The debate on gun ownership and control in the U.S. is escalating with the growing trends of mass shooting increasing each year. October 1, 2017, mass shooting in by a lone shooter in a Las Vegas concert resulted in 58 deaths and injured over 500 (Densley & Peterson, 2017). This shooting is just a fraction of the escalating problem of shootings even in schools and in other public streets or space. The problem has also led to the increment of suicides among gun owners and the rapid growth of gun violence mainly in the southern states of the country.
According to the Small Arms Survey in 2007, America had the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. The survey demonstrated that between 2001 and 2007 the gun owners in the country had increased from 230 million to 270 million which is translated to 89 guns in every 100 Americans (Small Arms Survey. 2007). The increment in gun ownership is directly comparable to the rise of the mass shooting in the country. For instance, the Littleton shooting in 1999 led to 13 deaths compared to the Virginia Tech incident that led to 32 deaths which are even lower than the 2016 and 2016 mass shooting in Orlando and Las Vegas that led to 49 and 58 deaths respectively (Densley & Peterson, 2017). The problem can, therefore, be understood as a social dilemma with over 55% of Americans favoring the ownership of the gun to an individual with the claims that it is a constitutional right under the Second Amendment (Lynch, Logan & Jackson, 2018). Social dilemma argues that social payoff to each for defecting behavior is higher than the payoff for cooperative behavior regardless of what the other society members do, yet all individuals in the society receive a lower payoff if all defect than if they cooperate (Robinson, 2007). This description when used under the America’s gun ownership and control can prove that the best way to reduce or mitigate the escalating gun violence and mass murder is to reduce ownership and implement stricter policies. However, such a decision may result in the country’s instability due to the values, and reasons for gun ownership in the country. Therefore, it is vital to understand the issue from a sociological perspective to determine the solution that will reduce the rates of gun-related crimes and suicides without the risks of defiance and revolts from the opponents of reducing guns ownership.
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Sociological Theories Perceptive of America’s Gun Problem
The issue of gun ownership and control is mostly studied in the aspects of criminology. Hence, there is a limited sociological perception of the dilemma. Criminologists tend to construct most of their studies in understanding the crime committed and the criminal rather than going deeper and understand the societal aspects of the issue. Therefore, this study intends to demonstrate the dilemma from a social perspective that will demonstrate the best way to address the dilemma and enhancing the American values and safety concerns.
Conflict Theory
According to Hammond and Cheney (2016), conflict theory is a macro-level theory that studies the social, national, global or regional levels of the sociological phenomenon. The theory founded by Karl Marx mainly to defy capitalism after gaining first-hand experiences of the oppression and inhumane exploitation of the low-income and average individuals by the elite is based on defying the status quo. The theory has progressed leading to its acceptance on determining various social aspects and dilemmas. The approach argues that the wealthy have the power thus make all the shots on the significant issues even those regarding the other social classes. It has been instrumental in broad application among different sociological studies since the conflict causes most of the social dilemmas. The theory also depicts that the conflict in the society arises from competition that leads to negotiations resulting in threats, consensus, and promises (Giddens, 2017). The level of threats and coercion is likely to justify war as a means of protection making war seem natural as tools of power are used without compassion.
Therefore, based on the analysis above it is possible to demonstrate America’s gun dilemma. The conflict theory is likely to question how gun ownership and control policies either contribute or inhibit gun-related injuries, deaths, crimes, and violence. The answer to this question demonstrates that the gun ownership and control in the U.S. is directly related to the increment number of gun-related problems. The vast aspects of gun-related crimes and violence are narrowed down to include mass shootings, access of guns to criminals and suicide among the gun owners. As earlier illustrated, mass shootings have increased from 13 to 58 in a single mass shooting in Littleton and Las Vegas in 1999 and 2017 respectively (Joslyn & Haider-Markel, 2017). The frequency has also projected. Therefore, proponents of stricter controls and regulation argue that the government should reduce the number of guns on the street. Opponents of stricter policies argue that the current gun licensing evaluate the people that purchase guns thus making the gun owners to be termed as sane and law-abiding citizens (Lynch, Logan & Jackson, 2018). However, this argument fails to consider the events that homicides have been caused by a stolen gun from a legal owner. In such a logical perception it is evident that the denying ownership of guns would have prevented such a risk. The other issue is based on the suicides that have increased in due to the efficiency of guns for depressed and with the laxity of the current regulations, these people are handled their weapons. Firearm restriction is vital in limiting accessibility of weapons and will also mitigate the chances of fatal domestic violence. Lastly, the theory demonstrates that restricted ownership and reexamining the current owners of guns will reduce the number of guns and gun-related crimes in the country.
