The topic that I have decided to do research on for this semester is gun violence. I will be answering multiple questions about this broad subject, but my information will be narrowed down as we progress through this semester. Gun Control is a very controversial topic in American politics right now because of the mass shootings this country has had over the past few years. The problem started with school shootings and now has became domestic terrorist problem that has caused many contrasting opinions to arise. I will be discussing whether mental illness is a critical factor in these problems, and if gun control laws will end mass shootings and terrorist attacks. I will be giving my opinion/argument on this problem with statistics and experts opinions to back mine up. 

Fighting Isis is a key focus in our next Presidential election and there are solutions to the problem we are having. We have had multiple domestic attacks on our country in the last year, which is helping Isis market their Army. We need to stop advertising Isis and giving them the press that they want. All of their attacks have been on unarmed, innocent people, which should trigger red flags for everyone around the country. The San Bernardino attacks occurred in one of the most strict gun law states in the country, and the France attacks occurred in one of the most strict gun law countries. We must ask ourselves if the outcomes of those attacks would be the same if there were armed civilians. It is an issue that needs a solution and a question that I will be answering. The non-terrorist mass shootings also have brought about a question of their own. The question being is whether or not the shooters are cases of mental illness or if there is no excuse for all of these heartless crimes. Many shootings have occurred at schools where it is certain that every person there is unarmed. Arming teachers could be a quick fix to intimidate shooters to not go to schools and could end school shootings. Teachers seem to be some of the most trust worthy citizens we have! 

Connected with the majority of these crimes is the use of automatic assault rifles, which is very alarming to most people. This is a polarizing issue that has Second Amendment supporters furious about. They stay constant with the notion that it is not the gun causing the problem, but the person behind the gun, and that gun laws against automatic rifles will only keep these guns out of law abiding citizens hands and not criminal hands. Regardless of the law, criminals will obtain the guns that they want if they really need them. As a counter-argument for the other side, they believe that removing automatic rifles is necessary and that there is no use for them. These kinds of guns are not necessary for citizens to have and many people are okay with them being removed from the market completely. This again brings us back to gun laws in general and whether or not they could work. If a criminal is capable of getting cocaine, weed, or any sort of drug whenever they want, then why would a gun of their choice be difficult to obtain. Gun Laws would leave law-abiding citizens armless, while having the bad people breaking rules and securing complete power over the public.

I am a firm believer in our Second Amendment rights and think that bearing arms should not be messed with. With that being said, I do agree with stronger screenings to get guns, and not allowing people on the no-fly list to acquire guns. There are small steps that can be taken to help insure that this country is a safe place, but removing guns from the hands of the good guys is not the way to do this. Being able to recognize illegal immigrants and criminals when they try to buy guns at a guns store seems like common sense to cutting down on these problems. Although this seems easy, it is not always enforced and this could be more of a focus then what the media is proposing. Focusing our efforts on controlling the criminals and terrorists is much more important then trying to enforce the broad term of gun control on all citizens. This semester I will be proving why encouraging law-abiding citizens to retrieve guns in this time of crisis is a much more effective model to ending mass shooting, then that of what is being portrayed in todays media. America was built on toughness and grit, and we must not forget our right to self-defend!

I am interested in this research question because it is such a relevant problem in today's society and is causing problems around the world. I also have strong opinion on this topic, which also gives me excitement to be able to do further research on it. This question also touches on my values too because I believe in people defending themselves and not being forced to lay down and surrender. I have been taught my whole life to never give up and the right to bear arms allows us to never surrender to terrorists or heartless criminals. I have not had a personal experience regarding this issue because I have not had the need to use a gun in my life just yet, but I don't want to take the chance of having my life endangered with no chance of defending myself. My home town is also 15 minutes away from the latest mass shooting in San Bernardino, which puts into perspective just how much of a reality this topic really is. I think that I am qualified to write about this topic because I am an American citizen that values my rights written in the Constitution and feel that they are being threatened.

