Recently, 17 students died in a Florida school after a former student opened fire. This mass shooting renewed calls for the adoption of stricter gun controls. Companies have led the calls for the stricter controls. For example, such airlines as United have ended a discount program that was extended to members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) (“Florida Shooting”, 2018). The US has historically struggled in its attempts to introduce stricter gun laws. On the other hand, Australia has achieved enviable success after introducing gun control initiatives. A set of complex forces are responsible for the failure to introduce gun laws into the US and the success of the same laws in Australia.
The immense influence that the NRA wields over the gun control question is one of the factors to blame for the country’s failure to adopt any meaningful gun control measures. The NRA represents millions of Americans who are passionate supporters of gun rights. This organization also provides financial support to political leaders. In exchange for the support, the politicians vow to oppose any efforts to introduce gun laws. The NRA has supported over 80 Republican members of Congress (Weiss & Gould, 2018). It is little therefore wonder that the Republican Party continues to fiercely oppose gun control proposals. One would expect that the NRA would abandon its hardline stance on gun controls after a mass shooting. As the recent Florida school shooting revealed, this organization is unlikely to abandon its position. After the shooting, the NRA insisted that it remains opposed to gun control laws (Schroeder & Rampton, 2018). Australia lacks any lobby group that is powerful enough to stop gun control. This is among the reasons why Australia has managed to ban guns.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Deep political divisions are another force that has made it difficult for the US to introduce gun laws (McCarthy, 2017). The Democratic Party has been in the forefront in pushing for the adoption of these laws. On the other hand, politicians from the Republican Party have opposed all efforts to introduce laws. It is nearly impossible to secure bipartisan support for gun laws. The situation in Australia is different. In 1996, the country suffered its worst mass shooting. This tragedy challenged the country’s political leadership to join forces and introduce a ban on guns (Calamur, 2017). If the US is to achieve success in introducing gun controls, political leaders from both parties must come together.
Another factor that has served to impede efforts to introduce gun laws is the fact that there are millions of guns in the hands of American citizens. It is estimated that there are as many as 310 million guns (Calamur, 2017). A majority of the owners of these guns are ardent supporters of gun rights. 74% of gun owners are of the view that gun ownership is an essential right (McCarthy, 2017). Even if the US were to successfully introduce gun laws, it would be incredibly difficult to take the guns off the hands of citizens. Australia’s situation is quite different. The guns that civilians possess are much fewer. Moreover, Australians appear to be more willing to give up their guns. Following the introduction of stricter gun laws, the Australian government managed to collect over 600,000 guns (Calamur, 2017). To make progress in its quest for tighter gun controls, the US government will need to win over the American people and convince them that the controls are needed to make the country safer.
The American constitution guarantees a wide range of rights. The right to bear arms is among these. The Second Amendment stipulates that the American people have the right to own firearms. This provision is another hurdle that receives blame for the lack of progress in the adoption of stricter gun control laws (Beck, 2017). On the other hand, Australia does not have an equivalent constitutional provision. It was fairly easy for the country’s leadership to introduce gun laws. For the US to effectively tackle gun violence, it needs to develop an approach that accounts for its unique history, values and people. It would be improper to simply import the initiatives that Australia has employed. The country’s political leadership holds the key to ending mass shootings and other gun-related crimes. They need to join forces and introduce laws that would make it difficult for individuals to access guns.
References
Beck, K. (2017). Are Australia’s Gun Laws the Solution for the US? Retrieved March 3, 2018 From http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35048251
Calamur, K. (2017). Australia’s Lessons on Gun Control. Retrieved March 3, 2018 from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/10/australia-gun-control/541710/
Florida Shooting: US Airlines Join other Firms in Dropping NRA. (2018). March 3, 2018 From http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43181337
McCarthy, T. (2017). A Perennial American Question: why has Gun Control Failed? Retrieved March 3, 2018 from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/03/gun-control-america-failed-las-vegas
Schroeder, P., & Rampton, R. (2018). Gun Lobby Pushes back on Trump’s Gun Plans after Florida Shooting. Retrieved March 3, 2018 from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guns/gun-lobby-pushes-back-on-trumps-gun-plans-after-florida-shooting-idUSKCN1G90PB
Weiss, B., & Gould, S. (2018). These are the Members of Congress with the most NRA Contributions. Retrieved March 3, 2018 from
http://www.businessinsider.com/nra-political-contributions-congressional-candidates-house-senate-2018-2?IR=T
