Cover Letter

May 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Dear Portfolio Readers:

English was never my favorite subject nor my strongest; I have always preferred math. When I was told that I had to sign up for an English course this semester I instantly felt bothered by it. I understood that I was immediately going to be required to write countless essays. When the professor went over the syllabus and said we were required to construct a portfolio, I wanted to drop the class. However, I realized that I needed to stick through it if I wanted to advance in my studies. Now that the semester is approximately at is end, I am pleased that I did not drop this course. I feel that my writing skills have rapidly matured. I am aware that I have many flaws in which I need to work on but now I have developed wisdom of understanding how to pick up on them a bit sooner. This class educated me on how to brainstorm and narrow down my ideas. This method allows me to have an organized and consistent approach on how to attack an essay. The following pieces of writing that I am going to share with you will provide an insight on how my writing has evolved.

My first essay was by far my favorite essay. The first piece of writing is my memoir, which is called “ I made it”. In this composition I talk about one of my passions, which is basketball and a moment where I had to prove how much I really wanted it. One of the hardest things I had to deal with when writing this essay was to remember all the details, dialogue, exact days and times. Regardless of this concern I was able to express myself and complete my essay. The second essay that I decided to use for my portfolio was my annotation essay. In this essay I spoke about the Internet and social media, specifically Facebook and the dangers of it all. I titled this essay the “the real enemy”. The reason being is because we might not be aware of what we really get into or put ourselves in. In this essay I give evidence to support this matter.

My last and final essay is a research essay. I choose to speak about gun control in the United States. I used citations from different articles to also help support my ideas. Overall, I am very thankful and appreciate the professor’s effort in teaching and showing us various different writing which helped improve my writing skills; skills that I am going to take with me to other English classes.

 

Ramon Quinonez

 

Essay 1: Memoir (CCP)

May 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ramon Quinonez

Professor Pappas

English 101

May, 7, 2015

I Made It

 

It was the beginning of my freshman year in high school at Juanita Sanchez and basketball tryouts were right around the corner. As I walked into my English class that morning all that came to mind was “I can’t wait to play high school basketball”. Coming into high school as a freshman excited, not knowing how hard I would have to work to maintain my grades to play. That thought stayed with me throughout every day of school. Every class I entered, all that came to mind was basketball. Every day after school I would immediately walk down the street to the bus stop and try to catch the city bus since it was scheduled to come four minutes ahead of releasing time.

As soon as I would get home from school, the first thing I would do is eat. Next I would change into my basketball gear, grab my ball and head right out. I continued this routine every day leading up to tryouts. From gym to gym, outdoors and indoors spending my whole day playing basketball. Constantly lying to my mother about finishing my homework. She would get home from work at 6pm every weekday so I would tell her that I finished it before then just to avoid doing it. I just never wanted to do anything that would cut into my playing time.

Finally it was the day of tryouts and I was more nervous than I had ever been in my life. Tryouts were on a Wednesday night at 6 o’clock. I remember being so nervous I forgot to eat that day. As I packed my stuff I said a prayer in hopes of God to bless me and help me be my best at tryouts. I started walking over to the bus stop around 5:40 and I noticed a city bus ready to depart from my stop. As I got a bit closer I thought, “No that cannot be my bus”, that was until I saw the number 11 on the back. Immediately I began to run as fast as I have ever ran in my life. As I was approaching my way there, the bus began to move. “NO, STOP!” I yelled as I tried to catch my breath but the bus just kept going, fading away from my view.

I looked at my phone and it was 5:48, I just stood there looking around not knowing what to do. A part of me thought it just wasn’t meant to be and that I should go home. The other part of me said there’s no way that I’m going to give up now. All that hard work to be thrown out the window. Immediately, I began to run to my high school. I ran for about 3 miles and made it at about 6:15.

