Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Elizabeth's question on gun control

What do you think of gun control? Do you think something needs to be done to better address the high rate of violence in the United States? How about in high schools? Did you feel safe in your high school? Do you think administrations need to crack down harder on policing their schools and keeping them safe? How do you feel about having police officers patrol the halls in high schools?

Thanks for your help!

Elizabeth Moody

14 comments:

English student said...

I think gun patrol is fine.....in my high school there was never a problem with any kind of violence let alone any violence with guns....i can see how its a probelm in bigger cities just because their are more people and different groups which raises hell with others, which then brings violence.....

English student said...

I grew up in Rockford and saw my share of weapons in the halls of my school, including handguns. There was never much problem because we all knew who to steer clear of. I never felt threatened, really. In the old days, people knew who the dangerous people were, and they kept away from them unless they wanted trouble. It was the same at my school. The only people ever plugged were drug pushers and other trouble-makers.

If I had my way, there would be no guns, but they've been with us a long time now, and they're not going anywhere. Yes, I'm sure there are ways to regulate weapons more effectively so that they are tougher to get, and I'd be all for that, but I haven't thought much about how I would go about it.

I like the guns-for-cash and guns-for-food programs they have tried in Chicago. Anything we can do to get the guns off the street is okay by me.

Jason Horath

English student said...

I think that guns are a problem in our country because too many people dont know how to use them, many accidents happen because people think they know how to shoot a gun and dont consider the kick back. Alongside i think that there needs to be control on what gun can be legaly attained by certain people, the carry and conceal concept is great. I think that everyone should be tought how to fire a gun sometime in their life whether its for hunting or target practice.

all that is needed to obtain a gun is be 18 for a shotgun or 21 for a handgun. you fill out a SIMPLE application, send it in with a small 1" X 1.2" picture and your $25. there could be a few more restrictions but too many or too demanding restrictions could cause some complications with people wanting to get guns for hunting or even with sharpshooters getting guns for the art.
benjamin mckenna

English student said...

I think some gun control is good but it's very hard to keep the guns out of the hands of children. Many people would like all guns banned. I feel if you teach your children well and train them in gun safety, all should be fine. I know of a 5 year old child that was shot and killed by another child that was 8 years old. The kids had found the gun and was playing with it. The house owner should have had that gun locked up with bullets kept in a different location. The children should have known better than to play with a deadly weapon. Many years ago, most families kept a gun in the open in their house, usually behind the bedroom door. Children were taught to stay away from it and not touch it. We never had school shootings. I feel no school is safe unless it has equal security to that of a maximum prison. Children and adults will always find a way to smuggle weapons if they want to.

Robbin R.

English student said...

I feel that it is every american's right to bear arms. Not really. Yes I do think that my high school was safe but you never can tell what is going to happen. Metal detectors.

No name

English student said...

i never really had major violence issues at my high school, but if it is in fact necessary, then maybe some schools should have officers patrolling the halls. It would definitely not completely stop occurances from happening, but it would help things to be broken up before they have a chance to get worse.

English student said...

I think that unless you are legally making a living off of using a gun in some way, it is not necessary for people to have them. I think that if people didn't have guns for recration then people wouldn't feel that they needed them for protection. I was a little nervous in high school about someone bringing a gun, but my school did have its own police force so it wasn't a big issue with me. I think that it is important that school's address the fact that someone could come in with a gun. It is important that they are prepaired for a situation like that. I didn't mind having the police officers in the halls, but I also didn't really see them doing much. It seems like the school is more concerned about kids cutting class than whether or not there would be a reason for them to want to bring a gun to school. I thik that the police officers at schools need more specialized training to help spot suspisious situations.
Kendle Sherry

English student said...

I do think that they need to make a more stricter law on who can buy guns. I feel it is too easy for people to get a gun and some just get one so they can feel like their a macho guy and don't really need one. IF you live in the country then you know that a lot of people own shot guns for when hunting season comes around. To me this is a good reason to own a gun because they take proper care of their guns and keep them locked up until the season starts. They don't just have them to have them instead they surve a purpose. People in the city probably need one in order to feel safe because their crime rate is higher. But they need to take classes to teach them how to use it, how to clean it, and in what situation to use it in. That way innocent people aren't being killed or injured. Yes, gun control is a good thing at times but over all there is alot of situations where accidental deaths could have been avoided by not having them around.
Natasha

English student said...

I think we need gun control, but we do not need total control by the government. I do think we need to better address violence in the US. It seams like people are ready to use violence when there is a confratation. I think education and the effects it can have might be a deterant. If the police are needed in high school then they are needed. Some of the kids do not have any respect for anybody. They will hurt someone.
David S.

English student said...

I think gun control is ok, as long as it doesn't totally stop U.S citizens from bearing arms. Once ur a convicted killer or an armed robber that you shouldnt have the 2nd amendment revoked for you since a killer owning a gun could violate and threaten someone else's rights and life. The only way i can see to better address the high rate of violence is give police and federal agents more funding to better patrol our nation and streets. High school supply more money to schools for metal detectors or some other preventave measures. I felt safe in my high school, but with what happened to some schools i would say yes administration should crack down harder on making schools safe. I dont know how i'd feel about having police officers patrolling. I would say it would create a "safer" environment. But at what cost? Would it cause problems with some students who look "suspicious" who are really good people, and would it cause to many distractions? and would all that be worth the extra safety? I would say it would be worth the extra safety.
-Richard Hon

English student said...

I think that gun control is a good thing in the right places. In schools it needs to be high priority to keep violence out of the school. The police in the schools have helped a lot in the past and I think should be done to every school. I think that with police officers in the halls it installs fear in students which make them not want to do anything bad because of getting in trouble. In the big picture I think that the United states has a lot of bigger issues then gun control to be worrying about. Most of the crimes in this country aren't even violent crimes they just get more publicity because they are violent.

Trey Coffey

English student said...

I think that extensive background checks should be done on anyone purchasing a gun and that their should be sever punishment for those that distribute guns or ammo illegaly. I also think that people who have kids and keep a gun in the home don't do the right thing. Most of them lock up the gun and then tell their kids never to touch it. I don't think this is a good thing because the gun becomes an object of interest to the kid. I think it would be better to teach the kid about it that way they arn't so inclined to learn about it on their own. I think the best thing you could do is get a less powerful gun for the kid to use and take them out hunting and have them shoot a small animal. I don't think most younger kids understand that guns really do kill and this would be a good way to show them that it does. I went to a small school, and never heard of a kid bringing a gun to school. I think larger schools should have some form of security patroling the grounds to remind the kids that they arn't the ones in charge.

Good Luck,
Valerie Myers

English student said...

I think it is really a shame to see the number of children, and young adults being killed as a result of not controlling the guns circulated in our world today. I can't relate to police in the schools, because it did not happen in our day, but it seems ridiculous that those police are in the schools where safety should be, and not on the streets where they are needed.

Beverly Burnside

English student said...

I think that the only way to control the gun violence is to make all guns illegal.If we don't have guns ten there is no gun violence.The best way to solve a problem is to get rid of the cause off the problem.

jamell b