Gun Control Revised | EssayIvy.com

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Gun control is one of the most pertinent issues in contemporary American politics. Due to an

upsurge in the number of incidents of gun-related violence, there has been a corresponding

increase in advocacy for stricter policies that regulate how the citizenry acquires and uses guns.

Proponents of gun control argue that lack of tight regulatory policy and background checks

contributes largely to crime, terrorism and gun-related violence. However, there is still a large

portion of Americans who support gun rights in spite of gun regulation. The antagonism against

firearm restriction is based on the philosophy that guns are essential in personal protection and

citizen participation in preventing crime. According to the National Rifle Association there are

several federal, local and state laws that a wide range of issues relating to firearms. As at 2015,

there were an estimated 270 to 310 million guns in the possession of United States civilians. The

homes with a gun can was approximated at 35% of the total U.S. population. Most of the legally

licensed guns are possessed by well-to-do individuals and families. However, there are many

more illegal guns in the possession of civilians especially criminal gangs. (Lott, n.p.) In this

paper the position taken is pro-gun control. The thesis of proposes that tighter gun control

policies will lead to a safer community with a decline in gun-related violence, crime and

terrorism. These analysis and recommendations are channeled towards policymakers to influence

gun control reform.

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Before delving into the particulars of gun control, it is important to acknowledge that the

government has a responsibility or duty to regulate guns for the benefit of the general public and

the safety of every individual. Based on the theory of social contract by Thomas Hobbes, law and

order in a society is formed based on an agreement among members of that society that they will

give up some of their rights and freedoms in exchange for civil order. (Spitzer, p.3) Hence

government structures are established under this principle to maintain order and public safety for

and on behalf of the citizenry. The government has a mandate, donated by the people to ensure

that there is security, safety, protection and justice for all citizens regardless of their social status

under the principles of equality.

Statistics show that gun violence is one of the most prevalent causes of death in the U.S. (Cook

and Donohue) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that over

36,000 people died from gun-related violence in 2015 alone, with the incidents of suicide or

using a gun increasing rapidly. (Cook and Donohue) In the recent past, gun related crimes have

been on the rise. From major issues of firearms smuggling, gang shootings to incidents of

individual assault and related domestic crime, all indications are pointing towards dangerous

circumstances where the very safety of the American citizen will be threatened, the rule of law

shunned and the process of justice rendered incapable if strict policies aren’t put in place to

control this gun menace. Apparently, not all of the crimes are actually reported to relevant

authorities and recorded, available data does, however, point to an alarming rate of these

incidents, and as such, to understand the future, the current incidents shall be reviewed. (Masters)

In a span of about four months of this year alone, a total number of gun incidents of 17,187 have

been recorded by the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). Of these incidents, 4,354 deaths have been

recorded and 7,612 injuries sustained. Victims of the lower age bracket involved in the incidents

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statistics is; - 181 children between the age of 0-11 killed or injured, 756 teenagers in the age gap

of 12-17 killed or injured. 67 cases of mass shooting have been recorded so far. Cases involving

officer shot or killed are 79, and those involving the officers in subject-suspect shot or killed are

712. Home invasion incidents hit 632, defensive use incidents recorded at 500, and unintentional

shooting stands at 504 cases. (Tita, N.P)

To sample just but a few of these incidents, on 21

of April this year, in Lee Summit, Missouri, a

gun incident involving 3 men was recorded, one victim and two suspects. The victim escaped

unharmed, but the suspects were injured and one of them arrested. On the 22

of April this year,

in Antioch, Tennessee, a mass shooting was registered of a naked man shooting rifle at Waffle

House, claiming 4 lives and 3 injuries. On 20

of April this year, a deadly case of gun violence

was registered in San Francisco, California state, whereby six people were shot in a mass

shooting, of this one person died and the remaining 5 sustained serious injuries.

In a bid to curb such acts of gun related violence, legislation and policing at the senate, federal

and local levels have been advanced in various forms as, age restriction on firearms purchases,

strict sentencing of gun law violators, and public education to create awareness on parents and

children. Despite the prevalent concern on effects of gun violence on public health, the Congress

has forbidden the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from carrying out research to support gun

control. The prohibition on the institution has hindered progressive research aiming on gun

violence prevention and therefore the institution hasn’t directed any funds to the exercise.