Tryouts had already begun and everyone was finishing up running laps around the gym. I get to the gym and start changing quickly gasping for every breath. Right as I’m about to head into the pack of guys running. The timer goes off and all the guys stop running and walk towards the coach. He then sent everyone to get some water and get ready for the next part. As we all broke apart from the circle he called me over and said “you know you’re 15 minutes late right, I don’t think you’re going to be able to participate in this years tryouts”. Knowing it wasn’t fair that all the guys had to run and I hadn’t despite running to get to school, I understood. And although did, I wasn’t going to leave without trying out. I apologized about being late and told him “I’ll run all tryout if I have to but I’m not going to go home”. The coach then chuckled and said, “Start running”. Exhausted and out of breath, I remained composed. I began running and felt my legs burning up immediately. Although this feeling was intense, I was not going to stop; I had to fight through it. About 20-25 minutes later while the rest of the guys were participating in a multitude of drills, the coach calls me over. He says, “You got a lot of heart kid” and tells me to get in a line. I went on to make the team, as well as earn second team all division and second team all league. I set out on a mission and although there were obstacles, I never gave up. I fought through physical pain and against time. I remained determined enough to will myself to where I wanted to be and I was never going to stop until I got there.

 

Essay 2: Annotation Essay

May 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ramon Quinonez

Professor Pappas

English 101

May, 5, 2015

The Real Enemy

Like everything in life, there is usually a positive side and a negative side. Technology is not an exception. Though most people only see the good, the bad is there camouflaged, beyond discovery. Some see technology as being the way of the future, while others see technology interfering with student’s creativity. Technology today has made life easier and quicker, but dangerous as well. A big controversy in the cyber world is Facebook which never really reveals its true “face”. The lack of the identity of Facebook is very dangerous because you don’t know who’s behind the name, you only know what you don’t know and that is the unknown due to the unseen. As Technology continues to expand and evolve at a light speed pace it provides information and exposure to the world, yet is deteriorating our ability to keep the exposure to a limit of sustained security.

It is better to know you’re safe rather than be unsure. Facebook will do this without fully letting you know. You see without actually realizing Facebook as the addiction you must attend to at least once a day. They have you hooked through friendships and other. This is why people never notice how dangerous it is because the fun takes over. They have been changing their policies so that more information is released which is not a good move. It brings the dangers without “people fully understanding what the company is doing, and that change is scary”. People have the power to change their privacy back, but don’t really notice because they’re blinded by such of the positive things Facebook brings them. That’s the biggest problem as Daniel Lyons says in “The High Price of Facebook” article. He mentions that early on with Facebook your information was set to be just seen by you; everything was private and that was the great thing. Now the rules keep changing and it’s just becoming an ongoing issue with the privacy that looks like will just worsen throughout the years.

Other issues are the side ads that tend to give out personal details. Advertising companies have been receiving information given from sites like Facebook, MySpace, Etc. that have information about people. The ones that make the law are starting to pay more attention to sites that can target people’s information. Most sites don’t really give away your information, and just shows how many people have seen you profile but Facebook actually shows you the ID of your page being viewed. They have contacted sites that have taken information from people that clicked on ads. Still to this day the same issue happens. The other issue with Facebook is the addiction. Teens have gotten attached to social networking sites; they would be devastated if they didn’t have them. Facebook dictates teens ways of living as if it had the mind of Hitler. Its power to grab and take you away from whatever your doing has all that strength to do so and that’s what makes Facebook the Kingpin.

As well as Facebook there are other social networks that have their own set of issues. For example Google has said before that it is a website that saves any information you look for; which is why you must be careful. The article “Dark Side of Social Networking” talks about the software malware which has been one of the biggest risks. It is designed to hack into people’s computers and can lead to identity theft. Which brings me to this quote by Michelle Adams from the same article, that says “what you write today may be available in the future”. This is why it is important to update your computer with anti-viruses and Anti-spyware. Now this relates to another quote in the article, which is “people don’t know they are downloading this. It happens because people don’t update their software on a regular basis; which also makes your computer vulnerable to the dark deceptions of downloading. Like i mentioned, there are the obvious good points and positive side but be aware of the negative point of view, although ignored, it does indeed exist.

 

Essay 3: Research Project

May 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ramon Quinonez

Professor Pappas

English 101

May 6, 2015

Bang !

One of the most mentioned topics in this country today is that of gun control. Tragic events such as the shootings in Columbine back in 1999 to Virginia Tech in 2007 and if that did not stun the country enough how about the recent massacre that occurred in 2012. There were twenty children and six staff members who lost their lives in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.[1] The shootings prompted the debate about gun control in the United States. Firearms have been part of the American tradition as protection and a means of hunting or sport. Now, in the 21st century the use of guns has changed significantly. Many people believe these horrible shootings could have been prevented if there were stricter laws against guns; but the question still on one’s mind: would that really prevent those sick shooters from committing more murders? This debate has been brought to the senate boards to take better precautions and procedures. I believe us Americans should advocate for stronger gun laws not stricter gun laws.

