Blog as assignments
~an opinion to this task~

Half of this semester, I wrote an article almost every week as one of a writing assignment. Actually, it was an assignment, but, I really enjoyed writing and I didn’t feel like it was a required task. One of the good point of this task was the teacher didn’t decide any topic and we can write anything freely. We made links and pictures and I could enjoy making my own space on the internet. In addition, it gave me a good chance to know about my friends and I can also learn writing skill from them. Because, “my friend” wrote it, I could enjoy reading and it maybe has helped my reading skill improved. Moreover, because our writing levels are not so different, it wasn’t difficult to read. Sometimes, I could find new words and I can learn from their blogs. Actually, I can enjoy studying in this way. Therefore, I recommend that future writing class would create blogs. I’m sure that they can enjoy their own blog!

Thank you:)

AES 220-Advanced Writing
Professor Michael Krauss


Gun Control Laws:
~The United States Government Should Enact Additional Gun Control Laws~

Abstract

In America, gun control laws have always come to the forefront of the society. Every year, a lot of people become victims in a gun-possessing society. Not only are there intended crimes, but also many unintended accidents.
There are some gun control laws in America. However, it is not enough to reduce the crime rate and prevent tragic accidents involving American citizens. Some people claim that a gun is necessary for self protection, although it is known that actually the people who possess a gun have more possibility to be killed.
Moreover, it became obvious that gun possession leads to high suicide rate and gun possession in the house contributes to youth gun violence and accidents due to misfiring of guns. To reduce these problems, the American government should enact additional gun control laws which prohibit ordinary citizens from purchasing a gun.




Full Text

In America, gun control laws have always come to the forefront of the society. There are 200 million guns in American society. This corresponds to more than one firearm for every adult (Cook, P., Ludwig & Jens, 1996). This large number causes a high interest of many American citizens in gun control laws. Today, “many states implemented criminal background checks or ‘waiting periods’ for handgun purchasers” (Gun control laws, 2006, para. 1). Like this, a lot of states place some restrictions when people get a gun, however there is no state which prohibits ordinary citizens from purchasing it. Every year, a lot of people become victims in a gun-possessing society. According to Robert Spitzer, former professor of political science at the State University of New York, since 1972, guns have killed more than 30,000 people annually. What is worse, “for every gun death, there are an estimated five to seven gun injuries” (2004, p.46). Not only are there these intended crimes, but also many unintended accidents.


One well known example of a gun-related accident which happened in America in 1992, involved a Japanese exchange student, who was only 16 years old, and was shot by mistake on Halloween. Because he could not understand the word “freeze,” he was mistaken as a robber and killed with a gun (Blakeman, 2000). In Japan, this incident has become very famous, and people have become conscious of guns in American society. It brought to light the problems involved in a gun-possessing society. We realized that people who possess a gun can easily kill people. Even if the perpetrator did not have deep animosity or profound anger, he could kill people with a gun.


Some people claim that guns are necessary for self protection. For example, they assert that when a burglar comes into their house, the person who owns a gun can resist them; therefore, it is safer to possess a gun than not. However, ironically, it is well known that possessing a gun for self-protection, actually increases the possibility of being killed in the burglar’s scenario. According to Arthur Kellerman, director of the Center for Injury Control at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, “families possessing a gun are 22 times more likely to kill a family member or acquaintance than to kill in self-defense” (as cited in Levy, 2001, p.89). This proves that gun possession makes people less safe instead. Actually, gun possession “only increases the risk of death and injury and creates a false sense of security” (Kellermann, Arthur, Mercy & James, 1998, para. 1).


In addition, some gun possession advocates insist that especially for women, guns are necessary for self protection. Generally speaking, women are smaller and weaker than men, so they point out that women cannot protect themselves without a gun. However, “facts show that about twice as many women are shot by their intimate partner than are killed by strangers using guns or any other means” (Kellerman et al., 1998, para. 1). From this article, one can conclude that the reality of women’s self protection with a gun is the opposite from the claims made by gun advocators. Because there is a gun in the home, people can easily use it. Because of that, even if there is only a little quarrel between a married couple, this could turn into a case of murder.