(Rubin, 1689-1692)

Gun violence and the established gun control policies debates have gained substantial interest

among scholars. Different scholars have conducted qualitative and quantitative research on gun

availability, the associated violence and gun control. However, they hold opposing viewpoints on

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self-defense, gun ownership and gun control. According to Haynes, gun control is vital because

of the escalating use of firearms to cause terror through death or harm to people (206). The

occurrence of mass shootings has reignited the debate on gun control and rights in the US. In his

surveys, Haynes found gun violence to be the most common type of crime that occurs on a

regular basis. The guns are easily accessible making it a huge obstacle in the legislative battle

against gun violence. Moreover, the author found most Americans to favor stricter gun control

laws. They also support increased spending by the government on mental health treatment. The

US substantially undertreats mental health and it is worth putting into consideration if gun

policies targeting mentally-ill people might adversely affect treatment-seeking behavior.

Importantly, Haynes offers some of the solutions that can be implemented to curb gun violence

(Haynes, 206). He proposes that all gun buyers need to provide a list of all individuals with

secondary access to the guns and a background check similar to the purchaser conducted. In

cases of disqualification of secondary users, buyers need to provide evidence that the guns will

be stored in a locking device approved by the government. Finally, Haynes suggests that the

mentally ill should not possess guns and greater responsibility is needed among gun owners.

(Lott, n.p.)

Ghatak, in his research, argues that the laws restricting the availability of guns affects the relative

incentive of law-abiding citizens and criminals to acquire guns (1). The absence of such laws

will only escalate the gun violence because criminals can acquire guns easily. Notably, armed

citizens may have a higher incentive to buy guns resulting to a greater circulation of guns and the

number of incidents of violent crime. Ghatak points out the need for gun control not only

because of the increasing crime rates but also the negative externalities caused by guns. The

externalities may occur due to accidental use or use by persons unable to exercise their judgment

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such as alcoholics, the mentally-ill and children (Ghatak, 6). Gun availability can also lead to

fatal outcomes in arguments between acquaintances and influence suicide attempts. The author is

very keen is highlighting the societal concern on gun availability and the externalities generated

with an aim of advocating for gun control policies.

Gun control has been a very controversial issue due to the nature of the American society.

According to Theodore Lowi, a policy analyst, the United States society is built on a long history

of individualism where the right to determination is inherent. Hence, a coercive approach by the

government to establish restriction on guns evokes individual resistance. Hence, most policies

tend to provide a certain benefit in exchange for good conduct as opposed to coercion which

evokes political controversy. (Lott, n.p.) Another strategy towards avoiding individual coercion

in policy making is by controlling the environment of gun control.

An experiment conducted by Kantack and Paschall found that the incentive of having safety over

the freedom to bear arms is more persuasive in influencing gun control policy. Gun control

measures should be pro-active as opposed to reactive. The debate on whether more regulation

should be imposed on the procurement and possession of guns takes an emotional twist after

incidents of gun violence such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which occurred

on the 14

of December, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. This particular incident saw a sudden

increase in public support for stricter gun policies of 58% up from a two-decade decline. The

administration responded through the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 and later made another

attempt under the Toomey-Manchin amendment which, despite being bi-partisan, got defeated in

the Senate. Most of the political interventions that are taken are under such circumstances are

based on the need to quell the public outcry and appease the electorate rather than well though

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out research and data analysis. The study by Kantack and Paschall shows that reactive policy is

less effective than proactive policy.

