The issues and policies associated with the gun control topic are controversial in the United States. Gun control policies continues to be of great concern in the nation with many people living in fear of gun violence in streets, schools, homes, and places of work. Many people find it acceptable to possess a gun for protective purposes, which are as per the second amendment. On the other hand, a significant number of American citizens believe that there should be stricter laws regulating the access and possession of firearms to reduce cases of gun violence. This paper discusses the policy overview and historical background of gun control, as well as the current state of affairs and the impact of the problem over time.
Background
The subject of gun control seems to be substantially important many. A significant number of American citizens possess strong opinions on the subject. The debates center on whether citizens should be allowed to possess guns, or should they be prohibited from accessing and possessing guns. Gun control refers to the policies set by the government to regulate the sale, possession, and use of guns, firearms in particular (Kleck, 2015). A firearm is a widely used tool in America. Some of its common uses include hunting, sports, military purposes, law enforcement, and protection at home. Due to their many uses, many Americans possess firearms; some use them for good, while others use them for destructive purposes. When used to cause destruction or harm people, their availability to citizens who abuse the right to possess guns is questioned. When these weapons fall in the wrong hands, many innocent lives are lost, and properties worth millions of dollars are lost. Therefore, weighing the liberties and rights of the citizens against the safety and welfare of the public has always been a precarious balancing act.
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A few decades ago, mass shootings in America and around the world were very rare; nowadays, these public shootings occur more frequently than ever. Statistics reveal that in America, more than four people are murdered every 47 days in horrific mass shootings (Philip & Pollack, 2017). Everyone in the community has become more worried about their safety and that of their loved ones. In 2019, two mass shootings happened in Ohio and Texas claiming a total of 31 lives in less than 24 hours (CUIMC, 2019). With each attack, the public and those in authority try to understand the reasons behind the increasing gun violence and try to come up with solutions to the problem. Examples are the Brady Act has and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (Philip & Pollack, 2017). All these efforts to reduce gun violence in the nation have identified gun control as one of the causes and solution to the problem. Those in support of stricter gun policies believe that more guns in the streets, whether legal or illegal, lead to more gun-related violence; this theory is supported by statistics by Kwon and Baack (2005), indicating that states with a high number of permitted gun owners reported higher numbers of mass shootings compared to states with stricter gun policies ( Circo & McGarrell, 2016) . Other theories suggest that gun control has an insignificant influence on gun violence cases compared to other social, economic, and environmental factors which are linked to gun violence.
Factors Contributing to the Problem
Social factors such as mental illnesses among adults and reducing mental illnesses among the youth may have contributed to the increasing rates of gun violence which leads to questions concerning gun policies. Mental illness checks as one of the factors in most mass shooting perpetrators; most of the attackers were later diagnosed with server mental conditions which were the primary causes of the assaults ( Circo & McGarrell, 2016) . Nonetheless, mental illness cannot be generalized as a contributing factor because it only accounts for less than 5 % of all gun violence in the US ( Block, 2007). Substance abuse is another social factor contributing to gun violence and gun control problems. Drugs may lead to more gun violence by gun owners because the alcohol or drugs put the users in a state of mind where they may easily make risky decisions depending with the drug ( Circo & McGarrell, 2016). Drugs may give the users the courage to commit violent acts which they would have refrained from if they were sober. Gun control is the most appropriate way of regulating gun violence cases that happen under these circumstances; restricted access to guns may reduce drug related gun violence.
Socioeconomic factors such as poverty, unemployment among the youth, and gangs may contribute to gun violence. Gun control policies that restrict the sale of firearms to persons with criminal intentions from accessing the weapons may help to reduce the gun violence epidemic in America. Higher rates of homicide and robbery using guns have been reported to be higher in areas of low income. Economic factors linked to environmental factors also contribute to the problem because such environments report significant numbers of homicide and gun violence cases.
Environments with increased screen time with activities such as violent video games and the watching of violent and horror visuals contribute to increased violence especially with easy gun access and ownership by teenagers ( Circo & McGarrell, 2016 ). Such environments tend to advertise gun violence in a way that may encourage dehumanizing and risky behavior among the youth. Data from the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System reveals that thousands of youth carry firearms in America ( Circo & McGarrell, 2016 ).
