The gun culture in America has its roots in the constitution. The US constitution has provided its citizens with the right to bear guns. There are a lot of aspects that underwrite criminal activity. These include mental disorders, lack of morals, drug and substance abuse, family dysfunctions, and the use of other weapons of destruction. Evidence shows that some of the American states with stringent gun laws have higher proportions of mass shootings as compared to those with lax rules. Even when strict gun laws are instituted, criminals will still find ways to conduct their criminal activities. This is evident from the fact that there have been gun laws in the US since the colonial and revolutionary time where crime still occurred. Moreover, guns owned by law-abiding citizens have been credited to protect people living in dangerous regions by making them safer and well-armed in case they are attacked. Having stricter gun laws will disarm these individuals, leaving them vulnerable to crime rather than protecting them. Stricter gun control laws will not defer criminals from committing crime.
Gun Ownership Defers Criminals from Offending
Gun control laws have become a contentious issue in the US. Individuals who believe that stricter gun laws do defer crime take an ethical stance as they explain the predicament of the evil most victims face in the hands of criminals (De grazia, & Hunt, 2016 ; Griesemer, n.d ). Criminals will violate an individual's dignity by compelling the victims' property to serve their purpose. This violates an individual's autonomy, which compels them to need to control their life and avoid such violations in the future (De grazia, & Hunt, 2016 ). Having stricter gun laws will not defer criminals from committing crime but will rather encourage criminals. Assailants will have a relatively easier time attacking unarmed individuals as they are confident that they have the power in such situations (Faria, 2012). This, therefore, explains why most people feel the need to own guns for self-protection.
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The general availability of guns in the US has been credited with reduced crime. It is true that America ranks among the top countries with the highest number of gun purchases and possessed firearms (Faria, 2012). However, the rates of violent crimes and homicides have seemingly reduced and continue to diminish since more law-abiding citizens are making these purchases. Moreover, data shows that the defensive use of guns dwarfs the offensive uses of these guns. About 2.5 million uses of guns are for defensive purposes, while about 25 and 75 lives are saved in the US daily through the use of a gun in self-protection (Faria, 2012). Most people are not aware of such statistics as the media will only cover news that pertains to negative information on guns to lobby for stricter gun laws (Fallows, 2018). Guns in the arms of law-abiding citizens will prevent crimes and countries that trust their residents will find ways that sustain an individual's liberty and curtail criminal activity.
Large organizations contract armed guards to help keep their clients and their private property safe. Unfortunately, small organizations do not have such a luxury, and these business owners must take matters to their own hands. They purchase guns legally to protect themselves, their property, and their clients from depredations of criminals ( Degrazia, & Hunt, 2016 ). These individuals own guns that they keep in their premises in case of an emergency. It is also important to realize that guns do not kill people, only individuals who wish to hurt others do ( Griesemer, n.d ). A gun is merely but a tool just as a knife or a bomb that has no moral attributes, unlike the individual using the tool ( Degrazia, & Hunt, 2016 ). This, therefore, shows why it is much better to own a gun as it will deter criminals from criminal behavior. Criminals are less likely to attack an individual who owns a gun as they know they might end up being hurt as their victim tries to protect themselves and their family or loved ones.
Strict gun laws will not solve mass public shootings
Gun control advocates voice out their disappointments on how mass shootings occur due to less strict gun laws. In 2018 only eleven mass shootings occurred where three or more people got killed, excluding the shooter ( Swearer, 2018 ). Of these eleven mass public shootings, three happened in California while the rest occurred in different states. Gifford's law center for preventing gun violence ranks American states on their strict gun control laws ( Swearer, 2018 ). This center had given California an A rating for having strict gun laws. The same center had given Maryland an A- rating which for having strict gun laws while Pennsylvania was given a C rating for the same. These three states were part of the top 13 American states with the strictest gun laws ( Swearer, 2018 ). Unfortunately, each of these states had experienced public mass shooting cases.