Symbolic Interaction Theory
Unlike, conflict theory, symbolic interaction theory argues that the society comprises of ever-present interactions among persons who share symbols and their meaning. The approach is primarily used to understand the aspects of individual interactions, values, cultural relations, fear, communication and the personalities of any given person as an individual and under a group of people with similar values or personalities. Thomas Theorem which states, “if people perceive or define something as being real, then it becomes real in its consequences.” (Giddens, 2017). This description makes it suitable to address the social constructs of reality, the values, cultural norms that define different people and the roles or meaning of different products to an individual and society at large. The implementation of this theory is more straightforward than that of conflict theory on the issue of gun ownership.
The Second Amendments makes it a right for any sane and legal abiding American to own a gun if they require it. The limitations of these rights ensure that the government has control over the gun ownership in the country. The Americans' association and history of guns have resulted in the belief and value amongst older gun-owners is American culture (Kocsis, 2015). The elite or wealthy may own guns to protect their wealth whereas women in the U.S. own gun as a show of protection or a way to defend themselves from male violence among other issues. The fear of being hopeless and defenseless in most single women results in their support for gun ownership. Americans tend to portray war as a fight for justice and enhancing national security, for instance, the win over Japan, Saddam and Osama resulted in the positive, heroic portrayal of the soldiers in ensuring the safety of the citizens.
However, the continued depiction of heroic acts of killing even in children with the escalating rate of violent video games results in the desire and added value of guns. The society is constructed to value the influence a gun owner has over the other person. Individualism nature of Americans has also increased the reliance on guns for safety rather than the police or law enforcement (Lynch, Logan & Jackson, 2018). Lastly, the social construction in most ghettos results in the gang strength and power with the availability of guns facilitating the gains or fear of rival gangs. These factors lead to lack of role models in such locations and the desire to own guns even in the black market for most children in low-income neighborhoods.
Economics Perceptive
Economist views the dilemma differently because they base their arguments on maximizing profits for gun manufacturers and dealers. However, they agree that stricter control is needed to limit the loopholes in gun purchases and sales thus ensure increased revenue gains and growth of the economy. Other economists that term the market as perfectly competitive may argue for more relaxing of the policies as they oppose government interference in perfect competition. However, economic ethics would require the understanding of the social impacts of the sales and ways to achieve the equilibrium.
Conclusion
Based on the understanding and past studies in this course and the understanding of the sociological theories, it is evident that symbolic-interaction theory is the most suitable theory in addressing America’s gun dilemma. Rather than rush into proposing or opposing the step to undertake the theory addresses the values, roles, social constructs and other aspects from a micro perceptive towards the macro-aspects. Changing an individual’s value and view of a gun is more straightforward than changing a multitude of people. Therefore, the best strategy is to address the issue from an individual towards the masses. However, the problem is still challenging to solve but in the understanding of people knowing the chaos caused by guns will be instrumental in resolving the dilemma.
References
Densley, J., & Peterson, J., (2017). Gun Violence in America. The Violence Project .
Giddens, A. (2017). Introduction to sociology . New York City: W. W. Norton & Company.
Hammond, R., & Cheney, P., (2016). Sociology 101 . Retrieved on June 25, 2018 from https://www.canyons.edu/Offices/DistanceLearning/OER/Documents/Sociology101FINAL.pdf
Joslyn, M., & Haider-Markel, D. (2017). Gun Ownership and Self-Serving Attributions for Mass Shooting Tragedies*. Social Science Quarterly , 98 (2), 429-442.
Kocsis, M. (2015). Gun Ownership and Gun Culture in the United States of America. Essays In Philosophy , 16 (2), 154-79. doi: 10.7710/1526-0569.1530
Lynch, K., Logan, T., & Jackson, D. (2018). “People Will Bury Their Guns before They Surrender Them”: Implementing Domestic Violence Gun Control in Rural, Appalachian versus Urban Communities. Rural Sociology , 83 (2), 315-346.
Robinson, D. (2007). Control Theories in Sociology. Annual Review Of Sociology , 33 (1), 157-174.
Small Arms Survey (2007). Guns and the City . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
