1. Gun Violence

2. Illicit Firearm Trade

3. Youth Gun Violence

4. Second Amendment

5. Gun Control

A common counter argument about raising the age limit for a gun is that simply put the second amendment right grants your right for protection, many guns are acquired illicitly rather than legally and more often than not as been proved those are the guns mainly used in assaults and homicides, which is utterly true and should be reviewed.

My friend was a relatively good source as he is also making a website about guns so we share the same knowledge, one main point that stuck out was when he said that "no matter how good laws can restrict guns criminals will always get them illegally" which really stuck to me because if guns are restricted how will people protect themselves from illegally acquired guns?

My personal belief is that the legal age should not be raised at all as it violates our rights and makes us subject to violence with no reasonable way to defend ourselves, what I learnt from my interviewee is that 100% of criminals do not follow the law no matter how stringent the gun controls get 100% of the time law abiding citizens will be affected and the illicit gun trade will remain dominant.

Were you even aware that in Illinois many teenagers feel strongly about the legal age to own a gun? Many teens have felt very strongly about the age restriction and wish they had a voice for their own opinions about the topic. A lot of teens and adults feel strongly about this topic because it affects everyone’s lives one way or another. While some have said that the gun law should be lowered, I believe the gun law should be raised along with the others who said so. I believe so because if the age is lowered many immature kids will have access to guns more than now, there will be more deaths,  and public safety will increase.

The 2nd amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791 which gave Americans the right to possess weapons for the protection of themselves, their rights, and their property. The gun control law topic is a very controversial and emotional issue in many different places around the world affecting lives around the world. Many say that the correlation between more guns is equal to more crime as well.

The legal age to own a gun should be raised because that means less guns will be able to be accessed. Many deaths occur because of the young age guns can be acquired. Guns being acquired at such a young age causes a problem because of how immature the handler of the gun can be and how impulsive they can be because of their age not thinking things through clearly. More than recently it has been the default for many to go and reach for their firearm in a case of an altercation without thinking it through as it gives them the courage to be more aggressive and engage in altercations. “Reaching for a gun is the default these days for some teens who are as quick to take offense as to pull a trigger”. This evidence proves how impulsive and dangerous it can be to let younger people have access to acquire and own a gun/guns as it is seen as a norm now.

The legal age to own a gun should be raised because there will be less deaths because of the age being raised. This will prove to be true because many of the deaths occurring due to gun violence are people in their late teens and young adults so if the access to guns is cut off for them it will limit all the casualties. This also ties into the impulsiveness of the younger people with guns because if it is normalized for people to immediately go and reach for their gun in a case of a altercation, the more deaths will occur because of the result of hiding behind the gun and the feeling of invincibility younger people feel when owning a gun. “More firearms, and even more powerful firearms, have enabled teens, or anyone wielding a gun, to maim and kill more people in single incidents.” This evidence proves how deaths due to gun violence are more common and happen way too often because of impulsivity.

The legal age to own a gun should be raised because public safety would increase if it is raised because there would be less danger to worry about. With fewer younger people with guns the more safety would increase because there wouldn’t be as many trigger happy people with guns who are quick or even sometimes waiting to be provoked to use their firearm without giving it a second thought. But after considering all of the points given above raising the legal age to own a gun would ultimately make it safer and increase safety by keeping guns out of reach from the younger demographic who are statistically proven to be more of a public danger. “Violent crimes and homicides committed by firearms disproportionately involved young adults under 21. By limiting gun access to people under 21, minimum age laws would reduce gun violence rates and consequently increase public safety.” This evidence shows how if we were to limit gun access to those under 21 it would reduce the gun violence keeping guns out of the hands of irresponsible young people.

While many say that the legal age to own a gun should be lowered because of the fact there is so many deaths and violence, they feel the need to own a gun for their protection and safety even at a young age and how it would make everyone feel safer. Their argument can be flipped because it would be doing the opposite and causing more violence because it is giving younger kids access to a gun and the problem is younger people having guns. So therefore, the legal age to own a gun in Illinois should be raised.

List of sources in alpha order

gun control

https://www.britannica.com/technology/gun-control

Encyclopædia Britannica

March 18, 2024

March 14, 2024

Analysis: Mix of impulsivity, access to guns contribute to shootings by American teens

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/nation/analysis-mix-of-impulsivity-access-to-guns-contribute-to-shootings-by-american-teens

PBS

March 18, 2024

June 24, 2023

Should the minimum age to carry guns be raised?

https://wisevoter.com/issue/how-old-donyou-have-to-be-to-buy-a-gun/#:~:text=Raising%20the%20age%20limit%20increases,and%20consequently%20increase%20public%20safety.

Wisevoter

March 18, 2024