Despite California’s A rating, the state had experienced three of the mass shootings had occurred in 2018 while both Pennsylvania and Maryland experienced each two public mass shootings. Texas is among the most republican states in the US. A huge percentage of individuals in the state are pro-gun and do not support having stricter gun laws. Gifford's law center gave Texas a rating of F for having less strict laws on gun control ( Swearer, 2018 ). Interestingly enough, Texas only had four mass shootings in the same year ( Swearer, 2018 ). This is one shooting more than California, a state with an A ranking for having the strictest gun laws. This shows that having strict gun laws does not hinder criminal activity.
Mass shootings that have everyone talking about regulating guns were almost the same for Texas and some of the states with the severest gun laws in the US. Evidence also shows that Texas had more shootings that occurred in the same year than any of the three states mentioned. However, California accounts for seventeen percent of all mass shootings that have happened in the US since 2000, while Texas merely accounts for about 6.6% of these mass shootings ( Swearer, 2018 ). Washington state also represents about eight percent of these mass public shootings since 2000, while having a rating of B from the Gifford’s law center ( Swearer, 2018 ). The evidence clearly shows that states like California, Maryland, and Washington with stricter gun laws have higher percentages of mass shootings. This data thus supports the notion that stricter gun laws will not deter criminals from committing criminal acts.
Guns are not the Only Causes of Criminal Acts
The debate on gun control has been a constant struggle in the US. Gun control laws have become one of the defining issues in American politics where democrats are pushing to restrict citizen’s right to own guns while republicans are against these laws ( Degrazia, & Hunt, 2016 ). Proponents of stricter gun laws believe that gun control will defer criminals from committing crime. However, these groups seem to forget that there are numerous ways that criminals use to commit crime. Violent crimes and other crimes, in general, are all not caused by guns but by numerous factors that people overlook (Faria, 2012). Throughout history, there have been numerous crimes documented and their various causes, with only a fraction of them resulting from guns.
People with a criminal predisposition have numerous ways of causing harm to innocent civilians. These individuals have an array of options when it comes to using weapons in performing criminal activities. These weapons include missiles, cannons, toxic substances, bombs, vehicles, and planes (Ausman & Faria, 2019). These weapons have nothing to do with guns, and even when gun control laws are made more stringent, criminals still have these numerous avenues to explore and cause harm to others. Evidence also shows that a good number of these criminals have mental health issues that make them susceptible to criminal activity (Ausman & Faria, 2019; Fallows, 2018). These criminals are mentally unstable and are often affected emotionally, thus retaliate through criminal activity.
An individual's environment influences other major causes of criminal activity. The media plays a huge role in propagating criminal behavior. Individuals are often bombarded by incessant streams of entertainment featuring gun violence in the media ( Faria, 2012 ). These have been credited as playing a major role in the criminal acts witnessed in the country. Family dysfunctions have also been known to facilitate the occurrence of criminal behaviors. Individuals living in such families are often accustomed to drug and alcohol abuse. These individuals can then end up joining gangs that facilitate criminal activity like drug trade, murder, and juvenile delinquency (Fallows, 2018). These issues have nothing to do with gun control laws, yet they still add to the number of criminal activities occurring in the country.
Having stricter gun laws will not deter criminals from committing criminal activity, especially if they lack morals. The current educational system can be blamed for this as it does not equip the students with the necessary ethical and civic principles to cope with the existing challenges, they face every day (Ausman & Faria, 2019; Walsh, 2019). With the current crime rates, it is evident that there exists a disconnect between the morals students learn in school and how they apply them in real life ( Degrazia, & Hunt, 2016 ). This supports the assertion that the current educational system has resulted in half-baked individuals who lack principles thus end up indulging in criminal activity.
Moreover, laws forbidding the carrying or ownership of arms only disarm law-abiding citizens ( Griesemer, n.d ). Coming up with stricter gun laws will not deter criminals from acquiring guns as they can still acquire the gun illegally (Alper & Glaze, 2019). Evidence shows that a significant number of criminals acquired their guns illegally by not following any of the available rules that most people are insisting on (Alper & Glaze, 2019). This shows that even with strict gun laws, criminals still end up purchasing firearms, thus having even more stringent laws will not reduce the occurrence of criminal activity.
