In America, gun ownership is commonplace and eminently intertwined within the fabric of society. Seen as a consecrated insignia commemorating the end of Great Britain’s colony in America, guns have been part of the American way of life for centuries. Nonetheless, recent mass shootings have resulted in ferocious debates over gun control. Illustrated as unlawful gun use for fear through death or injury, gun violence has claimed numerous innocent lives bordering on national calamities within America. Ultimately, the primary concern relating to gun control rests upon the issuances and ownership of guns that are not licensed. While some are of the opinion that there should be direct and uncensored gun distributions hence control, others cite the right to bear arms as espoused in the Second Amendment, believing gun control to be unconstitutional (Haynes, 2016). This paper evaluates and discusses gun control issues through analysis of the various variables involved such as public opinion, thought dissonance between gun rights enthusiasts and gun control advocates, as well as modern mass shootings.
As stated by Kopel (1995) among various crime categories, firearm violence is presently the most popular form that transpires on a daily basis and, is at the center of the firearm sales debate. According to his analysis, this type of crime portends due to the ease of accessing guns and further argues that with a proliferation of such crimes, the legislative battle against them is repressed. Overall, other factors are decidedly conspicuous when it comes to the high rates of gun violence in the U.S. Nonetheless; overwhelmingly, past literature shows that for gun violence to decrease significantly, gun controls have to be in place, and legislators have to enact policies that border on restriction. While there have been numerous efforts to reduce and eventually stifle gun violence, recent studies indicate an increase in incidents involving firearm aggression. Aborn and Koury (2012) note the fight against firearm aggression should reflect communal accountability; incorporating all stakeholders despite age, race, and gender differences.
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The Issue of Gun Control
Gundlach et al. (2013) fondly note that the accessibility and restriction of firearms is the most contested and heated debate within American society. As stated above, stemming from the interpretation of the Second Amendment, proponents believe they have the inalienable right to bear arms. In addition, those in support of this legislation believe that governmental efforts or otherwise, attuned to firearm limitations in terms of purchase or possession are grossly unnecessary and an infringement upon the rights of the sovereign citizen. As mentioned above, gun violence is at the core of the gun control issue. Having chilling statistics, gun violence according to The University of Pennsylvania’s Firearm Injury Center is a sobering affair. According to this institution, in the U.S., firearm deaths averaged close to 32,500 from the year 1980 to 2006. After vehicle crashes, firearms are the second leading cause of death, resulting in one maim per five minutes and roughly 80 deaths per day.
Economically, the cost of gun violence is quite high, easily exceeding $100 billion according to estimates by Cook and Ludwig (2001). Moreover, apart from the direct costs, indirect ones attributed to firearm violence include increased costs of insurance, suffering, and pain leading to productivity loss, expenses from augmented security systems, and loss of business locations. Increasingly also, children face humongous repercussions due to gun violence with Edelman (2012) estimating that as many as 35,000 of this category faced deaths and injuries between 2008 and 2009. According to estimates by the Department of Justice (DOJ), close to half a million citizens of America continually become victims of crimes committed using guns, which translates to one death per minute.
Majorly, within the premise of gun control debate, the most critical factor remains the comparison of the U.S. to other nations considered industrially advanced, predominantly regarding the rate of death and firearm aggression. To fully conceptualize this problem, consider scholastic evidence, which suggests that gun-related homicide is by far greater in America compared to other first world countries. In actuality, the rate is 19 times higher compared to more than 20 other “high income” states and, regarding children under the age of fifteen, the rate of death from gunshot wounds is 12 times higher than two dozen developed nations (Jones & Stone, 2015).
Firearm Proliferation in America
Another issue in the deliberation over firearm control is that gun proliferation among American citizens is quite high. Statistically, this burgeoning of firearms is the highest globally, both in terms of total numbers and per capita. Fundamentally, the concern over ownership comes in the wake of various studies hypothesizing and proving the relationship between gun ownership and a spike in gun-related homicides on both a state-to-state and on a country-to-country basis (Jones & Stone, 2015). Nonetheless, the measurement of gun ownership is highly ambiguous for obvious reasons, making estimates to fluctuate significantly. However, with the historic demeanor of gun ownership being passed from one generation to the next, predominantly among rural farming families, ownership can be traced and quantified.
