America: Do We or Do We Not Need Gun Control?

America has had its fair share of gun violence. The Newtown school shooting from Adam Lanza and the shooting at the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado from James Holmes has given more insight to the nature of Americans. Do we need guns for safety? Or should we regulate gun sales?

The decision to ban gun sales is risky and people will find a way around them one way or another. However, the numbers don't lie.

Approximately 1,000 crimes involving guns are committed daily in the U.S., while some 29,000 citizens are killed annually with firearms. Comparable numbers include 155 deaths by firearms annually in the UK, and 168 in Canada. These numbers approximate to UK with 2.5 firearm deaths per million, Canada with 4.9 per million, and the U.S. with 92 per million.

On the other hand, people find ways around gun control. Anders Breivik, the terrorist who blew up a government building in Oslo. He used a bomb in order to get achieve his goal and killed over 70 people.

If you're for it, or not for it, either way there's no denying the shootings have sparked many debates about gun control: should we have heavier bans or continue on as we are? Some say continue on as we are and that guns can do just as much good as evil, such as self-defense. But counter arguments say more control on guns, background checks, and magazine clips with room for only 10 bullets or less. James Holmes was apprehended with 3 guns carrying more than enough ammunition for a mass murdering.

However, nobody talks about the positive sides of using guns. An elderly Florida man legally carrying a gun shot and wounded two armed men as they tried to escape a cafe they had just robbed. The video, shot last year, has gone viral, and the old man, Samuel Williams, has quite rightly become a folk hero in the miniature Florida community.

On the other hand, when insanity takes control of gun, then the results aren't the best. James Holmes and Adam Lanza, two mass shooters who took action in 2012, had been "diagnosed with a form of mental illness." James Holmes and Adam Lanza both had considerable mental problems, leaving America wondering if we need background checks. Both injured and killed multiple people, saying we need less ammunition per magazine clip.

More rural areas want less gun control. Guns are one of the most important things for a rural person. In the countryside of south Louisiana, nearly everyone has guns. Many people hunt, and if you don't hunt, it's still completely normal to have at least one gun in the house. You need it for personal security - the police can't come soon if you live far out of town - and for shooting poisonous snakes and coyotes threatening your farm animals. More city folk are more in favor for more gun control, as they’re living in a more populated area, where a shooting could more likely take place. A poll found that the view of gun control is affected by one's race and locality.

Either way, the debates keep coming and coming into view. Should we or should we not have more gun control? Which will benefit the public more?

Oscar Pistorius's Legacy Coming to an End?

The world of sports was shocked this summer when Oscar Pistorius, the infamous Blade Runner at the 2012 Olympics, became the first ever Olympian to run in the Paralympics as well as the regular Olympics. He's widely been regarded as "the most famous disabled athlete of all-time." Now the world of sports is being shocked again as he's being accused and investigated on the possible charge of first-degree murder.

The double amputee is being faced with the heavy charges on the accusation of shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp 4 times in the arms and head early Thursday morning. Neighbors also said they heard incidents of "screaming and shouting" throughout the evening before. Police have also said they've visited the runner's home in South Africa in the past on reports of domestic violence.

Police have not confirmed that Steenkamp was murdered although her publicist released a statement saying the model was dead.

Pistorius was born on November 22, 1986 with fibular hemimelia , or having an absence of the fibula in both of his legs. Just when he was 11 months old, his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles, and he now wears fiberglass “blades” which is how he got his name of “Blade Runner”. He had won several gold medals in the Paralympics and 4 silvers in able-bodied events. Pistorius’ friends and family described him as a very nice guy and very inspirational. It’s no wonder that he shocked the world when the story was released. 

Reeva Steenkamp was born in a small town near Cape Town and moved with her to Port Elizabeth. She then began to study law at the University of Port Elizabeth. After earning her degree as a paralegal, she then became a model. She had been dating the runner since November and was soon to be shown on a reality TV show called Tropika Island of Treasure. Just last week, the model described her boyfriend as "an impeccable man who always has her best interests at heart".

A claim not made by the police says the runner mistakenly shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkemp thinking she was an intruder, when she was just planning a Valentine's Day surprise. This could be traced back to the 30 year old model Twitter account after she tweeted Wednesday evening "What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow?" and also tweeted that "It should be a day of love for everyone."

A 9mm handgun had been recovered from the crime scene in the morning, which Pistorius reported owning one much before the incident. Pistorius was a fan of guns, and he would drive to the local shooting range when he couldn’t sleep at night. He kept his gun located in his bedroom for security. Later that day, Pistorius arrived at Mamelodi Day Hospital for tests on his blood alcohol level and his fingernails would be tested for evidence as well.

Pistorius will appear Friday morning for a court hearing. Police in South Africa said they would oppose bail for Pistorius.

Super Bowl Outage

During the excitement and rush of 3rd quarter, the escalators and credit card machines spontaneously shut down, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans had a power surge, resulting in a loss of power in the Superdome. At least half, if not more, of the lights shut off after Beyonce's electrifying half-time performance. Her show was almost epileptic to those who don't even have epilepsy, and the over-usage of lights made many believe it caused a power surge (dang it Beyonce, this is why we can't have nice things) resulting in a power outage. The outage lasted for a total of 34 minutes before the maintenance room switched back on the power in the 3rd quarter. The 73,000-seat dome went out with 13:22 remaining in the third quarter on Sunday night. 

According to a report by Sports Illustrated, the outage was due to an "abnormality" in the power supply system that set off an automatic shutdown, which forced backup systems to start up." To go more into detail, the power company, SMG and Entergy New Orleans, power supplier to the Super Bowl, released a statement saying "A piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system," the statement said. "Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue. "

The worst part for New Orleans is that the outage may have affected their chances for holding future Super Bowls at the Superdome. New Orleans was looking forward to hosting its first Super Bowl since 2002 and was eager to show off how the city has rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina.

However, just like any other unexpected event, people responded with conspiracies. Possible theories include:

•       The 49'ers cut the power when they were getting trampled in the first half.
•       49'ers coach Jim Harbaugh cut the power when losing.
•       Beyonce's performance caused a power surge.
•       A booker who bet in Las Vegas was at the Superdome and cut the power when he realized  he wasn't going to win his bet.
•       Terrorism (obviously ruled out by the FBI).

Still many fans didn't care, yet a few fans were scared. "I started thinking it was a terrorist attack. I was a little nervous!" said Doug Cook, a Ravens fan. The football fans in the dome passed the time by refilling their beers, doing the waves, and being humorous. Pictures and tweets bombarded Twitter including some tweets saying "They didn't pay the light bill," or "Maybe this is Sean Payton calling in for the outage, Bountygate, part two."

After 34 minutes, the power returned, and with it, so did the 49'ers encouragement. Scoring 2 touchdowns in 2 minutes and almost going for a 3rd, many people were stunned, and many 49'ers fans betting with their Ravens friends became happy. While screams heard 'round Baltimore continued with a few minutes left, Kaepernick decided to throw the ball three times instead of rushing. Kaepernick, with an average rushing yardage of 8 yards, didn't rush when there were 5 more yards to go, and alas, no touchdown, giving the Ravens the win, 34-31.