Weapon ownership rights are based on the interpretation of the second amendment in the United States Constitution, which gives Americans the right to bear arms. The amendment is for supporting the natural rights of self-defense, resistance to oppression, and the civic duty to act in in defense of the state. But I say controlling distribution and sales is also necessary because homicide rate involving guns and violence by criminals using guns has increased tremendously. It is a topic that should not be overlooked. Some Americans believe weapons in general promote violence and would like to completely ban weapons. Individuals like myself believe the key to reducing gun violence is by having stronger gun laws to lead to more gun safety.

President Barack Obama proposed legislative action aimed at preventing gun violence and future tragedies involving children. The President proposed closing background check loopholes to keep guns out of dangerous hands, banning military-style assault weapons and making schools safer by improving security as well as creating a safer environment.[2] In order to lessen and prevent gun violence, it will take political will and public pressure to get it done.

Although this quote is cliché and overrated: Guns do not kill people, but people kill people. This is a slogan I totally agree with! The trigger on a gun cannot pull itself, there has to be a determined finger behind it. A stronger approach to gun regulation would be the most effective and efficient approach to reduce gun violence.  The second amendment gives every American the right to defend themselves. There are roughly 2.5 million Americans who use guns to defend themselves each year.[3] That is a high percentage of gun use for safety. If society was to put a complete stop on gun possession this could create negative outcomes such as an unshielded society.

This stronger not stricter gun law approach would be to allow Americans to exercise their rights to bear arms, while also implementing regulations to keep society safe. The federal government should rewrite the gun laws or simply create a blank slate of policies that apply to all Americans with enforcement on safety. Background checks should be implemented in every gun purchase, with a ban on unchecked purchases at gun shows. Guns should not be sold to those individuals who are diagnosed as mentally ill or who are unstable or unable on following the gun laws. This will reduce the risk of having someone who cannot think right having a weapon at his or her disposal. Manufacturers should also try to create new tools in making sure guns don’t go off when they are accidently dropped. From these few suggestions, positive outcomes can arise such as helping to reduce self-inflicted wounds.

Some may argue that a ban on guns will reduce mass shootings. If the laws become stronger it will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on weapons. In 2011 there were 32,163 deaths that resulted from the use of guns[4]. Between 1955 and 1975, the Vietnam War killed over 58,000 American soldiers, a figure less than the number of civilians killed with guns in the U.S. in an average two-year period[5]. The second amendment was ratified in 1971 and we are now in the 21st century. When the U.S. constitution was written people like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and George Washington probably would have never envisioned the modern weapons that civilians are allowed access to nowadays.[6] Who would have thought gun violence would be at such an extreme level today? I know I wouldn’t have.

There may not always be a valid connection between gun violence and gun laws. For example, Chicago is one of the country’s most violent cities, despite being under some of the nation’s harshest gun laws. This is just additional proof that shows a complete ban on guns would not reduce crime rates. Regardless of any law for banning firearms, guns will always exists. Criminals will always find ways to get their hands on guns through illegal trafficking or buying materials from a hardware store to make a crude gun. We have to be smarter as a nation and realize that the problem is not guns but the people behind the guns.

I respect everyone’s opinion when it comes to gun laws. I understand the position of liberals when they feel like the best solution to reduce gun violence is a complete ban. The United States is very violent and people are concerned with all the mass shootings and precious lives being taken away. On the other hand since I want an unbiased passage of this law I cannot completely agree with conservatives who believe gun laws are a waste of time. A completely unregulated second amendment would result in a nightmare Western movie scenario with heavily armed citizens settling disputes with machine guns.

