Snazzy IRL

Violence Prevention Paper

Jack was playing at the local park with his friends. A white minivan pulled up, and the window rolled down. Jack ran up to the car, thinking it was his mother. A gun poked out of the vehicle and shot Jack. Then the minivan pulled away. This tragedy is a perfect example of how gun violence is a dangerous thing that impacts many people and should be prevented at all costs.

Gun violence can be split up into three groups: homicide, suicide, and unintentional death. In 2010, guns took the lives of 31,076 Americans in all three of these categories. 13,505 Americans were also hospitalized for non-fatal gunshot wounds. In homicides, guns were used 11,078 times, making it responsible for almost 35% of gun deaths and 68% of all suicides. 606 unfortunate people have died from unintentional shootings. 34% of them were under the age of 25 (Collins and Swoveland, 2014). These sad fatalities also come with long-lasting effects.

Gun violence impacts many people today. Children and youth exposed to chronic trauma from gun violence can experience inhibited brain development, producing a lasting effect on life outcomes. Family and friends of victims can go into depression People in the neighborhood move away to keep themselves safe. To prevent these consequences, society must develop a way to stop gun violence.

There isn't one obvious solution. If we ban all guns, hunters and police won't be able to do their jobs. You could make it harder to get a gun, but so many people already have illegal guns. My opinion is guns should be bought and sold in less places, and it should be harder to get a gun in general. For example, there would be one or two places in the state that sold guns. People would book an appointment for a strict background check. If they thought the person was eligible, they would go to the other building to get the gun. This way would be much safer.

Jack's story is also the story of many others. Although Jack himself isn't real, the situation is. It is important now that society sees the dangers of gun violence and tries to prevent it.