History of Gun Control
The Second Amendment which gives US citizens a right to possess guns was introduced in the constitution in the year 1791 (Kwon & Baack, 2005). Since then, its purpose and meaning have been a topic of debate between those in favor of the bill and those against it. Many people find it acceptable to possess a gun for protective purposes, which are as per the second amendment. On the other hand, a significant number of American citizens believe that there should be stricter laws regulating the access and possession of firearms to reduce cases of gun violence. There have been court cases in the US Supreme court aiming to regulate the law. Another notable enactment is the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) which is noted as the national gun control legislation (Kwon & Baack, 2005). Intentions of the 1934 legislation were to register firearms, tax firearm manufacturers, and restrict the possession of high-risk guns. The law was challenged soon after its enactment. Since then, there have been additional gun restrictions such as the Federal Firearm Act passed in 1938 and the 1968 Gun Control Act enacted as a result of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy (Kwon & Baack, 2005). Another notable development in gun control policy is the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 which required firearm buyers to wait 5 days before receiving the guns to give room for a background security check on the buyers (Kwon & Baack, 2005).
The Current State of Affairs
The Second Amendment in the United States Constitution under the bill of rights provides citizens the right to possess guns. These amendments protect citizen's rights for the possession of weapons unconnected with services in militias and the use the gun for traditionally lawful purposes such as protection (Kleck, 2015). This may have contributed to the statistics indicating that the chances of being shot in the US are higher than in more than 22 other developed countries ( Circo & McGarrell, 2016 ). Statistics reveal that in 2017, there were a total of over 37,500 gun-related deaths in the US. Over 23,000 of which were suicides, approximately 14,500 of which were murder, 550 gun-related deaths due to legal intervention, 486 by accident, and 338 gun-related deaths where the motive was not determined (Kwon & Baack, 2005). These studies reflect the seriousness of gun violence and the need for intervention in the subject. At the moment, approximately 270 million firearms are possessed by Americans. Statistics reveal that an average of 268 citizens in the country is shot every day with an increase of gun-related assaults, robberies, homicides, and mass shootings happening each year.
The Brady Act has helped contain the gun violence issue in the country by controlling the access and possession of guns. The Brady Act was effective because, by 2013, the FBI reported a significant reduction in gun-related violence, assaults, and robberies within the country. Statistics reveal that the change improvement in safety was because the Brady Act had prevented the sale of over 2 million guns to persons who might have used them for the wrong purposes (Kwon & Baack, 2005). The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is an interest group that has been on the frontline in the support for gun control policies (Gann, 2019). The group’s mission is to reduce gun violence in the US through the advocacy of gun policies. Studies conducted to investigate the people’s opinion on gun control policies indicate that approximately 75% of the US population feel that gun restriction policies should be stricter (Gann, 2019). This sentiment is reflected by studies from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health which reveals that the states and countries with strict gun policies experience lower rates of gun-related deaths compared to jurisdictions allowing easy gun access and possession (CUIMC, 2019).
Conclusion
There is a need for stricter gun policies in the country to reduce cases of gun-related murder, suicide, assaults, and robberies in the US. Gun control is associated to the prevalence of gun-related problems because the firearm policies control the ease of access and possession of firearms which turn into deadly weapons when in the wrong hands. The Second Amendment in the United States Constitution under the bill of rights provides citizens the right to possess guns. On the other hand, the Brady Act has and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence have both been useful in reducing gun violence by restricting access to firearms and advocating for stricter gun control policies.
References
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Circo, G., Pizarro, J., & McGarrell, E. (2016). Adult and Youth Involvement in Gun-Related Crime: Implications for Gun Violence Prevention Interventions. Criminal Justice Policy Review , 29 (8), 799-822. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403416655431
Kleck, G. (2015). The Impact of Gun Ownership Rates on Crime Rates: A Methodological Review of the Evidence. Journal of Criminal Justice , 43 (1), 40-48. https://doi.org/10.1 016/j.jcrimjus.2014.12.002
Kwon, I., & Baack, D. (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
Philip J. Cook, & Harold A. Pollack. (2017). Reducing Access to Guns by Violent Offenders. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal Of The Social Sciences , 3 (5), 2. https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2017.3.5.01
