Opposition paper

Cole Ashby
March 30, 2009
English 1010
Opposition paper
Gun Control

With every passing year the violence in our great country continues to get worse and worse. Violence starts with a thought and ends with an action. These thoughts derive from video games, movies, music and basically anything else media related. These matters are inevitable as in we can't take control or stop them from happening. Though something we can take partial control of is the weapons being handled within the United States.
The fastest and easiest way to obtain a gun is through a gun show. Kids as young as 18 years old, in some states, can walk in off the streets and just buy a shotgun or rifle legally. How is an inexperienced kid that young going to know how to handle a gun properly? The only experience they might have had with a gun is on video games. In several games thugs walk around streets killing people and taking their money. What are these kids thinking of when they're holding that gun? What do they need a gun for anyways? This is absurd and needs to be taken care of before things get out of hand.
According to the organization Legal Community Against Violence, everyday in America there are 20 deaths caused by firearms to people under the age of 25. In 2005 alone there were 3,027 deaths to kids under the age of 19. Of those 1,972 were homicides, 822 were suicides and 173 were unintentional shootings. A majority of these kids I’m sure had gotten a hold of a gun from a family member. My brother Christopher was only 16 years old when he decided to take his life. He knew where my dad’s gun case and keys were. It was a tragic night for my whole family but a night that could have been prevented.
My sister and her husband are both weapon carriers. She carries a pistol in a holster on her leg. One day she set the gun on the bed absent mindedly. We were playing games when my other sister’s son came running in the room holding the gun like a toy. That was a mistake that could have caused someone their life. My sisters started crying from the mistake and she never carried a gun on herself again. So how often do you think this happens? How can it be prevented? Even though my dad tried to hide his guns my brother still found a way in. The only way to ensure yours and your families safety is to not own one.
First course of action should be a higher age limit for gun carriers. People under the age of 21 are still developing personality and don’t have their emotions completely in check. Next, in order for someone to buy and own a gun they should have to go through a gun safety course. This shows that they are committed to owning one legally and safely. The world is becoming a more dangerous and violent place even with all of the government’s security. When worse comes to worse we need to pull the whole idea of even having individual rights to a gun. The world is evolving in some ways and devolving in others. Change is inevitable but with change in the world we need change in laws. When it comes to safety gun control is a good place to start.

Prop

Cole Ashby
March 28, 2009
English 1010
Gun Control
Every day the American government is doing its best to get a better grip on the safety of its civilians; but how far is too far? Many government officials feel that they have the answer to all of America’s problems and given the chance they would make many drastic changes. One issue that all Americans have in common is the insecurity of their safety. Along with that comes the difference of opinion on gun control. Some feel safer with a gun in their house and others can’t sleep at night knowing that inside one of their neighboring houses, there is a gun. So who is to say that America would be better off or worse with the option of gun control? There is only one way to know and that is through statistics.
Statistics show that Florida in 1987 had fewer homicides by -37% after the right-to-carry law was passed. Between October 1987 and April of 1994 there were 221,443 concealed weapons licenses given out in Florida and of those there were 18 crimes recorded with people who had concealed weapons licenses. Though statistics aren’t always correct the number is astounding. Only 18 in thousands had committed a crime with a concealed firearm. It only makes sense though right? Why would a criminal go through all that trouble to validate a weapon when he could get one for cheap and no problem at all? Numbers also show that since 1998 not one single concealed weapons holder had fired at an officer, nationwide. Actually, it shows that on several occasions concealed weapon holders have often saved an officers life.
So how many people carry weapons legally and what does it take? Well statistics show that in 1977 the number of guns in houses peaked at a high of 54%. It was around that time too when the American government started putting restrictions on gun control and a steady decline started. In 2006 the percentage of concealed guns in homes was 34.5%. The decline was most likely related to the requirements it took to receive a concealed-weapons license. A couple of things you must have in order to obtain a weapons license are a clean criminal record, be of age, and you must have taken a firearm safety course.
Even with these precautions and astounding statistics the government is still trying to put more restrictions on weapon licenses and maybe even ban gun control all together. A man once said, “An armed man is a free man.” What do we do when we or our family and loved ones are attacked? Are we to be defenseless? The idea is both scary and aggravating. The only source of security and safety so many Americans have has been threatened to be taken away. Though there are not quite as many people as there used to be with concealed weapons there are much more people who support the idea of gun control. So where do you stand, behind or in front of the barrel of the gun?

