Kids About Guns At An Early Age example essay topic

Another school shooting goes down and is preyed upon by the media for a gripping new story. Jonesboro, Arkansas, West Paducah, Kentucky, and Littleton, Colorado all have one thing in common. All these places are sites where school shootings have occurred. Why do school shootings happen and who is to blame when they do happen?

These are two questions that are still trying to be answered. Some people say that school shootings are due to the excess marketing of violence in movies, television, video games, and music. 'There is a difference between what one has the right to do and what is socially responsible', he says. It appears that they have targeted a mass audience for this material, and then they " re 'horrified' when it's discovered what they " ve done. They " re being duplicitous-in the end, they " re lying's ays Andrew Schwartzman, president of public interest law firm the Media Access Group (Holland). I tend to agree with this point but I believe that there is a bigger and more substantial factor when looking at school shootings.

I believe that parents have to take most of the blame for school shootings. Why should parents have to take blame for something that their child has done wrong. Well, it is pretty simple. Parents are the only people who can control what kind of music their kid or kids listen to, what movies they see, what video games they play, and what kind of programs they watch on TV. The parents should be held accountable because it is not possible for the school to control what the kids do out of the classroom.

Since the Littleton, Colorado shooting, school shootings have attracted attention to laws that make parents criminally liable for their children's actions. Since then, twelve states including, Alabama, Arkansas, California and Ohio, have come up with parental responsibility statues. Under these laws, parents can be prosecuted based on the failure to supervise their children ('Parents'). Tom Lynch also believes that he is responsible for the violence that his kids are exposed to saying, 'because as a parent, I can do something about the entertainment viewing habits of my children.

As far as I know, my wife and I are still in charge on the home front, and we plan to keep it that way as long as we " re still paying for the Nikes' (Lynch). Even with some new laws and regulations many music businesses are still marketing to kids. The RIAA announced new guidelines on September, 1, shortly before the original Senate hearing (Holland). They included three major updates: that advertising for labeled records should not appear in publications or Internet sites where fifty percent of the audience is under seventeen, that all consumer print ads of explicit-content albums display the advisory sticker, and that all E-tailors clearly display notice of sticker ed material through all phases of the transaction (Holland). These regulations may help when trying to get CD's with explicit lyrics over the Internet or in stores but the advertising towards kids still continues.

The federal trade commission shows that US Record companies continue to advertise violent songs on TV through such outlets as BET, MTV, and the WWF Smackdown wrestling show. The ads appeared during the after school and early-evening hours when children were most likely to be watching. The FTC also found that the five major labels placed ads for albums with explicit content in such teen oriented magazines as Vine and Right On, which focus on rap and R&B, and Thrashers and Metal Edge, which celebrate metal rock music. Only 45 off 147 (31%) print ads reviewed for labeled recordings displayed any parental advisory label, the FTC noted, and those were frequently 'a black-and-white blur, often too small or inconspicuously placed to be noticed or seen' (Holland). So why can't parents just go out and fight these advertisement companies that are marketing violence to their young kids?

It would just be simple to go and sue the companies and make them pay for the destruction that they are causing in schools. But that is to hard considering all the money and power that these companies have. So if parents can't fight these companies then who can? The only other solution to fighting these companies is having the government come up with a plan and then take action. That is the only way to fight the big corporate companies that market violence to our kids today. I believe that new laws should be made holding the companies and the stores that sell the product responsible.

New ratings should be placed on movies and television programs during after school hours and evening hours. Kids under the age of 16 should not be able to see a 'R' rated movie without their parents and it should be harder for other kids to buy movie tickets for other underage kids. And for movies and CD's that are sold in stores: these products should have warning labels and should not go out of the stores in a child's hand. The same requirement for age is also viable here. Another issue besides the advertising of media violence is how easy it has become for teens and kids to get their hands on guns.

This is another factor that is often thought of when the issue of school shootings is talked about. Despite a recent decline in gun production, there are as many guns as there are automobiles in the country. What can manufacturers do to help make sure guns are not in the hands of our kids? Several to respondents to the survey from The Council of State Governments suggested that the sale of handguns with trigger locks or personalized handguns to prevent use by others, checks on secondary transfer of firearms and 'ballistic fingerprinting' of all firearms at the manufacturer. Another question that might arouse is: what should adult gun owners do to help prevent school shootings? Some say that Maryland's gun control law is a model for other states.

In Maryland and a dozen other states, parents have a legal responsibility to keep guns locked and out of reach of youngsters (Chi). But everything goes back to the parents being responsible for their kids. If parents are going to have guns in the house then they should start teaching the kids about guns at an early age. Don't wait until they are 10. But even teaching them about guns is not enough. The parents have to teach them values and morals, like going to church.

I myself, believe that God can be the biggest or least influence in a kids life. Violence in the media and gun control are two of the biggest factors when it comes down to school shootings. But after it is all said and done it is the parents responsibility to control and bring their kids up right. That's what everything comes down to. It all starts in the beginning. Parents have to start from when the kid is wearing diapers.

The parents have to decide on what the kids will watch on TV, listen to in their headphones, play on their computer, and watch at the movie theater. After all, the school can not supervise kids after school hours. This evidence found following the Colorado massacre seemed to indicate a parental failure to detect and deal with troubled behavior by teens suspected of the killings (Chi). Kids have way to much freedom in today's world. They don't know what its like to be told 'no'. From letting the youngster get whatever toys he wants, to letting the sixteen year old pick out his own car.

Lets face it, kids today are spoiled by their parents and the people around them. And in the end: It kills!