I do agree that guns are violent when they are in the wrong hands. Instead of completely disagreeing with conservatives or liberals point of views, I would use their information in creating a stronger gun law. Keep in mind that a complete ban will leave civilians defenseless and no regulation will lead to easier access for criminals to get firearms. Every time I look around someone is dying. It is so crazy how close this topic is to me. I know in 2009 there were 24 homicides in my city.[7] I am from a small city in Rhode Island-Providence, RI. Out of the 24 people who were murdered I knew roughly 1/3 of the lives lost. Although this rate could not be compared to other cities like Detroit or Chicago, I just feel hurt because these deaths are occurring right in front of my eyes. It is just mind boggling to see people I care about result to being the person who pulled the trigger as well as knowing the person who lost their life. If one was to ask the shooter why did it have to result to death? The person probably could not even remember the reasons behind their actions. The death and anguish caused by gun violence are devastating, I know that threat and reality of gun violence sends fear into communities. But to say guns kill people is absurd in my own opinion. It is the person, who chooses to behave violently and commit violent crimes that kill people.

Work Cited

 

 

“Constitution.” Who wrote the Constitution-. Web.7 May 2015

 

“Defensive Gun Use.” Taking Note Defensive Gun Use Comments. N.p., 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 07

May 2015.

 

“Guns in the United States- Firearms, Gun Law and Gun Control.” Guns in the United States-

            Firearms, Gun Law and Gun Control. Web. 7 May 2015.

 

“President Obama’s Gun Control Proposals.” National Conference of State Legislatures. Web 7

May 2015

 

“Providence Murder Rate.” Eyewitness News. 7 May 2015

 

“Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting: What Happened?” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 07

May 2015.

 

“Statistics on Gun Deaths & Injuries.” Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence RSS. Web. 07 May

2015

 

[1]Sandy Hook Shooting: What Happened? CNN, http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/sandy-hook-timeline/index.html

[2] President Obama’s Gun Control Proposals, National Conference of State Legislatures, http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/justice/summary-president-obama-gun-proposals.aspx

[3] Defensive Gun Use, The New York Times, http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/defensive-gun-use/?_r=0

[4] United States Gun Facts, Figures and the Law, International Firearm Injury Prevention and Policy http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states

[5] Statistics on Gun Death & Injuries, Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-deaths-and-injuries-statistics/

[6] Who Wrote the Constitution, Laws Constitution, http://constitution.laws.com/who-wrote-the-constitution

[7] Providence Murder Rate, Eyewitness News, http://www.wpri.com/news/local/providence/providence-murder-rate-declined-in-2010

Cover Letter

May 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Dear Portfolio Readers:

English was never my favorite subject nor my strongest; I have always preferred math. When I was told that I had to sign up for an English course this semester I instantly felt bothered by it. I understood that I was immediately going to be required to write countless essays. When the professor went over the syllabus and said we were required to construct a portfolio, I wanted to drop the class. However, I realized that I needed to stick through it if I wanted to advance in my studies. Now that the semester is approximately at is end, I am pleased that I did not drop this course. I feel that my writing skills have rapidly matured. I am aware that I have many flaws in which I need to work on but now I have developed wisdom of understanding how to pick up on them a bit sooner. This class educated me on how to brainstorm and narrow down my ideas. This method allows me to have an organized and consistent approach on how to attack an essay. The following pieces of writing that I am going to share with you will provide an insight on how my writing has evolved.

My first essay was by far my favorite essay. The first piece of writing is my memoir, which is called “ I made it”. In this composition I talk about one of my passions, which is basketball and a moment where I had to prove how much I really wanted it. One of the hardest things I had to deal with when writing this essay was to remember all the details, dialogue, exact days and times. Regardless of this concern I was able to express myself and complete my essay. The second essay that I decided to use for my portfolio was my annotation essay. In this essay I spoke about the Internet and social media, specifically Facebook and the dangers of it all. I titled this essay the “the real enemy”. The reason being is because we might not be aware of what we really get into or put ourselves in. In this essay I give evidence to support this matter.

My last and final essay is a research essay. I choose to speak about gun control in the United States. I used citations from different articles to also help support my ideas. Overall, I am very thankful and appreciate the professor’s effort in teaching and showing us various different writing which helped improve my writing skills; skills that I am going to take with me to other English classes.

 

Ramon Quinonez

Essay 1: Memoir (CCP)

May 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ramon Quinonez

Professor Pappas

English 101

May, 7, 2015

I Made It

 

It was the beginning of my freshman year in high school at Juanita Sanchez and basketball tryouts were right around the corner. As I walked into my English class that morning all that came to mind was “I can’t wait to play high school basketball”. Coming into high school as a freshman excited, not knowing how hard I would have to work to maintain my grades to play. That thought stayed with me throughout every day of school. Every class I entered, all that came to mind was basketball. Every day after school I would immediately walk down the street to the bus stop and try to catch the city bus since it was scheduled to come four minutes ahead of releasing time.