Spring In Zion

The painting "Spring In Zion" by Laura Mann is captivating in the way that it uses lighting to catch the viewers attention. When I first saw this painting there were two things that really jumped out at me. First it was the way the sun found its way through the clouds and casted it's rays into the river reflecting what looked like shattered glass strewn about the bottom. Then there's the tree that's just as lit and lively as the river. It's long branches covered in a perfect vibrant green makes it seem like a photo-shopped picture strait from Zion. It was a combination of lighting, color scheme, and contrast that gave this picture so much meaning. It really jumped out to me and gave me the feeling of a warm summer day and a light breeze in the most perfect setting I could imagine. A great painting all around.

Does The Price Of A Shoe Affect Its Durability?

On Monday I got a lot of good questions, but one question that caught my attention was, "are more expensive shoes really more durable?" After a lot of tedious researching I found the answer to that question and the answer is yes. There are several things that go into making a shoe that raise the price such as the material in the shoe, the tedious manufacturing, and finally the high demand for a certain brand name shoe.
If you were to compare two different brand name basketball shoes it wouldn't be hard to tell which one is the cheaper brand. The cheaper will have more synthetic material that weathers, tears, and damages a lot easier than the other. They also tend to be a little more misshapen and uneven. The more expensive ones are more symmetrical and use more natural materials that are both tough and luxurious. So in most cases the price does affect the durability and in the long run may even be cheaper for the consumer.

And The Oscar Goes To...

For this year I'd give the Oscar award to Gran Turino. Main actor Clint Eastwood, does a phenomenal job in this latest hit. This movie was both hilarious and touching. Sobs and laughter could be heard from all around the crowd. But what made this movie such a great hit? I feel that it was because people could relate to this movie in so many ways. There was the foreign boy who was both pushed around and forced into something he didn't want to be part of. Then there was the turmoil in the family that made it hard for everyone to get along with one another. But the one that hit home was after the foreign girl had been beaten and raped and the family nearly killed. Even after all of this Clint Eastwood being the killing machine that the army had made him into, held his ground and came to a conclusion of what had to be done. He walked right up to the front door and fooled the mob into shooting him in front of several people. The mob was then taken into custody for life. He gave his life for the ones he loved and stood by what he felt was right and just. From beginning to end it was always either action or humor. The movie was new and different and could relate to everyone in the audience. By the end of the movie both my step mom and girlfriend had smudged their mascara all over their face. Great movie!

Ethnographic Concerns

My concern is on what information is relevant and what can be left out. I have a lot of information but I toss back and forth on if I should put it in there. For me, essays kind of have a rythm of how they should flow. But what sounds good to me might not to others. They might ask how that ties in with the information I'm writing on. But thast why it's always good to get it proof read. I wont know until I get it back on Monday.

Grammar Post

A common grammatical error is the use of their, there, and they're. The use of their indicates possession of something. There indicates a place. Like, "Look over there at the bird." Then the use of they're is a short version of, they are. Click here for more examples and a better understanding.

Ethnographic Angle Considerations

I've been stuck on two ideas for my ethnographic essay. I can't decide if I want to write on the regulars that go to Denny's or the employees there. I'm a server at the North Denny's and I find that a lot of the regulars have several similarities. Such as, they all work hard labor jobs, they are mostly older folks, they come in at least every other day, and they've all become good friends with each other or the employees. So my angle would be, what drives them to come to Denny's? Is it the food, the employees, the other customers, or something else?
My other idea was writing it on the employees. Like the customers, the employees have several similarities too. As I've worked with them I've found that several employees (excluding me) have been working at Denny's for years, had a rough youth, and had a run-in with the law a time or two. What brought that group of people to Denny's? Were they once regulars too? Was it because they feel like they belong there? If you have any suggestions on which one I should write on or any questions I should answer please help me out!