On the other hand, under the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution to the Bill of Rights as

enacted in 1791, citizens have a right to keep and bear arms. There are numerous landmark

judicial decisions to interpret the right to bear these arms. (Spitzer, n.p.) The Supreme Court of

the United States which is the top judicial organ and whose decision binds all lower courts has

ruled in the past that, the right to keep and bear arms is not absolute. In the interest of

maintaining civic order and public safety, the government reserves the right to establish

reasonable limitations to this right. Based on this interpretation the federal, state and local

government structures have made attempts to regulate the acquisition, possession, use and

disposal of guns. Some gun control mechanisms have been successful whereas have borne little

or no success due to several socio-political factors including civic resistance, non-cooperation

and corruption. Most security experts agree that acquiring a gun in the United States still remains

as easy as purchasing a toy. In addition to that most of the illegal gun sales are made online

hence making it hard for regulatory agencies to follow-up their possession and use. Due to this

lack of diligence and accountability, there has been a rise in gun-related violence and home-

grown terrorism across the United States.

Opponents of gun control argue that, a ‘well-controlled militia’ of civilians bearing arms is an

appropriate check against totalitarianism or tyrannical rule. A January 2013 Rasmussen Reports

poll indicated that 65 percent of Americans believe the purpose of the Second Amendment is to

"ensure that people are able to protect themselves from tyranny. The Declaration of

Independence of the United States was based on the people’s revolutionary right to overturn

oppressive rule of the government. I submit that this school of thought, is base on fear rather than

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the genuine aspiration that the United States is a classical example of a successful democracy

that presents no signs of falling to dictatorship even in the future. The structure and form of

governance in the United States provides enough checks and balances that ensure that none can

ever accrue absolute power over the people against their democratic will. Actually, when viewed

from the prism of realism and examples from failed regimes globally, it is fair to conclude that

the bearing of arms by civilians has the capability of driving a country into civil war, political

instability and a removal of lawfully established authority over trivial issues. Part of the causes

of the American Civil War was the possession of arms by civilians. Most of the arms used by

confederate forces in the war were civilian owned. I agree with Roscoe Pound, a distinguished

legal scholar and theorist, who intimates that allowing citizens to exercise the right of waging

war against a lawfully established government over dissatisfaction is untenable and inadmissible

since it would allow gangs and armed militias to exercise extra-judicial power against the

guaranteed Bill of Rights. (Lott, n.p.)

Evidently, there is an overarching need for tight restrictions on the rights of civilians to keep and

bear arms. The essence of guns for self-defense, aesthetic qualities, art, culture, sporting activity

and hunting cannot supersede the need to maintain public safety and security. It is a competition

of rights, between the right to own and keep a gun and the right to be safe and protected from a

person who has a gun. The question of whether or not to have gun control legislation is similar to

choosing between life and death. The risk is higher than the benefits, hence it is better to limit the

benefit to avoid the risk. If law enforcement agencies are well-trained and equipped to safeguard

the people, there is no need for the citizens to possess arms. (Masters, n.p.) Gun control is very

much dependent on political goodwill. Hence policy for gun control should be directed towards

changing the public attitude and accruing more civic support.

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Works Cited

Lott, John R. More guns, less crime: Understanding crime and gun control laws. University of

Chicago Press, 2013.

Spitzer, Robert J. Politics of gun control. Routledge, 2015.

Kantack, Benjamin R., and Collin E. Paschall. "How the Gun Control Debate Stalls Policy

Progress: An Experimental Investigation." (2017).

Masters, Jonathan. "US gun policy: global comparisons." New York: Council on Foreign

Relations. http://www. cfr. org/society-and-culture/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons/p29735

(2016).

Coates, Michael, and Shanna Pearson‐Merkowitzz. "Policy Spillover and Gun Migration: The

interstate dynamics of state gun control policies." Social Science Quarterly 98.2 (2017): 500-

512.

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Cook, Philip J., and John J. Donohue. "Saving lives by regulating guns: Evidence for policy."

Science 358.6368 (2017): 1259-1261.

Ghatak, Maitreesh. Gun Control and the Self Defense Argument. n.d., pp. 1-26.

Haynes, Victor. Gun Control in the United States. Journal of Political Science and Public

Affairs, Vol. 4, 2016, Issue 2, p. 206.

Tita, George, et al. Reducing gun violence: Operation ceasefire in Los Angeles. US Department

of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, 2005.

Rubin, Rita. "Tale of 2 agencies: CDC avoids gun violence research but NIH funds it." Jama

315.16 (2016): 1689-1692

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