Moreover, keeping a gun in home makes it 4.8 times more likely someone will commit suicide (Gun control and the second amendment, n.d). In addition, one can easily imagine that using guns as the means of suicide produces high rates of success. “Guns are the most deadly weapon used in suicide attempts” (Mooney, 2000, para. 9). Therefore potential suicide victims are more likely to lose their chance to survive and get counseling and rebound from the shock. It is known that many people commit suicide as a result of impulsive behavior. That is even if the person is controlled by temporary emotion and tries to commit suicide, not planned beforehand, one may not get a chance to survive when a firearm is involved. Gun possession leads to a high success rate of not only the killing of a family member or acquaintance but also those attempting to commit suicide.


The close relation between suicide rate and firearms ownership rate has become clear in international comparisons (Brent & Bridge, 2003). The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also states that “people living in households in which guns are kept have a risk of suicide that is five times greater than people living in households without guns” (as cited in Mooney, 2000, para. 10). This means the firearms suicide rate and, in general, the overall suicide rate may be related to the strictness of gun control laws and the prevalence of gun ownership. It suggests that greater restrictions on gun control laws would likely be associated with declines in firearms suicide.


What is worse, gun possession in homes increases the rate of violence and death among young people. “In 2000, 3365 young people ages 19 and under were killed by gunfire—an average of 9 each day” (Arias, Kochanek, Minino, Murphy & Smith, 2002, para. 1). Even if the possession of firearms is prohibited by law, a lot of children are involved in gun accidents. In 1994, the Youth Handgun Safety Act was signed by President Clinton. It prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from possessing handguns and handgun ammunition (The White House, 2000). However, actually it is known that this law has not taken a big role in reducing the gun violence among juveniles, because in America, many families possess a gun in home, so it is easy for juveniles to get it without parents’ knowledge. It is obvious that American’s gun-possessing society makes it easier to get a gun for juveniles. The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center reported 42% of students in 7th and 10th grade in Milwaukee and Boston think that it is possible to get a gun if they want (2005). American children are in situations in which they can get a gun without going to a lot of trouble. As seen from the research, this situation can bring violence to juveniles.


In addition to the intentional homicide, American children are more likely in danger of being killed by accidents due to misfiring of guns when there are firearms in the home. The ease of access to firearms at home leads to high rates of tragic accidents among families and friends. It is often reported that without their parents’ knowledge, children play with a gun, which is in the family bedroom, and pull the trigger of the gun accidentally, killing family, friends or themselves. An actual story of a tragic accident which happened in Salt Lake City is a strong example. One day, a 13 year old boy, whose name was LeRoy, visited his friend’s house along with his 12 year old friend. In the house, there was a 9 mm pistol in the master bedroom and accidentally the 12 year old friend of LeRoy pulled the trigger of the gun and killed LeRoy (Anderson, 2004). In 1997, the authors of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report studied, “firearm deaths for children aged 14 or younger in 26 industrialized countries and found that 86 percent of the deaths occurred in the United States. The firearms homicide rate alone was 16 times higher for American children…and the firearms unintentional death rate nine times higher” (as cited in Sugarmann, 2001). These statistics clearly show that American children face a higher rate of accidental death from firearms than children in countries where guns are not prevalent. This situation is caused by ease of access to firearms in daily life. To protect young children from getting involved in gun accidents, there is a necessity to strengthen gun control laws.


As seen in the Youth Handgun Safety Act, there are some gun control laws which are already enacted in the U.S. “In the United States…, laws have been adopted to give law enforcement officials a chance to make sure the buyer is not a high-risk person...They include alcoholics, drug addicts, mentally unbalanced people and people with serious criminal records” (Zimring, 2006, para. 3-4). However, in reality also high-risk person can easily own a gun. Guns are stolen from homes and cars by criminals, ending up used in violent crimes. In the article “Gun Carrying Behaviors of Gun Carriers,” Tom W. Smith researched how people carried their gun. This survey reveals that surprisingly about 23.9 % people possess a gun in visible place. It means not only children are able to get a gun but also a high-risk person can easily steal it. Actually, according to this survey about 2.3 % people answered they did not know where their gun was and 3.5 % people answered they had lost it (as cited in Levy, 2001). That is, there is a possibility these missing guns are owned by criminals. It is very irresponsible that gun owners have lost a gun or do not know where it is. If they cannot possess it with strong sense of responsibility, the government should not allow them to own a gun. Even if the government prohibits high risk people from getting a gun legally, they can easily get a gun. Therefore, those laws do not make sense. It is obvious that as long as American society is flooded with guns, anybody can obtain them.


