No, why should gun control laws be stricter? Guns don’t kill people; people kill people. By making it more difficult for the people of the U.S. to possess firearms, our second amendment is being compromised. This is a slippery slope. If restrictions are implemented, eventually the second amendment will disappear. There is a reason why the second amendment was made part of our Constitution. To compromise one amendment is to compromise our constitution.
– Derek K. Foley
Yes, there should be stricter gun control in the United States. There has been a lot of crazy things happening where crazy people use guns to kill hundreds of people. Recently, there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas where hundreds of people died and there was also a mass shooting at a church. I think people who want guns should go through intense vetting and classes to own guns. People should be checked to see if they are crazy or not. If anything, there should be a limit to how many guns an individual can own. I’d say two guns and that should be it. It’s not the guns who kill people, it’s the person behind the trigger. I don’t know why someone would need multiple guns, but I think it’s safe for someone to own only two guns rather than 15 for example.
– Tianna Ancheta
Heck yes! The massacre in Las Vegas was the deadliest shooting in American history. Just recently there was the shooting in a Texas church. Police brutality happens all the time. We absolutely need stricter gun control laws. Today, it seems like anyone can buy a gun. That’s the problem. To make gun control laws stricter, everyone who wants a gun needs to be background checked. Then, they should take classes on gun control to learn about gun usage. After that, they should be tested to see if they have a mental disorder or not. A lot of shooters of deadly massacres have mental disorders according to the media. Every policeman and woman should also go through these processes. America needs stricter gun control laws; it’s getting out of hand.
– Preston Kaluhiwa
My short answer would have to be no. I think you have to ask yourself, can you actually stop people from getting guns? The answer is no. How any of us have used or done anything illegal at some in our point lives? If you make guns harder to get, you’ll just be giving gun traffickers more business. The next thing we have to ask ourselves is would the U.S. be safer if more people had guns and gun training? Of course we would be safer.
– Matthew “Nainoa” Napoleon
Yes! This is due to the amount of deaths by guns and due to the craziness in this world. In class, we talk about what we can do now in terms of 20 years into the future. I believe that by making gun laws stricter now, weʻll save many lives down the road. I’ve seen a video where a 13-year- old boy tried to buy cigarettes and alcohol but wasn’t able to due to his age. Then he went to buy a gun, which he was able to purchase. I find this to be a huge problem in our society. But we can try and prevent these things by acting now!
– Naionoa Gaspar-Takahashi
I think there should be light shed on the news stories where a law abiding citizen, carrying a gun, prevented a situation from being bad due to them having their gun on them. I feel that certain negative stories are highlighted in the news more to push an agenda. We’re not seeing the other side of the coin. I would like to see all the details before forming an opinion.
– Nikki Kidd
Absolutely. The second amendment will always be misinterpreted unless there are heavier regulations and also a deeper education of the American Constitution. I recently read an article on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. It talked about how the school is now providing bulletproof backpacks for their kids. Granted that safety is a huge priority after the tragic shooting, it shows a disappointing tolerance that we’ve developed for shootings. Don’t get me wrong, defensive measures are good but it will take more than bulletproof backpacks to truly solve gun violence.
– Noah Au
Yes, there should be stricter gun control laws in the United States. A prime example would be the Vegas shooting. No individual should be able to legally obtain those sorts of automatic weapons. The argument that stricter gun control laws would take away citizensʻ rights to defend themselves or hunt for sports are invalid reasons. Citizens could be allowed to purchase up to three guns, without automatic capabilities or modifications, with permits. We can make citizens take gun safety tests like the way we have people get their driving license. Let’s make it a whole lot harder for tragedies to occur.
– Cris Goldstein
No, because people need to protect themselves, family, friends, neighbors, livestock, land and their belongings. Stricter gun laws will only restrict good men and women from keeping or getting guns. Criminals will continue to get guns, regardless of how strict gun laws are. I think stricter research should be done on people looking to purchase guns. There should also be longer waiting periods, 30 days for example, for thorough background checks. Americans needs to protect and arm themselves.
– Rosemary Kaleleiki-Rollins
I would say yes. Iʻm not too sure what the laws are on gun control. But Iʻm pretty sure that whatever they are, they should be tweaked to better protect our community. It seems as if there are too many guns in our community. Stricter laws, less guns and safer communities.
– Cindy Nutt
I do not think that stricter gun control laws in the United States will prevent mass shootings from happening. These killings would have happened regardless of stricter gun control laws. These men are getting guns illegally and are somehow not being regulated. I do not think that stricter gun control laws are needed in the United States. We should protect ourselves with guns so we can shoot back.
– Kiara Dilda
There should be stricter gun control laws in the U.S. because it shouldnʻt be so easy to get a gun. While gun control has improved, it is obvious that it isnʻt as good as it needs to be. However, no matter how in-depth we get with background checks, thereʻs still issues with guns being sold on the black market. Until we can control or eliminate guns on the black market, we wonʻt truly have gun control. Iʻm not sure how we would go about doing this.
– Kyle Motonaga
Yes, America should have stricter gun laws. In light of all the recent mass shootings, I believe it is common sense that there should be strict gun laws. The media has distorted the dicussion between those seeking to toughen gun laws and those seeking to prevent their guns from being taken away from them. Most proposed laws have been only for stricter background checks for individuals purchasing guns. If a person has a history of mental health issues, domestic abuse or a violent criminal record, then they should not be able to acquire a gun.
Although, there is a possibility of these people buying guns off the streets. Perhaps weeding out these people who have violent backgrounds would help prevent future shootings. Regulating gun sales and stricter laws could greatly reduce shootings and violence in our nation. Owning a gun is a privilege and with privilege comes regulations. However, taking away guns will never be the answer.
– Kevin Costello
As we improve technology, we should also increase the amount of laws that govern them. The second amendment was put into effect when guns could only shoot one bullet at a time and took minutes to reload in order to fire another shot. Now, mass murders can kill a lot of people within minutes. We need laws that make it harder to obtain weapons. For example, in Australia, they tightened their reins on gun control after an appalling mass murder in 1996. They have not had a mass murder since then. They simply got tired of losing lives. When will we as Americans get tired of losing lives?
– Dayne Freitas
If the purpose of having stricter gun laws is to stop mass shootings, then I believe that it doesn’t really matter. If anything, we are going to make it harder for someone to protect themselves. Guns, knives and cars are all tools that can be used by someone to hurt someone else. What we are dealing with is an imperfect society that contains evil people who want to hurt others. As long as these evil people exist, we will deal with shootings, stabbings, bombings, etc. Until we solve it, we need to be able to protect ourselves.
– John Danao
Gun control needs to be stricter. Too many people are dying from weak gun control laws. The government needs to stop finding loopholes and trying to avoid making more laws. They need to ban certain powerful guns from the reaches of the people and only allow the use of hand guns. If rules arenʻt created soon, North Korea wonʻt be our biggest concern. This country will be torn from inside out.
– Rainbow Uli‘i
