Gun control is a very controversial topic in the United States because gun violence is so common here. There should be more gun control laws in the United States; they could greatly benefit the country.
On Nov. 5, there was a shooting in Sutherland Springs in Texas. It killed 27 people and injured 20. Earlier on Oct. 1, there was a shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people and wounded 526. These tragedies started many people talking.

Many say America needs more gun control, and all of the recent shootings support their reasoning. More restrictive gun control laws can help prevent mass shootings. Some believe more gun control laws were necessary back when the Sandy Hook shooting occurred on December 14, 2012. At this incident, Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, was attacked. A man shot and killed 20 children between six and seven years old and six teachers.

Where should the line be drawn? So many people have died from gun violence, and more gun control can prevent that. According to Everytown.org, a group fighting for stricter gun control, the homicide rate in America is more than 25 times the average of other developed countries. While criminals will still obtain weapons illegally, establishing tighter gun restrictive laws will make it harder to get one and result in fewer criminals gaining access to guns. Currently, 12 out of 50 states in America require a permit for handguns. Requiring permits in all states may reduce gun violence because, once again, it would take more effort to obtain the gun. More, stricter background checks should be done, to make it harder for people with ill intentions to get a gun. It’s not that guns should be almost impossible to get or banned entirely, it’s just that stricter gun control can regulate the number of guns help prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands.

In Australia, after a mass shooting in 1996, the country banned certain semi-automatic, self-loading rifles and shotguns. Australia also established stricter licensing and registration requirements. This ended their mass shooting problem, and it halved the number of gun deaths. This further shows that more gun control would be beneficial to our country, and help it rather than harm it. More gun control has worked very well in many other countries; it could work here.

A common argument for not having gun control is that guns are often used for self-defense and protection. The thing is, guns could still be obtainable with stricter laws, it just might be a little more challenging. If someone is eligible to own a gun, then he or she should be able to get a gun.
The purpose is to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands and causing tragedy.

Overall, gun control would be beneficial to America because it would prevent mass shootings, reduce the number of gun deaths, and prevent guns from being owned by criminals.