As soon as I would get home from school, the first thing I would do is eat. Next I would change into my basketball gear, grab my ball and head right out. I continued this routine every day leading up to tryouts. From gym to gym, outdoors and indoors spending my whole day playing basketball. Constantly lying to my mother about finishing my homework. She would get home from work at 6pm every weekday so I would tell her that I finished it before then just to avoid doing it. I just never wanted to do anything that would cut into my playing time.

Finally it was the day of tryouts and I was more nervous than I had ever been in my life. Tryouts were on a Wednesday night at 6 o’clock. I remember being so nervous I forgot to eat that day. As I packed my stuff I said a prayer in hopes of God to bless me and help me be my best at tryouts. I started walking over to the bus stop around 5:40 and I noticed a city bus ready to depart from my stop. As I got a bit closer I thought, “No that cannot be my bus”, that was until I saw the number 11 on the back. Immediately I began to run as fast as I have ever ran in my life. As I was approaching my way there, the bus began to move. “NO, STOP!” I yelled as I tried to catch my breath but the bus just kept going, fading away from my view.

I looked at my phone and it was 5:48, I just stood there looking around not knowing what to do. A part of me thought it just wasn’t meant to be and that I should go home. The other part of me said there’s no way that I’m going to give up now. All that hard work to be thrown out the window. Immediately, I began to run to my high school. I ran for about 3 miles and made it at about 6:15.

Tryouts had already begun and everyone was finishing up running laps around the gym. I get to the gym and start changing quickly gasping for every breath. Right as I’m about to head into the pack of guys running. The timer goes off and all the guys stop running and walk towards the coach. He then sent everyone to get some water and get ready for the next part. As we all broke apart from the circle he called me over and said “you know you’re 15 minutes late right, I don’t think you’re going to be able to participate in this years tryouts”. Knowing it wasn’t fair that all the guys had to run and I hadn’t despite running to get to school, I understood. And although did, I wasn’t going to leave without trying out. I apologized about being late and told him “I’ll run all tryout if I have to but I’m not going to go home”. The coach then chuckled and said, “Start running”. Exhausted and out of breath, I remained composed. I began running and felt my legs burning up immediately. Although this feeling was intense, I was not going to stop; I had to fight through it. About 20-25 minutes later while the rest of the guys were participating in a multitude of drills, the coach calls me over. He says, “You got a lot of heart kid” and tells me to get in a line. I went on to make the team, as well as earn second team all division and second team all league. I set out on a mission and although there were obstacles, I never gave up. I fought through physical pain and against time. I remained determined enough to will myself to where I wanted to be and I was never going to stop until I got there.

 

Essay 2: Annotation Essay

May 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ramon Quinonez

Professor Pappas

English 101

May, 5, 2015

The Real Enemy

Like everything in life, there is usually a positive side and a negative side. Technology is not an exception. Though most people only see the good, the bad is there camouflaged, beyond discovery. Some see technology as being the way of the future, while others see technology interfering with student’s creativity. Technology today has made life easier and quicker, but dangerous as well. A big controversy in the cyber world is Facebook which never really reveals its true “face”. The lack of the identity of Facebook is very dangerous because you don’t know who’s behind the name, you only know what you don’t know and that is the unknown due to the unseen. As Technology continues to expand and evolve at a light speed pace it provides information and exposure to the world, yet is deteriorating our ability to keep the exposure to a limit of sustained security.

It is better to know you’re safe rather than be unsure. Facebook will do this without fully letting you know. You see without actually realizing Facebook as the addiction you must attend to at least once a day. They have you hooked through friendships and other. This is why people never notice how dangerous it is because the fun takes over. They have been changing their policies so that more information is released which is not a good move. It brings the dangers without “people fully understanding what the company is doing, and that change is scary”. People have the power to change their privacy back, but don’t really notice because they’re blinded by such of the positive things Facebook brings them. That’s the biggest problem as Daniel Lyons says in “The High Price of Facebook” article. He mentions that early on with Facebook your information was set to be just seen by you; everything was private and that was the great thing. Now the rules keep changing and it’s just becoming an ongoing issue with the privacy that looks like will just worsen throughout the years.