Common Misconceptions of Homophones

Two of the most commonly used homophones are affect and effect and except and accept. Homophones are words that have the same sound but very different meanings. For example: "I, very appreciatively, accepted the gifts. All except for the $100 dollar gift card." Accept means to recieve willingly. Except means to take or to leave out. On an occassion I am guilty of making this mistake. I forget that there is another meaning or way of spelling what I'm trying to say. For more examples and a clearer understanding of homophones click Here.

Quotation Marks for Emphasis?

It's really common to see quotation marks on words in advertisement to show emphasis. But what a lot of the advertisers don't know is the huge punctuation error they are making. The definition I recieved from dictionary.com says, "Either of a pair of punctuation marks used primarily to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word, but also to indicate meanings or glosses and to indicate the unusual or dubious status of a word." But that only confuses the brain. Things that commonly recieve quotations would include: a quote from another person, a conversation, and titles of either a book, movie, store, etc. Click here to see a site that gives good examples for this common puctuation error.

First Draft

Another fond memory of my family is when we’d clean or just hang out, sometimes, we’d burst out singing the Always Coca Cola commercial. I have 7 sisters and 5 brothers and at one point we were all squished under one roof and there was always that Coca Cola song stuck in someones head and you could hear them whistling or humming it. Walking by, one of us would hear it and started singing it too, then we’d sing as loud as we could from the room we were in, competing to be the loudest.

Revision

Another fond memory of my family is when we were all cleaning or lounging around the house, you could hear the faint whistle or hum of the "Always Coca Cola" song. With seven sisters and five brothers, all squished under one roof, it wasn't hard for one of the twelve of us to hear it walking by. Like a contagious yawn, it would get stuck in their head and it didn't take long for it to catch on. Soon enough we were all singing it from the top of our lungs, competing to be the loudest.

Grammar Post # 2

Something that I always see in writing is semicolons but don't have a full understanding of why it's there or why it's used. The exact definition of a semicolon is a mark used to connect independent clauses and indicating a closer relationship between the clauses than a period does. The semicolon can take place of a period, usually tied in with something like however, nevertheless, furthermore, etc. For example: I like going on vacation; however, I like coming home. I could take out the semicolon and replace it with a period; though, it might sound incorrect. If you are still confused about semicolons, check out this site!

My Life Sounds Like...

It was last summer and I was sixteen, spending the majority of my time in St. George with my girlfriend, Shana. I had just finished my Junior year at Lehi High School and I missed Shana and all my old friends from Dixie High School. That summer was the happiest I had been in a long time, though the thought of going home was always in the back of my head. So I decided that I wasn't ready to go . The end of the Summer was fast approaching and I decided that it was time to tell my dad that I wasn't going to be coming home. I drove up with Shana and stayed at his house for a couple of nights. The day came when it was time to go back to St. George. I gathered all the courage I could manage and took my dad to dinner. I told him what I was thinking of doing and he was calm and complacent, trying to tell me the flaws in the idea and that I couldn't leave. Then I dropped the bomb shell and told him I wasn't asking for his permission. We drove back to his house in silence. When we arrived at his house, he kicked us out along with our bags. We drove slowly back to St. George, thinking of all the things that were to come. From that day on, I didn't have others to guide or support me. I had to make decisions for myself. The song says, "Now I'm feeling like my life is finally mine. With nothing to look back to, we just continue to drive." The play list plays 30 seconds of the song but the whole song represents that day and how I felt. This year has been tough but I've managed to keep a high GPA and work full time to support Shana, myself and our dog.
The song "Gone Going" shows my feelings on both life in general and material things. I feel that people get so caught up on how they look and the things that they don't have that they soon become a slave to the dollar bill. It says in the song that we feel safe looking in the mirror because we see the man that looks familiar but it can't forever cover up your soul. It then goes on to say that these things aren't something that you can take to your grave, meaning their not something that we're going to be remembered for. Every person that was ever worth remembering made sacrifices to create value in other peoples lives.

Possessives

I've always been confused about possessive apostrophes. I was never quite sure when or where they were supposed to be placed. This website put it really simple for me! The book definition of where to put it is a little more confusing. The book says, "Indicate shared or joint possession by adding -'s to the final noun in a list. Indicate individual possession by adding -'s to each noun." If you struggle with possessives to, click on the hyperlink and it will clear it up for you!