Deaths due to guns is ranked third amongst causes of death in the United States of America. This is due to the inappropriate handling of firearms where people are in possession of guns without legal permits. Gun control is, therefore, essential in ensuring that only those that need guns and are trained on how to use them are in their possession. The policy has been formulated and implemented all over the world. Detailed below is a comprehensive exploration how historical and constitutional foundation of government relates to gun control policy, how the policy is critical in enhancing checks and balances, the relationship between the policy and public media, and the impact of the policy on voting.
Guns for Everyone
Gun control emanates from time immemorial. Yamane (2017) documents that it was normal for people in the past to possess arms in society. In the early revolutionary, republic, and colonial period in the United States, it was normal for even women and children to possess guns with the intention of protecting themselves from wars, which were by then widespread. Besides, guns were used as hunting tools (Yamane, 2017). Therefore, the practice of having personal guns for security purposes originates from the past where people believed in keeping their own security. Thus, gun control policy is highly related to the amendments done in the constitution, and how people handled guns back in the revolutionary period.
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Guns for the Selected Few
Constitutional amendments in the past had an impact on the way gun control policy operates. Some of the bills supported the policy while others went against it. According to Spitzer (2017), in the year 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States of America passed a controversial motion where is provided that all citizens have a core right to protect themselves by possessing firearms. However, the new law concerning firearms provided that arms are not to be carried around by people who were mentally unstable or to places that could be termed sensitive (Spitzer, 2017). In this particular case, the policy on gun control was greatly affected. While only a few selected individuals are allowed to possess guns, the motion allows all ordinary people to own guns.
How the Policy is Critical in Enhancing Checks and Balances
The Gun Control Policy Reduces Cases of Violence
Gun control policy is essential in enhancing checks and balances in society. Kwon and Baack (2005) state that gun control policy has a significant impact on reducing cases of violence. Most cases of homicide were caused by people who privately owned guns. Probably, people possessed these firearms without the ideal appropriate knowledge, insights, and attitudes on how effective these firearms are, hence, their misuse (Kwon & Baack, 2005). Therefore, the policy is used to enhance insecurity when possessed by rightful persons, but also leads to a high level of insecurity if handled by the wrong people.
Gun Control Ensures Equality and Security
Then also, the practice is ancient in the United States of America where it was highly connected to issues of insecurity. Gun control started during the revolutionary period and had undergone through several phases to the present (Blackman, 2011). It is a sensitive issue since it is connected to matters such as equality in society (Blackman, 2011). Therefore, gun control policy was, and is still being used to enhance a balance between critical aspects such as equality and security.
The Relationship between Gun Control Policy, Public Policy and Elections and how the Media depicts it
How Media depicts Gun Control
The media normally gives a wrong impression of the real events concerning uncontrolled gun possession. The reports about gun control are typically exaggerated, and, hence, the entire readership and listeners get a false image of the actual happenings (Mauser & Kopel, 1992). Thus, it is much likely that society has a wrong impression about the issue of private ownership and use of guns. Then also, most media stations employ cheap techniques for collecting data from the field before reporting. It is, therefore, challenging for such methods to effectively handle the issues of great magnitude such as gun control (Mauser & Kopel, 1992).
Gun Control Policy, Public Policy and Elections
It is a public policy to have some applicants possess arms to enhance their security. Nonetheless, such decisions were highly disputed due to their impact on society. For instance, it initiated a national trend in Florida where applicants for an election position were allowed to possess guns and use them to beef up their security (Vizzard, 2015). Therefore, the gun control policy relates to public policy and elections.
The Impact of the Gun Control Policy on Elections
Gun Control Ensures Election Security
Gun control policy greatly influences elections. First, it enhances security for the applicants, hence, peaceful elections. In this case, gun control policy improves safety during elections in cases where applicants are being attacked by opponents (Vizzard, 2017). People who possessed guns were able to defend themselves during attacks.
Controlled Gun Possession leads to Election Insecurity
Controlled gun possession could lead to high levels of insecurity (Vizzard, 2017). Some people who are legally allowed to possess guns may mishandle or misuse them threating the safety of others. This situation was common during the revolutionary period (Blackman, 2011). During that period, people acquired guns without knowing how to handle them. Most of them were misused to attack other people and cause insecurity issues in the United States of America during the revolutions and electioneering periods. Thus, the policy greatly influences elections in the past.
Conclusion
Gun possession is a critical issue that dates back to the revolutionary period. Gun control is aimed at providing a requirement to who should possess guns and who should not. The policy is related to history and recent amendment on the constitution. For instance, how people handled firearms in the past influences how they do today. Amendments provided requirements on who was illegible to handle guns. Then also, the policy enhances a balance between aspects such as equality and security in society. It also relates to the media, the public, and election in the United States. Notably, the policy enhanced security, and also leads to insecurity during electioneering periods depending on how they are handled.
References
Blackman. J. (2011). The Supreme Court's New Battlefield. Texas Law Review.
Kwon. W. G. & Baack. D. (2005). The Effectiveness of Legislation Controlling Gun Usage. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 64, No. 2.
Mauser. G. A. & Kopel. D. B. (1992). "Sorry, Wrong Number": Why Media Polls on Gun Control Are Often Unreliable. Political communication, Volume9, pp.69-92.
Spitzer. R. J. (2017). Gun Law History in the United States and Second Amendment Rights.
Vizzard. W. J. (2015). The Current and Future State of Gun Policy in The United States, 104 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 879. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7541&context=jclc
Yamane, D. (2017). The sociology of U.S. gun culture . Sociology Compass, 11(7), e12497. Retrieved from https://sci-hub.tw/10.1111/soc4.12497