Other issues are the side ads that tend to give out personal details. Advertising companies have been receiving information given from sites like Facebook, MySpace, Etc. that have information about people. The ones that make the law are starting to pay more attention to sites that can target people’s information. Most sites don’t really give away your information, and just shows how many people have seen you profile but Facebook actually shows you the ID of your page being viewed. They have contacted sites that have taken information from people that clicked on ads. Still to this day the same issue happens. The other issue with Facebook is the addiction. Teens have gotten attached to social networking sites; they would be devastated if they didn’t have them. Facebook dictates teens ways of living as if it had the mind of Hitler. Its power to grab and take you away from whatever your doing has all that strength to do so and that’s what makes Facebook the Kingpin.

As well as Facebook there are other social networks that have their own set of issues. For example Google has said before that it is a website that saves any information you look for; which is why you must be careful. The article “Dark Side of Social Networking” talks about the software malware which has been one of the biggest risks. It is designed to hack into people’s computers and can lead to identity theft. Which brings me to this quote by Michelle Adams from the same article, that says “what you write today may be available in the future”. This is why it is important to update your computer with anti-viruses and Anti-spyware. Now this relates to another quote in the article, which is “people don’t know they are downloading this. It happens because people don’t update their software on a regular basis; which also makes your computer vulnerable to the dark deceptions of downloading. Like i mentioned, there are the obvious good points and positive side but be aware of the negative point of view, although ignored, it does indeed exist.

Essay 3: Research Project

May 8, 2015 — Leave a comment

Ramon Quinonez

Professor Pappas

English 101

May 6, 2015

Bang !

One of the most mentioned topics in this country today is that of gun control. Tragic events such as the shootings in Columbine back in 1999 to Virginia Tech in 2007 and if that did not stun the country enough how about the recent massacre that occurred in 2012. There were twenty children and six staff members who lost their lives in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.[1] The shootings prompted the debate about gun control in the United States. Firearms have been part of the American tradition as protection and a means of hunting or sport. Now, in the 21st century the use of guns has changed significantly. Many people believe these horrible shootings could have been prevented if there were stricter laws against guns; but the question still on one’s mind: would that really prevent those sick shooters from committing more murders? This debate has been brought to the senate boards to take better precautions and procedures. I believe us Americans should advocate for stronger gun laws not stricter gun laws.

Weapon ownership rights are based on the interpretation of the second amendment in the United States Constitution, which gives Americans the right to bear arms. The amendment is for supporting the natural rights of self-defense, resistance to oppression, and the civic duty to act in in defense of the state. But I say controlling distribution and sales is also necessary because homicide rate involving guns and violence by criminals using guns has increased tremendously. It is a topic that should not be overlooked. Some Americans believe weapons in general promote violence and would like to completely ban weapons. Individuals like myself believe the key to reducing gun violence is by having stronger gun laws to lead to more gun safety.

President Barack Obama proposed legislative action aimed at preventing gun violence and future tragedies involving children. The President proposed closing background check loopholes to keep guns out of dangerous hands, banning military-style assault weapons and making schools safer by improving security as well as creating a safer environment.[2] In order to lessen and prevent gun violence, it will take political will and public pressure to get it done.

Although this quote is cliché and overrated: Guns do not kill people, but people kill people. This is a slogan I totally agree with! The trigger on a gun cannot pull itself, there has to be a determined finger behind it. A stronger approach to gun regulation would be the most effective and efficient approach to reduce gun violence.  The second amendment gives every American the right to defend themselves. There are roughly 2.5 million Americans who use guns to defend themselves each year.[3] That is a high percentage of gun use for safety. If society was to put a complete stop on gun possession this could create negative outcomes such as an unshielded society.

This stronger not stricter gun law approach would be to allow Americans to exercise their rights to bear arms, while also implementing regulations to keep society safe. The federal government should rewrite the gun laws or simply create a blank slate of policies that apply to all Americans with enforcement on safety. Background checks should be implemented in every gun purchase, with a ban on unchecked purchases at gun shows. Guns should not be sold to those individuals who are diagnosed as mentally ill or who are unstable or unable on following the gun laws. This will reduce the risk of having someone who cannot think right having a weapon at his or her disposal. Manufacturers should also try to create new tools in making sure guns don’t go off when they are accidently dropped. From these few suggestions, positive outcomes can arise such as helping to reduce self-inflicted wounds.

