Gun Control and Gun Laws - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1130 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/03/20 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Gun Control Essay Gun Violence Essay Did you like this example? Violence, in any context, is dreaded. It is more dreaded when it is a prolonged one and there is no sign of it coming to an end in the future. This has been and still is the case for gun violence in America. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Gun Control and Gun Laws" essay for you Create order Any violence that is caused by guns or that involves the use of guns is regarded as gun violence. In America, this is very popular for a number of reasons. First, the guns are readily available so that people can easily access them. Secondly, Americas law allows its citizens who are older than 18 years to easily own a gun by purchasing it in stores near them. Gun control laws have also not been much of use, given the laxity with which they are implemented. The burden of gun violence is being felt by the government as well as the communities directly affected. The available literature shows this and as illustrated in this review, it dictates that something needs to be done about the gun violence in America, and it has to be done fast. Politicians cant seem to agree what is the best path for the country to take concerning guns. The citizens as well are not very sure the path they want the country to take, and as this indecisiveness continues, gun violence continues to shake the country by its roots. The current literature shows that gun violence is one of the most serious and recent threats to the peace and safety of American citizens and unless an action is taken to put it under control, it will continue unperturbed. There are cases of gun violence in every part of the world, either from law enforcement or from armed citizens or from bad guys like terrorists. Several articles compare the US with other nations on gun violence and the U.S. has more cases of gun violence than all advanced countries in the world. (Quealy Sanger-Katz, 2016) termed the U.S. as an outlier. This is supported by data given by the FBI that shows that, in 2014 alone, 8,124 people lost their lives to gun violence. This is an approximate rate of 31 people per one million people dying from gun violence. The article compares these stati stics to those in Poland and England, where approximately one person out of a million people die from gun violence. (Fox, 2018) conducted research and reports that homicide rates in the U.S. are 25 times higher than homicide rates in developed countries like the U.K., Germany, and Australia. The report cites that the highest, almost half, cases of gun violence, especially by citizens happens in America. This is a stand also supported by (Alzenman, 2018) who makes these reports on an annual basis and for the last 10 years, the annual report has put the U.S. higher than all the civilized nation. America also comprises of the six countries that are responsible for more than half of the gun deaths in the whole world as (Lopez, 2018) One of the main reason why the gun violence rate is so high in America is its gun control laws. Most nations to which America is compared have very strict laws when it comes to ownership and use of guns. In America however, as (Fox, 2018) explains, it is enshrined in the constitution as a right of every American to own a gun. Research that would further advance the idea of having strict gun laws in America has been constrained with the recent constraint being by the NRA against the CDC (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2017). Within America, there is a variance on the frequency and intensity of gun violence between the states. States with strict gun laws have lower death cases from gun violence compared to states with relaxed gun control laws (Schoen, 2018). The cost of gun violence is also significantly reduced for states with strict gun control laws and exaggerated for those with relaxed gun control laws (Giffords law center, 2018). This hints that the laws have a major influence on the rate of gun violence an area will have. In the same way, other advanced countries like Germany have very strict gun laws and they also have very low rates of gun violence (Anderson, 2016). This suggests that gun laws have something to do with gun violence. The more relaxed the laws are, the higher the gun violence and vice versa. With Americans gun laws being comparatively relaxed, as the literature illustrates, we are not about to experience fewer gun violence cases Gun violence places a huge financial burden on the federal and state governments as they try to control it and as they take care of the repercussions of gun violence. Passing or rejecting gun control laws takes the time of the policymakers who are paid to deliberate on these issues. When th e laws are created and passed, they often are not enforced and hence every cost incurred in creating these laws becomes a waste (Beckett, 2017). When gun violence occurs, there are a number of things that occur; People loos lives, others are seriously injured and need medical attention, they lose wages and property is lost. This costs the country as it has to take care of medical bills, replace lost property and compensate the injured. As a result, taxes for law enforcement have increased and the value for property has decreased (Singletary, 2018). In total, it costs the U.S. an approximate of $229 billion annually. This is approximate of $700 for every American per year (Giffords law center, 2018). Americans also own a higher number of guns per capita than any other country in the world. What the statistics show is that America is spending significantly either trying to stop gun violence or trying to clean up the effects of gun violence. Gun violence is a menace in our country. It is costing us lives, peace and money. The literature available shows that, it is one of the leading causes of deaths in the U.S. causing death rates similar to what road accidents cause. From the literature, gun violence is fueled by a number of things and one of the most influential is the laxity with which the US controls guns. For countries that are more stringent with gun violence, the cost of gun violence is relatively low, but for the US. Study after study has shown that we are carrying a burden too heavy. Since the lawmakers cant agree to tighten up the gun laws, the country will continue to lose money due to gun violence. It will also continue to lose its citizens and even its face to the world as a safe and secure place to be. Gun violence is a very serious issue for Americans and with the status quo, it is not about to change, in fact, its getting more violent by the day.