As such, the Federal Government approximates that there are close to 310,000,000 privately licensed guns belonging to individuals (Sanburn, 2012). By 2010, according to a multifaceted study with multiple data sources, more than half of the American population owned a gun (Jones & Stone, 2015). Further analyzing the data, the study indicated Hawaii as the least gun possession state while Mississippi led with a whopping 76.8 percent. Ultimately, in the deliberation over gun management and control, this proliferation has become known making it a marked incentive for control to stifle violence.
Firearm Distribution: The Issue on Central Marketing
Politically instigated gun control battles often focus on firearm access by consumers, as well as their legal distribution. While the law certainly governs those who sell firearms, types of guns sold, and customer types allowed purchasing, researchers continue to identify loopholes and problems within current systems of distribution in America (Jones & Stone, 2015). Majorly, diversion is the key problem. By definition, diversion refers to the flow of guns to markets considered illegal. This flow results in the formation of miniature proportions of unscrupulous dealers, hoarding and in turn selling illegal guns by the thousands.
While proponents often mention that the existence of large numbers of gun dealers licensed federally undoubtedly mitigates the propensity for diversion, statistics indicate a significant increase in the supplies of sales unauthorized by the government, which comprise street vendors who are unlicensed, unreported firearm purchases between individuals, and the sale of stolen guns. Overall, with the number of federally licensed dealers being approximately 65,000 and that of grocery stores and McDonald’s Restaurants being 36,569 and 14,098 respectively, the battle over gun control is being vindicated (Jones & Stone, 2015).
The Lobbies: The Political Aspect influencing Gun Control
While the passage of legislation limiting gun sales to individuals is not a novel process, its advancement during Obama’s Administration faced increasingly influential gun lobbying. Referencing the 1934 Act regarding National Firearms, the enactment of several major Federal laws regulating the sale of guns to individuals has taken place. However, recent events continue to divide the political landscape pertaining to the legislation of guns in the US (Jones & Stone, 2015). Such divisions have seen the emergence of decidedly professional groups attuned lobbying, thereby, presenting the dual perspectives of the argument in contentious debates before Congress. Regarding lobbying, pro-gun lobbyist present the most powerful voice, outspending gun control lobbyist by a factor of 23:1.
The most formidable foe against gun control remains to be the National Rifle Association (NRA), with millions of members and a revenue stream closely toppling $200 million annually (Jones & Stone, 2015). Using the “slippery slope” argument, this group effectively convinces its members that the initial step of changing the law results in the accretion of correlated occurrences that have the potential of significantly affecting the sovereignty of bearing arms. Being well thought-out and dynamic in elections of the national, state, and local nature and, investing huge sums of money on an annual basis, the NRA is a formidable force to counteract when it comes to gun control.
Nonetheless, while proponents of gun control are continually undermined, powerful organizations such as the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is at the forefront when it comes to gun control (Jones & Stone, 2015). Being active in all governance levels, they promote foundational campaigns attuned to their cause. Ultimately, being at loggerheads with pro-gun organizations and involving various other organizations such as faith-based groups, advocates of child welfare, and medical associations among others, makes the political stage of gun control an issue.
Conclusion
The issue on gun control is controversial and eminently complex, predominantly among conservative Americans. On a daily, stakeholders from both sides continue to hold various beliefs. Numerous citizens, scholars, professionals, and interest groups within disciplines that entail subjects such as health care are of the opinion that the proliferation of guns within America is becoming a national problem that necessitates the limiting of gun sales. On the other hand, mass shooting events, which propose Federal law alterations restricting sales will not emerge possibly in the near future. This hypothesis is backed up by the fact that gun sales markedly rose following the Sandy Hook Elementary School killing (Jones & Stone, 2015). As such, antecedent-oriented marketing endeavors, in combination with gun control ambassadors’ and political initiatives continue to face immense paradoxes, resulting in an increase of gun sales with the push for stringent regulations.
References
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Cook, P., & Ludwig, J. (2001). Toward smarter gun laws. Retrieved from https://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0206/p9s1.html
Edelman, M. (2012). "THE STATE OF AMERICA’S CHILDREN 2012." Retrieved from https://www.childrensdefense.org/child-watch-columns/health/2012/the-state-of-americas-children-2012/
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Sanburg, J. (2012). America’s Gun Economy by the Numbers . Time Publishing.
