Why Gun Control is not Enough, by Jeff Mcmahan Essay

Why Gun Control is not Enough, by Jeff Mcmahan - Essay Example This paper tends to summarize the article, with a personal reflection in a later section. Mcmahan emphasizes upon the fact that owning guns makes the matter worse by making self-defense a kind of self-help. Allowing guns will make criminals better instead of eliminating crime. This is because they will become better equipped with better guns and readier to shoot. The more the guns, the more are the chances of accidental shots. Even a slight conflict will make people shoot at each other. The power of government and police will be diminished, because people will not look for help from security agencies and police, and will defend themselves through the use of guns. â€Å"The power of the citizens and that of the police approach parity,† states Mcmahan (2010, par.5). Moreover, it is all a matter of relative safety. Individuals owing guns will feel safe, and those without guns will be the most vulnerable, and will look forward to having guns. The state which will allow guns will f eel safer than that which does not. â€Å"When only one state gets nuclear weapons, it enhances its own security but reduces that of others, which have become more vulnerable,† writes Mcmahan (2012, par.10). This relative safety will disturb the balance of power and peace among people, agencies, and nations. Mcmahan further writes that gun control is a good solution because it limits the use of guns both for the criminals and for common men. He writes, â€Å"†¦we would all be safer if no one had guns — or, rather, no one other than trained and legally constrained police officers† (2012, par.12). With gun control, people will start trusting the police force for domestic defense. Mcmahan asserts that gun advocates present their arguments against gun control, but neither of them is valid, except that the prohibition and effective implementation of gun control is not easy. Mcmahan ends his article by saying that the United States is suffering from much more vio lence and violent incidents that the rest of Western countries because of easy access to firearms, and gun advocates should give their arguments a second thought as to whether guns should be allowed or not. Personal Reflection Mcmahan has very effectively described the importance of gun control and gun prohibition by presenting arguments from both sides, and has efficiently cleared his stance on the topic. Since owning a gun is beneficial and dangerous both at the same time, thus, it becomes important to discuss who should be able to own a gun. Efforts have always been made in order to decrease criminal activity around the globe, among which taking away guns is thought to be one such effort, when it is not. Although Mcmahan asserts that gun control will result in less violence and crime, I believe that common men should be allowed to own guns so that they can protect themselves. The most important point here is how the citizens are going to ensure their safety when they are told to turn in their guns, just as Boylan (2004, p.130) states in his book. People wish to keep guns to enjoy their autonomy and guarantee their safety when they meet robbers, criminals and terrorists. Armed citizens feel their strength in protecting themselves and their families from physically stronger criminals. I disagree when Mcmahan (2012, par.3) states, â€Å"When most citizens are armed, as they were in the Wild West, crime doesn’t cease. Instead, criminals work to be better armed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I believe that criminals will still get better if guns are banned, because the wrongdoers will still obtain guns and ammunition from whatever illegal sources. And who will be in loss? The common man, because he will have no illegal source of owning a gun. Owning guns is one of people’

Building Competencies in Comminity Youth Worker Essay

Building Competencies in Comminity Youth Worker - Essay Example Growing realization among the public at large about the need to delve deep into the lives of our young adults, finding the cause of the growing frustration, led them to believe the lack of sufficient support system in the form of positive relationships and lack of proper opportunities for self enhancement were at the root cause of the present scenario. Moreover, as in the language of Pittman K & Ferber T in Unfinished business: Future Reflections on a Decade of Promoting Youth Development "problem-free is not fully prepared", an effective Program for Youth Development requires opportunities and environment to be given to young adolescents to build and develop their personal and social assets that will prepare them for a healthy and productive adulthood. In spite of the presence of a number of talented youth workers, the agencies working in this field face the obstacle of the unmet need of a stable and well-trained work force that has knowledge and competence of addressing the myriad challenges facing both urban and rural youth. Moreover, their working climate is not tempting enough to attract more and more youth workers in this field. Being comparatively younger, it has yet to attain the status of a recognized and professional field. Lack of funds provided for these programs deter the organizations to make long term recruitments required for the success of these programs. In this background, it is important to know as to which skills are required by a youth worker working in such organizations that help them develop and maintain effective relationships with youth and their families and thus reducing problems in their lives and ensuring an environment congenial to their healthy development. Building caring relationships with children and youth requires active listening and a variety of communication strategies. As public educators and practitioners of youth development, the community youth worker must possess several internal and external competencies and skill in order to deliver an effective program capable of reducing problems in the life of our young adolescents and give them an environment congenial to their thriving. As a strong family support system is the most important requirement for a child to thrive, an ideal community youth worker is expected to bring it into the life of young adolescent by working as a bridge to bring the families together. He can interact with the parents and can make them realize the type of problems an adolescent has to undergo trying to find his identity in the outside world, which are further augmented if he belongs to a migrated community and at the same time can make the adolescent realize what their parents have to undergo with their beliefs in traditions of the community. Thus, on the one hand, he has to be human and sensitive to the needs of diverse people and on the other hand should be conversant with the various stages of the development of a child. Changing demographics of the American society requires its community youth w