Sleep Deficiency and Disorders Essay Example

Essays on Sleep Deficiency and Disorders Essay The paper "Sleep Deficiency and Disorders" is an outstanding example of an essay on medical science. Sleep deficiency occurs when a person is unable to get the amount of sleep that is required if that person is to function normally throughout the day. It is a medical problem that can further lead to other sleeping issues, such as insomnia or sleep apnea. Some of the causes of sleep deficiency are stress, aging, medication, weight, behavior, and the sleep environment of the individual. Many of these reasons develop into patterns that can cause severe sleep deprivation.   Stress, especially now, is one of the leading causes of sleep deficiency. The more a person is stressed, the harder it is for them to fall asleep. The more this happens, the stronger a pattern is formed until they are depriving themselves of many hours that should be spent sleeping. An overactive mind makes it difficult for the rest of the body to settle down when it is time to sleep. As a person gets older, they begin to lose the need to sleep longer at night, even though it is still required to maintain good health. Old age in itself, with the random pains of arthritis and other pains connected with aging, is enough to keep a person up at night. Restless begins to take over and sleep becomes harder to come by. Medication is another cause of sleep deficiency, as many medications may induce restlessness or anxiety, which would not allow a person to fall asleep. Since most medications of this kind are prescriptions, the lack of sleep becomes a pattern; unfortunately, it tends to be di fficult to break from a sleep-deprived pattern when it is a prescription medication that is causing it. The more overweight a person is, the harder it is for them to get to sleep. Obesity is another higher cause for sleep deprivation; the individual, while maybe feeling sluggish, may also feel restless and just simply unable to get to sleep. Depending on the kinds of foods that they eat, such as anything that is high in sugar or caffeinated beverages, may also increase their inability to fall asleep. Behavior, while not a leading cause of sleep deficiency, but one of the most common symptoms, disables a person from settling down enough or getting comfortable to fall asleep. Some people cannot sleep simply because they cannot, whether it is from restlessness or insomnia. The sleep environment of a person is the most important thing to consider when going to bed. Noises, lights, and other distractions make it difficult for a person's mind to shut down for them to fall asleep. If ther e is too much going on within the sleep environment, a person is unable to relax their mind enough to sleep, causing restlessness and insomnia, which can lead to sleep deprivation.

Consequences of Algal Blooms free essay sample

If there is a decrease in the number of grazers in the environment in which the algae are occurring, the algae would thrive as there would be not be enough of these available on the algae to keep the algae population under control. Temperature plays a key factor as most algae especially blue-green algae thrive in warmer temperatures. The optimal temperature for algae growth is usually 25 ? C and most algae are not able to survive in cold conditions. An increase in nutrients is also a factor in the increase in algal blooms. When nutrients containing phosphorus and nitrogen enters water ways from agricultural land and through soil erosion this causes an increase in algal blooms since nutrients encourage growth of algae. This process is known as eutrophication and is an increasing problem globally. Algal blooms out compete organisms and decolorize water. Some algae are able to produce toxins known as neurotoxins and are referred to as Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB’s). The cyanobacteria which are blue-green produce harmful toxins which have harmful effects on humans, birds, shellfish, fishes and other marine organisms. A few forms in which HAB’s can occur are red tides and golden tides. Red tides belong to a group of dinoflagelates and are produced by microscopic alga called Karenia brevis, and golden tides belong to the group chrysophyta. There are many consequences of the occurrence of HAB’s such as death of aquatic life, health and economic effects. The accumulation of algal blooms affects aquatic life in many ways. Too much algae clogs the gills of fish thereby irritating the gills of the fish and eventually suffocating them since it is difficult for the gills to take in oxygen. When there is a rapid increase in algae, they use up all the available nutrients needed for their survival such as Phosphorus and nitrogen. This causes mass mortality of the algae which causes bacteria which assist in the decaying process of the algae to increase. These bacteria use up most of the oxygen supply in the water causing aquatic organisms which depend on oxygen for survival to die or migrate. Some algae release dinoflagellate toxins which are very deadly and have been known to kill mussels, fish and abalone which ingest and digest these deadly toxins. Marine animals are not only affected animals such as cattle, fish, birds, sheep, pigs and a variety of other animals have died through the inhalation and consumption of these species. Humans are also affected by the toxins released by algal blooms. When humans inhale the toxins released by the algae this has many harmful effects. Also, when fish and shellfish consume algae the toxins accumulates inside their body. When larger organisms feed on them the toxins are passed up the food chain and eventually to humans who eat seafood. Some of the diseases which occur in humans due to toxins found on algae include Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, (NSP), Brevetoxin/repiratory irritation (BRI) and amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). CFP is a gastrointestinal illness caused by a marine toxin called ciguatoxin or maititoxin. Ciguatoxin has a tendency to accumulate inside large fish such as barracudas, snappers, and other marine fish. CFP is then transferred to the humans through consumption. Symptoms due to the contraction of CFP include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, increased heartbeats and tingling of hands and feet. NSP is caused through the consumption of infected shellfish. This leads to severe symptoms such as respiratory problems, diarrhea and vomiting. BRI is caused through the inhalation of harmful toxins released by the HAB’s. The symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing and eye irritation. ASP is caused by the accumulation of domic acid in shell fish which are produced by the organisms Pseudo-nitzschia. The effects of the consumption of the affected food by humans include confusion, memory loss, disorientation, stress and in some cases result in coma and death. There are many economic consequences due to the accumulation of algal blooms. Many industries, fisheries and shell fish beds have been either closed, or decreased in their number of productions. Fish sales decline because consumers are afraid of purchasing fish for fear of toxins. This causes fish vendors to lose a lot of sales and money and many fall into bankruptcy. Closure of many tourism and recreational facilities has also resulted in mass economic losses skyrocketing into the millions, especially for countries which depend on tourism as their primary source of income. Health impacts have also caused severe financial losses as a lot of money now has to be allocated for the treatment and cure of the diseases caused by algal blooms. Many water systems and supplies have also been contaminated by algal blooms, this result in increased cost of water purification methods in order to make water potable. Also, Governments must now allocate finances for the prevention and treatment of algal blooms. The aquaculture industry have also been impacted economically due to blooms namely Heterosigma threatening to destroy endangered salmon thereby impacting on the salmon industry. There are many ways in which algal blooms can be monitored and kept under control. The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act which was established in 1998 which recognizes the impact of algal blooms to aquatic life, human health and coastal systems. Through this act there are many implementations put in place to help monitor and prevent these HAB’s. There are now programs in place which monitor the outbreaks of algal blooms and in which there is constant testing of shellfish and fish. Monitoring of water for the occurrence of dead fishes, beaching of marine life and observation of colour appearing in water are done to detect the outbreak of neurotoxins so that warnings can be issued when found. Also, research is being done for the detection of toxic phytoplankton in water ways. In this way methods can be done to prevent outbreaks before they even occur. Satellite monitoring is also one of the methods implemented for the detection of offshore blooms. This method allows for warning and alerting areas of potential outbreaks before it occurs so that methods can be put in place for their prevention. Algal blooms have many consequences. They threaten the breakdown of ecosystems, kill marine life, and have many harmful effects on humans. They also have huge economic effects and cost millions of dollars in losses and millions have to be spent for their prevention and control. Although algae are a vital part of the aquatic system in that it provides food and shelter to many organisms. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Therefore algal blooms need to be prevented and kept under control so that there would be an aquatic ecosystem in the future for everyone to admire and enjoy.

