school shooters will repeat itself
• This also deals with the debate between gun control and mental health reform
3rd Body: Mental Health
Topic - The debate of the cause of school and mass shootings due to either gun control laws or mental health services has been ongoing and has caused a rise in gun crime and shootings because it is hard to solve a problem without really knowing the true cause behind it.
• If kids couldn't get the guns in the first place, wouldn't be mass shootings (gun control)
• If there were better programs to identify mental illness early and treat it, wouldn't be mass shootings (mental health)
• Debate because almost all mass shooters are also dead after it happens, so it is hard to determine for sure if mental illness was
present
• Any shooter who survives is most likely going to plea insanity, regardless if he actually is or not
• Because of lack of resources people want one solution that faces both problems
• "Unfortunately, both sides continue to waste time, energy, funding, and political capital on old ideas that barely qualify as solutions."
• This debate has a large place in politics, faces the two most realistic causes for these tragedies
Conclusion:
Thesis - While it is unclear exactly what has lead to this increase in gun violence in the United States, it is clear that America's gun culture, recent mass school shootings and how they are reported in the media and mental health have all played large roles.
• Gun control is an issue that directly or indirectly effects all Americans
• While the US has a very violent history, gun violence and mass school shootings have not gone on the rise until recently (last 20-50 years)
• Even in countries like Canada, whom has more guns per capita than us, we still have an extremely higher gun violence rate
• This is one of the biggest debates in politics right now and action needs to be taken soon to protect our schools and youth
• Given the intricacy of the situation, multiple solutions or one that addresses multiple issues will most likely be necessary