Some may argue that a ban on guns will reduce mass shootings. If the laws become stronger it will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on weapons. In 2011 there were 32,163 deaths that resulted from the use of guns[4]. Between 1955 and 1975, the Vietnam War killed over 58,000 American soldiers, a figure less than the number of civilians killed with guns in the U.S. in an average two-year period[5]. The second amendment was ratified in 1971 and we are now in the 21st century. When the U.S. constitution was written people like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and George Washington probably would have never envisioned the modern weapons that civilians are allowed access to nowadays.[6] Who would have thought gun violence would be at such an extreme level today? I know I wouldn’t have.

There may not always be a valid connection between gun violence and gun laws. For example, Chicago is one of the country’s most violent cities, despite being under some of the nation’s harshest gun laws. This is just additional proof that shows a complete ban on guns would not reduce crime rates. Regardless of any law for banning firearms, guns will always exists. Criminals will always find ways to get their hands on guns through illegal trafficking or buying materials from a hardware store to make a crude gun. We have to be smarter as a nation and realize that the problem is not guns but the people behind the guns.

I respect everyone’s opinion when it comes to gun laws. I understand the position of liberals when they feel like the best solution to reduce gun violence is a complete ban. The United States is very violent and people are concerned with all the mass shootings and precious lives being taken away. On the other hand since I want an unbiased passage of this law I cannot completely agree with conservatives who believe gun laws are a waste of time. A completely unregulated second amendment would result in a nightmare Western movie scenario with heavily armed citizens settling disputes with machine guns.

I do agree that guns are violent when they are in the wrong hands. Instead of completely disagreeing with conservatives or liberals point of views, I would use their information in creating a stronger gun law. Keep in mind that a complete ban will leave civilians defenseless and no regulation will lead to easier access for criminals to get firearms. Every time I look around someone is dying. It is so crazy how close this topic is to me. I know in 2009 there were 24 homicides in my city.[7] I am from a small city in Rhode Island-Providence, RI. Out of the 24 people who were murdered I knew roughly 1/3 of the lives lost. Although this rate could not be compared to other cities like Detroit or Chicago, I just feel hurt because these deaths are occurring right in front of my eyes. It is just mind boggling to see people I care about result to being the person who pulled the trigger as well as knowing the person who lost their life. If one was to ask the shooter why did it have to result to death? The person probably could not even remember the reasons behind their actions. The death and anguish caused by gun violence are devastating, I know that threat and reality of gun violence sends fear into communities. But to say guns kill people is absurd in my own opinion. It is the person, who chooses to behave violently and commit violent crimes that kill people.

Work Cited

 

 

“Constitution.” Who wrote the Constitution-. Web.7 May 2015

 

“Defensive Gun Use.” Taking Note Defensive Gun Use Comments. N.p., 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 07

May 2015.

 

“Guns in the United States- Firearms, Gun Law and Gun Control.” Guns in the United States-

            Firearms, Gun Law and Gun Control. Web. 7 May 2015.

 

“President Obama’s Gun Control Proposals.” National Conference of State Legislatures. Web 7

May 2015

 

“Providence Murder Rate.” Eyewitness News. 7 May 2015

 

“Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting: What Happened?” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 07

May 2015.

 

“Statistics on Gun Deaths & Injuries.” Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence RSS. Web. 07 May

2015

 

 

[1]Sandy Hook Shooting: What Happened? CNN, http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/sandy-hook-timeline/index.html

[2] President Obama’s Gun Control Proposals, National Conference of State Legislatures, http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/justice/summary-president-obama-gun-proposals.aspx

[3] Defensive Gun Use, The New York Times, http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/defensive-gun-use/?_r=0

[4] United States Gun Facts, Figures and the Law, International Firearm Injury Prevention and Policy http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states

[5] Statistics on Gun Death & Injuries, Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-deaths-and-injuries-statistics/

[6] Who Wrote the Constitution, Laws Constitution, http://constitution.laws.com/who-wrote-the-constitution

[7] Providence Murder Rate, Eyewitness News, http://www.wpri.com/news/local/providence/providence-murder-rate-declined-in-2010

I Made it Final Memoir

March 2, 2015 — Leave a comment

It was the beginning of my freshman year in high school at Juanita Sanchez and basketball tryouts were right around the corner. As I walked into my English class that morning all that came to mind was “I can’t wait to play high school basketball”. Coming into high school as a freshman excited, not knowing how hard I would have to work to maintain my grades to play. That thought stayed with me throughout every day of school. Every class I entered, all that came to mind was basketball. Every day after school I would immediately walk down the street to the bus stop and try to catch the city bus since it was scheduled to come four minutes ahead of releasing time.

