Gun violence in the United States has reached a crisis level. Every day, there is a case of gun violence reported or catching the nation’s attention. The right to bear arms is provided for in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Second Amendment has two clauses; the initial clause that provides for a well-regulated militia to protect the country, both internally and externally, and the second clause (operative clause) that grants people the right to bear arms. The second clause has been the source of intense debate over the years mainly to establish whether it can be cited as a major contributor to the rising gun violence in the country. According Rubens & Shehadeh (2014), in the view of the rising mass shooting cases in the United States, researchers have tried exploring various factors such as mental health issues to establish whether they contribute to the cases. The aim is to develop a framework to control gun violence through measures such as reducing gun access and ownership. A new gun culture is needed in the country since gun ownership cannot be isolated as the only factor contributing to the cases of gun violence.
Strategies to Control Gun Access
Buying a gun is so easy in the United States today. As a result, there are many guns in circulation that cannot be traced through the security agencies. Buying a gun should be made as hard as buying a car. Kwon & Baack (2005) argue that gun related laws in the United have failed due to the approach used. Although the Second Amendment protecting individuals on gun ownership should not be scrapped, the process of gun ownership should be heavily monitored to ensure that a new gun culture is established. If the government can easily follow-up on guns in circulation, it would be easy following up on cases and ensuring that offenders are punished. Consequently, the rising cases of gun violence would reduce. The requirements for owning firearms should be reviewed. Vigorous background checks should be conducted on any individual wishing to own a gun. The government should not be overwhelmed by the requirement to provide a free and safe democratic space to accept less strict laws on gun ownership. Some people with questionable backgrounds should be denied gun ownership to reduce the chances of using the guns to commit crimes. Unfortunately, gun ownership laws in the United States have been developed in a highly political environment hence reducing the chances of coming up with viable policies that can address the problem from its roots. It is the high time the government accepted that reckless gun ownership is one of the major reasons behind gun violence in the country. Over the years, the struggle to regulate guns in circulation has been lost. Therefore, the government through its security agencies has been reduced to respond to the effects of reckless gun ownership instead of addressing the problem from the causes.
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In Connecticut, gun violence has been on the rise, just like other places in the United States. There are several measures in place to reduce the violence. For instance, Walmart developed a new policy where guns would only be sold to individuals above the age of twenty one years from the previous eighteen years. Although the policy appears affective, it may not achieve the much needed change as long as a new gun culture is not developed in the country. Some individuals with questionable backgrounds will still have access to guns and end up committing crimes, and most likely escaping due to the lackluster nature of the criminal justice system. If the government developed a new strategy where new gun owners were required to register and go through some sort of training, then the individuals would be well prepared to own guns and pose little threat to the society.
Mental health is a factor that has been ignored for long in gun violence. Some people may lack the capacity to own guns due to their high temperament or anger. In the training mentioned in the above section, a test should be done to establish whether the person has the emotional control needed to avoid using a gun at the slightest provocation. Although all people are predisposed to anger, resorting to the use of firearms is a new trend that should be shunned. Suicide is one of the major effects of poor emotional control that can be managed through such training. According to Rodriguez & Hempstead (2011), about 50% of all suicides involve a firearm. Therefore, owning firearms have made it easier for individuals to commit suicide as compared to a scenario where the individuals would be forced to explore alternative methods to commit suicide. The rising cases of suicide, mainly using guns can be attributed to the mental health issues in the population. Training on gun ownership can go a long way to prepare the individuals mentally to the challenges they expect in life. Majority of the suicide victims are young people who have lost hope in life. The training should ensure that it instills the right morals to reduce reckless gun usage and also help them cope with life’s challenges.
Local violence prevention and intervention programs can work well in Connecticut. Taking into consideration that gun access is not well regulated, violence prevention programs can be initiated. The intervention methods should include creating a new database of gun owners to establish whether there are guns in circulation that are not accounted for. Among the most effective intervention programs is a program to disarm any individual involved in a criminal act such as domestic abuse. The government is often limited in such cases where a partner owns a gun and there are high chances of using it either to harm their partner or children. Domestic abusers should be disarmed. Domestic violence is one of the major contributors to fatalities resulting from gun violence. The first step after a person is reported on cases of domestic violence should be disarming. Disarming should serve as a warning to other individuals with similar behaviors and also reduce chances of using a gun to commit more harm. Wiebe et al. (2009) argue that guns are the most common weapons used in homicide cases in the United States. Therefore, by disarming individuals posing a threat to other citizens, the cases would be reduced.
Gun laws that actually address the problem should be formulated and implemented. The major problem in the United States today is that the gun laws’ debate has been politicized instead of liberals and democrats having a central position that actually addresses the causes. On gun ownership, stricter measures should be put in place. The process of losing rights to gun ownership should be streamlined. People fearing to lose such rights would be more cautious when using their guns. The process of gun ownership should be reviewed. Background checks coupled with training should be put in place. The government should ensure that the gun owners are of high emotional control to ensure that they do not use their guns at the slightest provocation. Mental issues surrounding gun violence should be addressed. The mental status of gun owners should be taken seriously since gun violence, or use of guns in cases of suicide is expected when owners have mental health issues. Strategies to control gun access and ownership are the most effective to address the current gun violence crisis Connecticut and United States in general.
References
Kwon, I.-W. G., & Baack, D. W. (2005). The Effectiveness of Legislation Controlling Gun Usage. A Holistic Measure of Gun Control Legislation. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 64 (2), 533–547 . https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2005.00378.x
Rodríguez Andrés, A., & Hempstead, K. (2011). Gun control and suicide: The impact of state firearm regulations in the United States, 1995–2004. Health Policy, 101 (1), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.10.005
Rubens, M., & Shehadeh, N. (2014). Gun Violence in United States: In Search for a Solution. Frontiers in Public Health, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00017
Wiebe, D. J., Krafty, R. T., Koper, C. S., Nance, M. L., Elliott, M. R., & Branas, C. C. (2009). Homicide and geographic access to gun dealers in the United States. BMC Public Health, 9 (1), 198-207. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-199