In conclusion, it is obvious that gun-possession brings a lot of violence to American society. From the statistics, one realizes that gun possession contributes to a high suicide rate. Moreover, it causes a lot of tragic accidents caused by misfiring of guns. Even though, some gun control laws have been enacted by the government already, it is not enough to protect young children from gun violence and it is not enough to prevent high risk people from getting a gun. As long as ordinary people possess guns at home, it is difficult to protect citizens from gun violence. To protect them and reduce the crime rate, it is strongly urged that the U.S. government enact the additional gun control laws which can prohibit ordinary citizens from purchasing any kinds of gun.







References
Anderson, R. (2004, July 22). Freedom from unreasonable public policies restricting personal choices and harming public health. Retrieved November 29, 2006, from Mayor Anderson's Freedom Speech Web site: http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/mayor/speeches/freedom092304.htm

Arias, E., Kochanek, K.D., Minino, A.M., Murphy, S.L., & Smith, B.L. (2000). Youth and gun giolence. In face sheet: Gun violence. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from http://www.csgv.org/docUploads/Gun%20Violence%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Blakeman, K. (2000, July 9). Honoluluadvertiser.com. Retrieved November 28, 2006, from Local News Web site: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2000/Jul/09/localnews16.html

Brent, D. & Bridge, J. (2003). Firearms availability and suicide: Evidence, interventions, and future directions. American Behavioral Scientist 46, 9,. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from
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Kellerman, Arthur, L., Mercy, & James, A. (1992). Women and gun violence. In face sheet: Gun violence. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from http://www.csgv.org/docUploads/Gun%20Violence%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Levy, R. (2001). Guns in home. In M. Haerens (Ed.), Gun violence : opposing viewpoints (pp.89-90). Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

Mooney, C. (2000, July 20). The real gun crisis. The American Prospect, Retrieved November 20, 2006, from http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2000/07/mooney-c-07-20.html

National Center for Health Statistics, (2000). Death rates for motor vehicle traffic-related and firearm-related injuries among adolescents 10-19 years of age, annual average 1996-97. Health, U.S., 2000 with Adolescent Health Chartbook, Retrieved November 22, 2006, from http://web.lexis-nexis.com/statuniv/document?_m=af84b724877a0060bcaf0a4a7c2bc3d2&_ansset=V-WA-A-W-D-MsSAYZA-UUW-U-AAZZDDCVAD-AAZVBCZWAD-EBABVABD-D-U&_docnum=6&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVV&_md5=1ca4eb2b018ca86d5d126fc14acf95a6

National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center. (2005). Youth firearm-related violence fact sheet. Retrieved November 18, 2006, from Youth Violence Prevention Web site: http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/facts/firearm.asp

Sugarmann, J. (2001). Youth gun violence is a serious problem. In M. Haerens (Ed.), Gun violence : opposing viewpoints (pp.37-43). Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

Spitzer, R. (2004). The politics of gun control. Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly.

The White House. (2000, April 11). The white house office of the press secretary. Retrieved November 29, 2006, from Keeping Guns Away from Youth and Criminals Web site: http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New?html?20000411_14.html

Zimring, F. (Ed.). Gun control. (2006). Vol. G8. Chicago: World Book, Inc.

Thanks Giving

What is your favorite holiday in America?? Last week, I experienced wonderful Thanks giving in my friend’s house.

On Thanks giving day, many students were going back to their hometown and few people left on campus. I stayed Wednesday night in my dorm, but it was very quiet and I know that almost all students left from our dorm.

Actually, I experienced “early Thanks giving” on last Saturday with my friend ship family, so it was my second time that I experienced Thanks giving. This time, I visited my friend’s cousin’s house with Ayako and Takako.

They lived in cute and big house and they served us traditional Thanks giving food. It was so tasty. When I saw the turkey, I was very surprised, because it was very big!!
However, they told us that it was not big size compared with usual. But, for us it was big enough and I was so excited.

While we were eating, everyone had to say about what we thanked for. Some people thanked for their nice family or friends, and some of my friends thanked for that we can come to Lewis & Clark College.

After we finished eating main meal, we played with board-game which is named pictionary. It was the game to guess the word from their teammates’ drawing in certain time. It was so excited! Of course, my vocabulary is poorer than native speakers, so I had disadvantages. I could really enjoy it though, and also learned some words from that game.

After we enjoyed that game, we ate dessert. There were four kinds of pie and I ate pumpkin pie and apple pie. They were so tasty and I felt happiness.