As soon as I would get home from school, the first thing I would do is eat. Next I would change into my basketball gear, grab my ball and head right out. I continued this routine every day leading up to tryouts. From gym to gym, outdoors and indoors spending my whole day playing basketball. Constantly lying to my mother about finishing my homework. She would get home from work at 6pm every weekday so I would tell her that I finished it before then just to avoid doing it. I just never wanted to do anything that would cut into my playing time.

Finally it was the day of tryouts and I was more nervous than I had ever been in my life. Tryouts were on a Wednesday night at 6 o’clock. I remember being so nervous I forgot to eat that day. As I packed my stuff I said a prayer in hopes of God to bless me and help me be my best at tryouts. I started walking over to the bus stop around 5:40 and I noticed a city bus ready to depart from my stop. As I got a bit closer I thought, “No that cannot be my bus”, that was until I saw the number 11 on the back. Immediately I began to run as fast as I have ever ran in my life. As I was approaching my way there, the bus began to move. “NO, STOP!” I yelled as I tried to catch my breath but the bus just kept going, fading away from my view.

I looked at my phone and it was 5:48, I just stood there looking around not knowing what to do. A part of me thought it just wasn’t meant to be and that I should go home. The other part of me said there’s no way that I’m going to give up now. All that hard work to be thrown out the window. Immediately, I began to run to my high school. I ran for about 3 miles and made it at about 6:15.

Tryouts had already begun and everyone was finishing up running laps around the gym. I get to the gym and start changing quickly gasping for every breath. Right as I’m about to head into the pack of guys running. The timer goes off and all the guys stop running and walk towards the coach. He then sent everyone to get some water and get ready for the next part. As we all broke apart from the circle he called me over and said “you know you’re 15 minutes late right, I don’t think you’re going to be able to participate in this years tryouts”. Knowing it wasn’t fair that all the guys had to run and I hadn’t despite running to get to school, I understood. And although did, I wasn’t going to leave without trying out. I apologized about being late and told him “I’ll run all tryout if I have to but I’m not going to go home”. The coach then chuckled and said, “Start running”. Exhausted and out of breath, I remained composed. I began running and felt my legs burning up immediately. Although this feeling was intense, I was not going to stop; I had to fight through it. About 20-25 minutes later while the rest of the guys were participating in a multitude of drills, the coach calls me over. He says, “You got a lot of heart kid” and tells me to get in a line. I went on to make the team, as well as earn second team all division and second team all league. I set out on a mission and although there were obstacles, I never gave up. I fought through physical pain and against time. I remained determined enough to will myself to where I wanted to be and I was never going to stop until I got there.

Writers Autobiography

February 16, 2015 — Leave a comment

Hello, My name is Ramon Quinonez, I’m 21 and I am trying to pursue my Degree in Pharmacy. Now growing up I did not really do much writing unless it was school related. Ever since i can remember it has been my toughest subject to get through. I cant really remember my greatest piece of writing or even any piece of writing I have done in my life. In high school when it came to writing or English class for the matter, I just never really seemed to want to do it. Now it was never been a sense of me not being able to really create a good piece of writing but that I just lacked the passion. I have really big weaknesses such as starting a piece of writing and or composing it in a set time due to the fact that I tend to really over think things. I’m not familiar with many strengths in my writing ability for the most part. Aside from that, I do feel really strong about a certain type of writing and that is argumentative or opinion based writing. Its the only type of writing I have actually enjoyed. Although I have had many assignments affiliated with this type of writing, most of that really happens when I am going back and forth with a friend about topics brought about. My friends and I will sit there and debate about sports for hours, just typing away at each other relentlessly. I have never felt a drive or sense of ambiguity from writing until a argument or debate comes about. What I really want to work on in this class when it comes to my writing is my ability to expand my writing into more in depth detail, understand more punctuation and how sentences, paragraphs and essays need to really be composed.