The issue of gun control has been a hotly debated topic in the United States. Anti-gun and Pro-gun activists often have clashing views on the best cause of action that should be adopted by states in controlling gun ownership. Gun violence in the country has led to the loss of many innocent lives. For example on February 14, 2017, the tragic gun shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School led to the killing of 14 children and four staff members. The wave of gun violence and mass shootings in recent years prompted states such as Florida to enact gun laws that strictly control the sale and possession of guns in an attempt to protect its citizens. According to one research study, “requiring a license to purchase a gun and bans on purchases and ownership of guns by alcoholics, mentally ill persons and criminals may reduce rates of both homicide and robbery” (Kleck, Kovandzic, & Bellows, 2016). The researchers envisioned that safety is the primary concern and an introduction to gun control laws will ensure that both gun owners and the general public are safe. Raising the waiting period on all gun purchases and the use of extreme risk protection order are viable solutions to ending gun violence.
Waiting Period
Raising the waiting period to say about three days excluding weekends and holidays will provide ample time to conduct a background check on gun purchasers. The use of waiting-period laws delays gun buyers from taking immediate possession of their guns. Such delays create a significant window time for gun purchasers to cool off and reconsider their intentions thereby reducing the risk of impulsive acts of violence. A change of heart that can result from increased waiting period help prevent the occurrence of suicides and gun homicides. Webster &wintemute(2015) argue that “effective policies such as the waiting period provide sufficient time to conduct background checks and keep firearms from high-risk individuals.” Background checks help ascertain the legal age, criminal background, mental stability, and drug abuse-related incidents of gun purchasers. Perpetrators and suspects of mass shootings usually comprise of people with shady backgrounds. For example, the student accused of the Parkland shooting had a history of mental health issues. Waiting period laws will, therefore, ensure that only responsible individuals and those with sound minds are allowed to own guns.
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Extreme Protection Orders
Extreme protection orders will ensure that law enforcement agencies have the right to confiscate ammunition from people whose behavior are deemed to be violent. Police officers will have the liberty to petition a temporary order in court that will prevent people with questionable behaviors from purchasing or possessing guns. Extreme risk protection order will ensure that violent people are precluded from posing dangers to themselves and also to others. Kleck (2017) acknowledges that “reducing gun availability among those who would use guns for violent purposes will reduce fatal incidences that involve the use of firearms.” Incidences of mass shootings, suicides, and homicides have escalated in recent years. Most of the suspects involved in gun violence have questionable risky behaviors that push them towards committing such atrocities. However, these people have individual rights of owning guns which therefore makes it difficult to dispossess them from their ammunition. Enacting extreme protection orders will, therefore, ensure that confiscation of firearms from violent people is successfully done. Overall public safety will, thus, be maintained.
Conclusion
The call to bring an end to gun violence should however not be left only to law enforcement agencies. The general public has a huge part to play in ensuring that they live in a violent-free environment. It is therefore crucial for the general public to collaborate with police officers to prevent or report incidences of gun violence. For example, they should alert police officers by either using e-mails or phone calls whenever they suspect the behavior of a gun owner poses a significant threat to the public.
References
Kleck, G. (2017). Targeting Guns: Firearms and their control. Routledge.
Kleck, G., Kovandzic, T., & Bellows, J. (2016). Does gun control reduce violent crime? Criminal justice review, 41(4), 488-513.
Webster, D. W., &Wintemute, G. J. (2015). Effects of policies designed to keep firearms from high-risk individuals. Annual review of public health, 36, 21-37.
