Mason Cole, Brandon Saldivar, and Evan Escalante

Hills
TPSP P1
10 September 2015
Research Question: Should gun control laws in America be revised?
Perspective 1 (Right): Gun control laws in America should be removed completely. Carrying a
gun is a basic right in America and more guns would reduce crime and shooting rampages. The
right to carry a gun is guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It is a
basic freedom to prevent the government from getting too much power. It has become a part of
American culture. Taxes on guns and other government deterrences to purchasing guns has not
decreased gun purchases, indicating how ingrained gun ownership is in American culture. In
addition, more guns and the removal of gun-free zones would reduce deaths from guns. Many
mass shooting occur in gun-free zones such as on military bases. If there were no gun-free zones,
then these mass shootings would be more easily stopped, reducing the number of deaths. Also,
reducing the number of guns would not reduce the number of suicides or murders. People
wanting to use a gun would just use some other means to commit suicide or murder. Recently,
gun ownership has increased and murders have simultaneously decreased, proving the need to
reduce gun control.
Perspective 2 (central): Gun control in America should be moderately increased. The Second
Amendment to the constitution of the United States of America guarantees the right to bear arms,
but not to the point that it endangers others. The right to bear arms has limits. For example, a
civilian has no need to carry an automatic or semi-automatic riffle. These types of guns should be
strictly limited. The police cannot do their job when the criminals outgun them. Stricter
limitations would also prevent mentally ill individuals from obtaining guns and committing mass
shootings. Congress merely votes to allow guns in order to garner votes for reelection; however,
Congress knows the need for gun control as reflected by the fact that the Capitol is a gun-free
zone for safety reasons. If it were more difficult to obtain a gun, fewer people would own guns,
thereby reducing the number of suicides and homicides. People not owning or not carrying a gun
are more likely to use words to solve problems. Since 40% of households own guns, a moderate
increase in gun control would be doable over time.
Perspective 3 (left): Gun control in America needs a complete overhaul, making it against the
law for citizens to carry guns and limiting the police in their use of guns. The Second
Amendment was never intended to allow citizens to own guns; rather, it was intended to allow
Americans to bear arms against the British. The Second Amendment does not grant Americans
the right to bear arms against each other. Strict gun laws are constitutional and are necessary. The
police in England are a good example of strict gun laws. Neither British citizens, nor the police
carry guns. They have almost no murders and have learned to use words to deal with issues.
Strict gun laws would reduce homicides, suicides, and mass shootings. The fact that 40% of
American households have guns is extremely scary and proof of the need to institute strict gun
laws. Gun-free zones should be extended. The Legislature has gun-free zones for themselves.
This privilege of safety should be extended to all American citizens.

Works Cited
Knight, George S. American Bar Association Journal 61.5 (1975): 556. Web.
10 Sept. 2015.
Kwon, Ik-Whan G., and Daniel W. Baack. "The Effectiveness of Legislation
Controlling Gun
Usage: A Holistic Measure of Gun Control Legislation." American
Journal of Economics and Sociology 64.2 (2005): 533-47. Web. 10 Sept.
2015.
Lafollette, By Hugh. "Gun Control." Ethics 110.2 (2000): 263-81. Web. 10
Sept. 2015.
Stossel, John. "Gun Lies." Townhall.com. Townhall Radio News, 5 Aug. 2015. Web. 08 Sept.
2015.
<http://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2015/08/05/gun-lies-n2034647/page/full>.
Witte, Griff. "Do Britain's Gunless Bobbies Provide Answers for America's Police?" The
Washington Post. The Washington Post, 11 June 2015. Web. 9 Sept. 2015.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-lightly-armed-britain-possibleanswers-to-americas-wave-of-police-killings/2015/06/10/4940f696-0def-11e5-a0fedccfea4653ee_story.html>.
Zeitz, Josh. "If Guns Make Us Safer, Why Not Let Them Into the U.S. Capitol? - POLITICO
Magazine." POLITICO Magazine. Politico.com, 18 July 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/gun-control-us-capitol-120310>.