1. According to John G. Malcolm, a senior legal fellow, and Jennifer A. Marshall, director of domestic policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, "gun control laws do not correlate with decreased violence" and they argue that "if gun control were a" quick fix, "then Washington, D.C., Oakland, and Chicago, which have very strict gun control laws, would be among the safest places to live rather than among the most dangerous." They point out that "while some countries with strict gun control laws, such as Japan, experience very little violence as a result of criminal use of firearms, other countries, such as Russia, Brazil, and Mexico, have stricter gun control laws but higher per-capita rates of violence" (Malcolm and Marshall).
1.1. This quote shows that more laws do not necessarily lead to less violence, and the differences in gun violence have more to do with culture than anything else.
2. Because the Supreme Court has argued that research has not linked more gun control with less violence, and they suggest that reducing mass shootings requires local and cultural solutions, not national gun control.
3. Gun control wont prevent school shootings.
3.1. When the the federal government tries to solve the problem of gun violence, it needs to follow Constitutional guidelines, and it should rely most on the family and local community (Malcolm and Marshall).
3.1.1. Also according to Malcolm and Marshall, "gun bans create vulnerabilities by disarming law-abiding citizens" and they give an extensive list of examples of civilians who have stopped violent attacks with firearms (Malcolm and Marshall).
3.1.1.1. This makes me think that if law-abiding citizens have guns, we can prevent mass shootings better than if congress overreaches and tries to ban guns.
4. Gun control can prevent school shootings
4.1. Even though organizations like the NRA oppose gun laws, if people are focused and organized, this can help make progress on gun control laws (Bennett).
4.1.1. According to Matt Bennett, the leader of an organization that advocates for mental health as it relates to gun safety, "time and again, high-profile gun crimes—from assassinations to mass shootings—had seemed to galvanize public opinion. Yet time and again, this sense of urgency had faded, as the gun lobby slowed momentum in Congress to a crawl and then, often, to a halt" (Bennett).
4.1.1.1. This makes me think that the NRA's strong opposition to increased gun control has a hindering effect on progress regarding gun control legislation.
4.1.2. Also according to Matt Bennett, "because there is no national database of guns or gun owners, no one knows how many guns are in private hands in the U.S. According to polling, the rate of gun ownership (the percentage of households containing one or more firearms) has actually been falling over the last two decades, but the total number of guns in private possession has gone up sharply, from 200 million in 1994 to somewhere between 270 and 300 million today" (Bennett).
4.1.2.1. This makes me think that even though I don't agree with all the ideas about gun control that people on the left propose, I do agree that addressing this issue of a national database is a smart move.