Un-reliable background checks | Teen Ink

Un-reliable background checks

June 11, 2012
By jaimes123 BRONZE, Everson, Washington
jaimes123 BRONZE, Everson, Washington
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

”more than 29,000 people are killed by guns in the United States each year” (Edelman) the main cause for all this deaths is easy access to guns. When guns were first invented they were meant to be used for protection not as toys. Un-reliable background checks on handguns are the reason there is so many gun violence in America.

It’s a well-known fact that gun violence has been one of the major problems we have in the United States. What’s the main cause of so much gun violence you may ask? The answer is simple Un-reliable background checks. In most gun stores in the U.S. the two major things you need in order to purchase a gun are one be old enough and two pass a background check. A few months ago my dad really wanted to buy a gun, so went to a gun store down in Tacoma. We went in and 30 minutes later we walked out with a gun in my dad’s hand. My dad went through a background check, but 30 minutes isn’t enough time to see if someone is able to own a gun or not.

“A majority of Americans favor stronger gun laws” (Boston). Many Americans believe that the U.S. needs to improve their backgrounds checks and should fallow in Canada’s footsteps in requiring a 28 day waiting period before being able to buy handguns. By requiring a waiting period before handing anyone a dangerous weapon it gives the store owners more time to analysis the background checks. “The massacre at Virginia Tech in April 2007 was the latest in a long list in schools where mass shooting has occurred. In each case the shooters had easy access to firearms” (Edelman) the shootings took place because the shooters had easy access to guns. The shooters wouldn’t have been able to cause the massacre if the background checks were more reliable.

In 2004 more than 3000 children and teens died from gunshots. Improving backgrounds checks is an approach to reducing gun deaths and injuries. All this deaths are caused because now a day people have easy access to guns. Back in the day it would a rear case if someone was killed by a gun, but now it’s one of the most common things in the world. “Most weekends we have shooting two or three shooting, and it’s out of control,” (Cenzura) shootings have became one of the most common things. “We make it so easy for dangerous people to get guns. If it’s the second amendment, it doesn’t matter if they’re Osama bin Laden” (Helmke).

Un-reliable background checks are the reason there is so many gun violence in America. Every year more than 29,000 people are killed by guns. The number of deaths could be reduced if only the gun store owners made strikers background checks.



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