Intro to Problem

The two men emerged from the bank, wearing dark ski masks and heavy body armor. They dragged a full money bag behind them. Sergeant Dean Haynes and three civilians ducked behind his police car as one of the suspects turned their direction. Automatic fire exploded toward the car. “The whole car rocked. The tires were popping and glass and metal went flying. I felt an object go into my shoulder, and I saw that the three citizens were injured from rounds going through the car or skipping up off the ground,” Haynes later said (Rigg).

This was only the beginning to what would turn out to be one of the most dangerous shootouts ever. The two suspects, armed with three AK-47 assault rifles, one G3 battle rifle, and an M-16 assault rifle would continue to battle officers for nearly an hour. With their inferior weapons, it required 370 police and SWAT team members to end the shootout. In the end, ten police officers and several civilians were injured (“North”).

What was truly amazing about this shootout was what occurred behind the scenes. As it turned out, these bank robbers had been arrested just a year before for armed robbery. Less than a year later, they gained the legal return of their weapons. These were the same weapons used to commit the above crime shortly thereafter.

The North Hollywood shootout was not the only case where illegally obtained guns were used by criminals. Another great example of this was the Columbine High shooting in 1999. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold created an elaborate plan to kill many of their classmates. The students entered the school with two modified shotguns, an assault rifle, and a Tec 9 automatic assault pistol. The pair went from room to room killing. In the end they took their own lives in addition to the lives of 12 of their fellow classmates and one teacher. Harris and Klebold, the gunmen, were both minors. By law they were prohibited from owning guns. Still, they were able to obtain such weaponry by exploiting the loopholes in today’s gun laws.

As you can see, there are clearly problems with our current system of controlling guns in society. Everyone, Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, shares the hope of a safer society. However, there are several opinions on how we should obtain it. Some suggest banning guns as a solution. I believe that the best solution would be the modification and proper enforcement of existing gun laws.