Then we watched two movies: Mary Poppins and Aradin. Mary Poppins was very cute and I remembered one word which is “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” according to wikipedia, it is used as “a miraculous way to talk oneself out of difficult situations, and even as a way to change one's mood.” It was very difficult to say for me, but I practiced and I remembered this word. If you want to change your mood to good way, please sing “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” It makes you happy!

Anyway, on Thursday, I did a lot of things and I could really enjoy Thanks giving day!!

AES 220-02
Argument paper

The American Government Should Enact Additional Gun Control Laws

In 1992, a Japanese student who had been studying in America was shot by mistake on Halloween. Because he misunderstood the word “freeze,” he was mistaken as a robber and he was killed with a gun. In Japan, this accident has become very famous, and people have become very conscious of guns in American society. From this tragedy, we realized that people who possess a gun can easily kill people. Even if the perpetrator did not have deep animosity or profound anger, he could kill people with a gun. It is obvious that America’s gun possessing society leads to a high crime rate. To reduce the high crime rate, new gun control laws in American society have to be enacted immediately.

The people who are against gun control claim that a gun is necessary for self-protection. However it is known that the people who possess a gun have more possibility to be killed than those who do not own a gun. It is easily imagined that if they take out their gun when an armed burglar comes into their house, the burglar would be in haste and might make a hasty decision to shoot and kill them. Ironically, because they possess a gun for self-protection, the possibility to be killed would increase. Therefore, it does not make sense that a gun is necessary for self-protection.

Because people possess guns, they can easily kill people. Killing people with a gun is much easier than killing with a knife or blunt instrument. They need not come close to an opponent or they need not physically feel the act of killing people. When they kill people with a knife, they would probably have to use great force to stab the victim and it would likely produce guilt on their part. Therefore, people would hesitate to kill someone.

In addition, possessing guns produces accidents caused by misfiring. We often hear that without their parents’ knowledge, children play with a gun which is in the bedroom and they pull the trigger of the gun accidentally, killing family, friends or themselves. Moreover, I heard about a tragic accident in which a father mistook his child as a robber and he shot and killed his own child. It is a really tragic story. If he did not have a gun in his hand, the child needed not have had his short life ended. From these examples, we realize that gun possession produces a lot of tragic accidents. A lot of people who need not be killed become victims in a gun possessive society.

I consider that the one of the major reasons for the high crime rate of the United States is gun possession by ordinary citizens. American citizens can easily get a gun, which is a powerful weapon. Therefore, they can commit a crime easily without thinking it through. In Japan, first of all, to get a powerful weapon is really difficult for ordinary citizens. When someone decided to break into a bank, they have to make many preparations and a lot of people abandon the idea during the planning phase. Therefore, it is sure that if they cannot get a powerful weapon easily, the crime rate will be decreased.

I am convinced of the need to bring gun control into practice in the U.S. I believe that there is no merit to an American citizen possessing a gun. Because they possess a gun, they can easily kill people or commit other crimes, and it increases the crime rate. What is worse, due to keeping a gun in their home, a lot of tragic accidents happen. Therefore, I deem that the American government should enact new gun control laws immediately.

Winter Break

Did you decide your winter break’s plan?? In our school, we have to leave our room during winter vacation or we have to pay extra charge to stay our room. I don’t want to pay extra charge, so I decided to go to travel around the U.S. during this winter brake.
Our winter break is so long. We will have 1-month break. In Japan, winter brake is not so long, maybe about 2 weeks or so, so I’m surprised and happy that we have a looooong winter break.
(Actually, we have not only winter break but also a lot of brakes here. For example, we have the fall break, Thanks giving break and spring break.)

Anyway, because I decided to not stay here, I had to think about the plan during whole winter break. It was little troublesome to make whole plan. We had to think about money. In addition, we had to research in English.

However, finally I decided my whole plan during the winter vacation!!!!!!!!!

This is my plan!

First, I will go to my roommate house which is in Wisconsin. I’m very exciting about that. I can experience American Christmas!! Moreover, because one of her friends works in a Movie Theater, we can see any movie free. It’s so lucky!

After I will stay for 10 days in her house, I will go to N.Y. and meet my Japanese friends of my college. I’m going to spend the New Year of 2007 with them. For Japanese (and maybe for everyone), New Year’s Day is really important! So I’m happy that I can spend New Year’s Day with my Japanese friends.
Today, we reserved the tickets of Broadway musical. We will see “Chicago” in N.Y. It was little expensive but I love musical, so I’m very happy that I can see it!!!

