Lack Of A Uniform Gun Policy example essay topic

Topic: Gun Policy Specific Purpose: to persuade my audience that a uniform national gun policy is necessary. Thematic statement / central ideas: A uniform national gun policy is necessary because the gun policies vary from state to state, the lack of a policy allows innocent death, and costs the public money. INTRODUCTION: ATTENTION GAINING DEVICE: Let me tell you a short story. At 11: 10 AM, on Tuesday, April 20th, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Kle bold arrived in the parking lot a few minutes before lunch "A" began.

They proceeded to the top of the west entrance steps, the highest point on campus each carrying a 20 lb. duff le bag. Armed with two sawed-off shotguns, a 9 mm semi-automatic carbine rifle, and a 9 mm Tec-9 semi-automatic pistol, in just 18 minutes they murdered 13 innocent people and injured 24 more. The story I speak of is the Columbine Tragedy. INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC: A tragedy that would have been prevented if the US had a uniform national gun policy. CREDIBILITY: I personally have worked in a gunsmith shop where firearms are sold. I have also studied the effect firearms have on people.

I have clearly decided with the data collected for this presentation, a uniform national gun policy needs to be administered. PREVIEW: There are three reasons. First, gun policy varies from state to state. Second, the lack of a policy allows for innocent people to die. Thirdly, it costs the public money. TRANSITION: Now let me offer some reasons for my claim.

BODY: 1. Gun policies vary from state to state. A. According to the Brady Foundation, one of the leading campaigns to end gun violence. 36% of the nation, 18 of 50 states, impose a waiting period... (prevent crimes of passion, no background check, not able to check if buyer is prohibited or not to purchase.) B. 28%, 14 of 50 states require some type of license and registration to own a firearm. (aide the police in tracking criminals and solving cases.) C. Even fewer are the states that require safety training, 14%, that's 7 states. (show knowledge of gun laws and proper handling and storage) 2. The lack of a uniform gun policy allows for innocent people to die. A. Johns Hopkins University, a world renowned research center, found that nearly 3% of firearm fatalities in 2001 were unintentional, claiming the lives of 802 people and disproportionately affecting males. (over two people per day, class this size is gone in 15 days) B. Johns Hopkins also found that the rate of firearm homicide in the United States is 19 times higher than that of 35 other high-income countries combined. Johns Hopkins also found the firearm death rate among U.S. children 14 years of age and younger is nearly 12 times higher than the combined rate in 25 other industrialized nations.

3. The non-uniform gun policy costs the public money. The direct costs like medical costs and the loss of productivity in the work place along with social costs like quality of life and emotional costs to the victims of gun violence are an estimated $100 billion per year. Approximately 49% of the costs of gun-related injuries and deaths are paid for by the public. (294 million people in the US, $166.66 per person) C. The hospitalization costs associated with firearm-related injuries in 2001 exceeded $800 million. 30% of hospitalized patients were uninsured, and an additional 30% were enrolled in government health insurance programs.

(All of which is supported by tax dollars. money out of our pockets) CONCLUSION: In this nation we require licensing, driver training, and registration to operate a vehicle. We require a license to run a business. We require a license for marriage. We also require a licenses for professions like teaching, real estate, medicine and numerous others. Gun policies vary from state to state, innocent lives are lost, and it cost the public money, therefore we need a uniform national gun policy. It is our job to prevent the future Columbine tragedies from happening.

It's time to end gun violence..