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Eriq Gale-Anderson Ellen Harcourt WRT 1010 November, 17, 2013 Gun Violence and Gun Control Gun violence has become a tremendous issue in society while causing controversies and affecting lives. In 2011, the National Crime Victimization survey recorded 467,321 people were victims of a crime committed by a gun (the National Crime Victimization of Justice 2013). Gun Control can be the aid to prevent gun related deaths like the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School or The Aurora shooting. With harsher background checks, the unfit gun users will be singled out and their gun use will be revoked. Although people claim that the second amendment the right to bear arms is central to U.S. citizens, the government should (implement mental health evaluations and restrict gun usage from citizens that are unstable to use a firearm). It is because of gun violence from unfit users that some of the worst countries tragedies happened. Two recent cases of gun violence provoked by unfit users with mental illnesses are The Sandy Hook Massacre and The Aurora shooting. A man named Adam Lanza killed over twenty children and six adults from firearms his mother accessed on December 12, 2012 in Connecticut. Lanza was mentally unstable to operate firearms. The other incident was The Aurora

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shooting in Colorado in which James Holmes, another mentally unstable man killed 12 people and injured 70 others in a movie theatre on July 20th, 2012 (Associated Press). Holmes pleaded insanity for killing and injuring the people at the theatre. President Barack Obama has a plan which is the Brady Bill (Spartanburg Herald). The Brady Bill came into play because the White House press secretary James Brady was injured by a gun during the 1981 assassination attempt former Pres. Ronald Regan. (Brady Law). The law requires a five day waiting period to get a gun and requires a background check from a federally authorized dealer. Opponents claim that having a restriction on gun usage for citizens go against their right to bear arms even though others would protest against to save lives. Critics say that unlicensed gun sellers at gun shows not be the focus of legislation (Critics Say Checks Go Too Far). Background checks make it harder for citizens to buy and sell guns at gun shows because the seller may be unlicensed. Also, critics believe that it is an in invasion of privacy to gun owners to implement background checks because the owners information is sent to the government where it becomes like a registry critics claim. Even though some people say that someones mental health records should be reviewed without the consent of the person, a bill was passed by Sen. Robert Bennett in 1996 which was called the Medical Records Confidentiality Act. This bill restricted access to those in charge of treatment and billing, but will give full authorization to medical records as long as it belonged to the patient (Recent Legislative Proposals).

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Works cited Associated Press, . "Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes had Batman mask, calendar, violent drawing in apartment: police ." Daily News. 10 23 2013: n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nydailynews.com/>. "Brady Law." Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/>. "Critics Say Checks Go Too Far." (2007): n.pag. Issues and Controversies. Web. 19 Nov 2013. <http://www.2facts.com/>. Mantel, Barbara. "Gun Control." CQ press (2013): n.pag. CQ Researcher. Web. 19 Nov 2013. <http://library.cqpress.com/>. "Gun Violence." n.pag. National Institute of Justice. Web. 19 Nov 2013. <http://www.nij.gov/>. "Obama administration." Spartanburg Herald (2013): n.pag. Proquest. Web. 19 Nov 2013. <http://search.proquest.com/>.