After we spent 5 days in N.Y, we will go to Washington D.C. There is my friend in D.C, so we can stay her room for two nights. Maybe we can enjoy sightseeing there.

Then, I still have time for one week, so I will go back to my roommate house in Wisconsin and will come back here.


Today, I finally finished reserving tickets of planes, buses and musical. It took a really long time. Therefore I’m really happy that I can finish it!
I’m looking forward to the winter break!

Movies!!

Since I came here, I have already watched three movies!! Today, I want to write about three movies that I saw in America:)
(This is the machine that I found in the theater! It was so cute. I've never seen it in Japanese theater, so I took a picture. hehe)

The first movie that I saw was “SAW III.” It was really shocking!!!!!! Have you ever seen “SAW I” or “SAW II”? I saw “SAW I” in Japan. I thought it was gross. However, it was not only gross but also suspense!! So, in some ways, it was interesting. But, Saw III was really really gross…… It was much grosser than “SAW I” and “SAW II.” Maybe, it was the grossest movie I’ve ever seen. I went to see this movie with my friends. However, it was too painful to see it, so we always covered our eyes with our hands during showing.


The second movie that I saw was “The Departed.” The main actors are Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. It was about the cop and mobsters. It was really tricky movie and there was a surprise ending! They use a lot of slang, so it was little difficult to understand for me. But, I could get the main stream and I could enjoy it. After I saw this movie, my roommate explained me all that I couldn’t understand. Therefore, finally I could get it perfectly and I knew that it was really nice movie:D hehe Maybe if I could see in Japanese, I could have enjoyed more!!


The last movie that I saw was “The Prestige.” It was really cool!!!! It was about two rival magicians and they battle each other to trade secrets. Actually, it was the most difficult movie to understand among these three for me. But at the same time, it was the most exciting movie. This movie also had surprise ending and I couldn’t predict it at all. After I saw it, I got really confused and I asked a lot of questions to my roommate. However, she also got confused and we discussed a lot about it. I like the movie that I have to use my brain, so it was really nice for me. I strongly recommend you to see it. If you see it, please explain me:D

Haunted MAZE

On Friday night, I went to “Haunted Maze” with five of my friends. It is located in NW Gillihan Road, and it took only 15 minutes from downtown Portland. Two of my friends had cars, so we went by thier cars from our campus. However, we have never been there by ourselves, so we already got lost before we arrived at maze :)

When we arrived there, I realized that I made a mistake. I don't know why but I only wore t-shirt and thin jacket, so I felt really cold.
But, after I entered the “Haunted Maze,” I screamed a lot, so I became warm!!!

The last time we went there, it was not “Haunted Maze,” but just “Corn Maze.” It was really exciting too. But, this time I had more exciting time than before. Because, as you know from my picture, there were a lot of scary people in the maze and they scared us a lot. They were hiding among corns, and suddenly they came out from corns. It was really scary. In addition to that, we entered the maze around 10 o’clock. So it was really dark. I think, it gives me scarier situation. But, overall, it was really exciting and I enjoyed the maze.

Some visitors wore strange clothes or painted on their faces. So it was like a Halloween and I could also enjoy seeing them. I have never experienced Halloween, so it became a nice memory.

Hi, guys!! How was your weekend?!

I went to “Spelunking and Cave Conservation” which is the College Outdoor’s activity with my roommate and Hitomi on Sunday:) We got together at 8:00 am at Lewis & Clark, and the staffs drove us to a forest which had a cave. (You know, it’s different from Forest which is the dorm. haha)

It was really exciting!!! It was much harder and much more dangerous than I expected. Maybe, if it were Japan, it would have been off-limits area, because it was too dangerous. I’m really surprised that we explored such a dangerous cave!

This is a picture of my roommate and me. We wore a helmet and knees’ protectors.
But I thought, if we had slipped in the cave, we would have broken our legs even if we wore such protectors. There were a lot of big and sharp rocks on the ground.

Sometimes, we had to hug the ground, because the roads were narrow. Sometimes we had to scramble over the rocks to go through it. I thought, it was like “rock-climbing” in the cave!!

We explored about three hours. After we finished it, I was exhausted!! It was really hard for me... Because of caving, I have sore arms now.

Anyway, it was really hard, but really excited!!!!!

I cannot forget about this experience.haha

If there is anyone who has interested these kinds of activity, you should check the website of College Outdoors(http://www.lclark.edu/dept/outdoors/) !!
This is the webpage address, so please click it. I’m sure that you will experience really exciting weekend:)