Strict Gun Laws Will Deter Criminal Activity
There is a good percentage of people who believe that stricter gun laws will defer criminals from committing crime. Pro-gun laws lobbyists explain that guns were created for the particular purpose of causing harm in a more precise way than any other weapon ( Degrazia, & Hunt, 2016 ). In an interview by the Harvard Gazette, David Hemenway (interviewee) states that the notion of having more guns to deter crime is flawed. There could be casualties from one trying to protect themselves as it takes a lot of training and practice to flawlessly use a gun (Walsh, 2019). However, the idea that more guns will not deter crime has been disapproved by numerous studies. These researches show law-abiding citizens with guns help in minimizing criminal activity because criminals will not attack them in fear of retaliation since they know that they are armed and ready to protect themselves and their loved ones.
The nature of guns and gun owners is also a bit complicated. Guns, through their nature, are entangled in a dense network of values, intentions, and overriding goals. Gun owners feel a sense of extended freedom, thus are more likely to commit acts that they would not normally do ( Degrazia, & Hunt, 2016 ). Moreover, Hemenway explains that high-income countries with less mass shooting incidents attributed their success to having fewer guns and stronger gun laws (Walsh, 2019). This assertion informs most of the pro-gun laws individuals as they believe having stricter laws will reduce criminal activity. However, it is important to recall that mere laws will not stop individuals with an intent to commit criminal acts as they can get guns through illegal means. They could also use other weapons and carry out their evil acts. Moreover, guns by themselves do not cause criminal acts, but the intention of the owner does.
Conclusion
Stricter gun control laws will not defer criminals from committing crime. Pieces of evidence throughout this paper show that criminals continue to commit crime even in states that have the most stringent laws pertaining to gun control. One wonders why most people are only keen on banning firearms from the public and instilling laws that minimize their usage. Criminals with an intent to harm others will look for every means possible to actualize their criminal behaviors, and gun laws will not prevent them from committing crime. Disarming people does not lead to reduced crime but only leaves people defenseless against such criminals who wish to harm others. Therefore, stricter gun control laws will not defer criminals from committing crime. It is, therefore, better to look into the reasons that cause criminal behavior among criminals. This does not mean that gun control should not be discussed but only suggests that each reason behind the commission of a crime be given an equal chance of being discussed. This is the only sure way of finding out how to best rid the country of crime since the debate on gun control takes center stage, and crime continues to happen.
References
Alper, M., & Glaze, L. (2019). Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/suficspi16.pdf
Ausman, J. I., & Faria, M. A. (2019). Is gun control really about people control? Surgical neurology international, 10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6800291/
Degrazia, D., & Hunt, L., H. (2016). Debating Gun Control; How much regulation do we need? Oxford University Press.
Fallow, J. (2018). A case against gun control. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2018/02/a-case-against-gun-control/553715/
Faria Jr, M. A. (2012). America, guns and freedom: Part II—An international perspective. Surgical neurology international, 3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3513850/
Faria Jr, M. A. (2012). America, guns, and freedom. Part I: A recapitulation of liberty. Surgical neurology international, 3. https://surgicalneurologyint.com/surgicalint-articles/america-guns-and-freedom-part-i-a-recapitulation-of-liberty/
Griesemer, J. (n.d). America's gun rights battle; What is happening and why? University of Denver. https://www.du.edu/ideas/interview-videos/americas-gun-rights-battle.html#
Swearer, A. (2018). Broad Gun-Control Restrictions Are Not the Answer.
The Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/firearms/commentary/broad-gun-control-restrictions-are-not-the-answer
Walsh, C. (2019). Want to stop mass shootings? The Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/08/harvard-professor-of-health-policy-discusses-gun-violence-in-the-wake-of-two-u-s-mass-shootings/
