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Gun Violence

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Gun Violence
An ongoing and highly debated social problem that continues to grow in our society today is the gun control epidemic. Gun violence in the United States is a national epidemic. Many people take advantage of guns using and manipulating the tool with hardly any thought. Countless lives have been lost due to fact that people have been able to obtain firearms legally or illegally and have taken the notion to be judge, jury and executioner in holding ones live in their hands. This is a common issue that will continue if action is not taken as a nation to try and stop it. Gun violence can lead many citizens to believe that no place is deemed safe anymore and recent tragedies that have taken place in United States holds up that statement. In our society today, the shootings that continue to take place seem to become more gruesome and far more heinous, becoming more painful and unbearable to listen, watch, and hear these tragic stories appear on the news.
Too often it seems that we, as a nation, give little consideration to existing problems until they end in tragedy—this should not be the way of life. In 2012 alone there were five major shootings which took place causing the nation to stop and reflect on the horror that has now become a precedent of what occurs in the United States today. In the wake of a series of unfortunate gun-related tragedies, the nation claims it has given its undivided attention to intricacies such as mental illness, violence and gun-control. Some examples of these cases is the horrific incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that claimed the lives of twenty innocent children and the six courageous adults who tried to protect them. Another is the horrendous tragedy that took place on July 20th 2012 when a masked gunman entered a movie theatre complex and opened fire on moviegoers which killed 12 and left 58 others wounded while they were watching the premiere of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises”



Cited: DeConde, Alexander. Gun Violence in America: The Struggle for Control. Boston: Northeastern UP, 2001.  Henigan, Dennis A. Lethal Logic: Exploding the Myths That Paralyze American Gun Policy. Washington, D.C.: Potomac, 2009.  Yancy, George, and Janine Jones. Pursuing Trayvon Martin: Historical Contexts and Contemporary Manifestations of Racial Dynamics. Lanham: Lexington Boos, 2013. Print.

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