John Adams and the Coming of the Revolution free essay sample

In the story John Adams and the Coming of the Revolution†, author David McCullough discusses how John Adams was asked to defend the British soldiers in court of the soldier’s accusation of man slaughter, following the Boston Massacre. Being such a problematic case that could ruin his reputation, John Adams accepted to defend the soldiers because of his experience in difficult cases, and his strong principles and beliefs. John Adam’s reputation did not even tarnish because of how skillfully he handled the case gaining the respect of the people of Boston. John Adams was asked to defend the soldiers and their captain in court the day after the shootings. The soldiers had the odds against them. They were in an American court, with an American judge, and an American jury. No one else was bold enough to take on case as precarious as this case was. McCullough went on to state that John accepted this case because he strongly believed that no man in a free country should be denied the right to counsel and a fair trial (92). We will write a custom essay sample on John Adams and the Coming of the Revolution or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Adams knew what troubles he was getting himself into taking on a case like this and the repercussions it had. It would not have been his first difficult case, as he took on a similar case that involved four American sailors killing a British naval officer in self-defense that boarded the American ship. The captain was given a separate trial from the soldiers. Adam’s argued that it couldn’t be proven whether or not the captain gave orders to fire, and with a virtuoso performance given by Adams, the captain was found not guilty. In the second trial, John Adams defended the eight soldiers. He started off by saying â€Å"I am for the prisoners at bar† (93) invoking a line from the Marchese di Beccaria. Adams went on to argue that it was not the soldiers who started the tragedy; it was the mob of people. He portrays the soldiers as the victims who were merely just defending themselves after being howled at by the mob while also having snow balls, stones, oyster shells thrown at them. Adams also went on to describe the mob as a group of vandals pointing out the majority of the crowd was lower class rather than shavers or geniuses He finally states how the many mob members should be the ones guilty of the crime but escape unpunished whereas the smaller numbers of soldiers are innocent but are the ones being punished, showing the importance of fairness in the community regardless of the crime. In the end, verdict found six out of eight of the soldiers not guilty. Only two of the soldiers were guilty of manslaughter. The reaction of the verdict was angry, but no riots occurred. Although he took a lot of criticism, John Adams became more respected in the long run. With such passion to stand up for what is right, John Adams’s reputation grew rapidly. He was known for defending what he believed in, and establishing the principal that everyone deserves a fair trial, whether you are innocent or guilty of the crime. This led him to be elected as a representative to the Massachusetts legislature. Out of all the cases John Adams, admitted that it was one of the most exhausting cases, but also one of the best pieces of services he ever did for his country. It is easily safe to say that John Adams was prideful about this case, and his strong principles and beliefs about a fair trial chose him to take this case on, and remain one of the most respected men in his time.