IMPACT OF FIREARMS ON THE USA 2
Impact of Firearms on the USA
Introduction
The United States tops the developed world, with a vast stock of over 200 million
firearms in private hands. Certainly, this enormous stock has a huge impact on the lives of most
citizens of the American societies in various ways, which range from positive to negative
accordingly. The colossal presence of this stock supposedly to create a sense of safety amongst
the owners, has albeit, a fatalistic contribution to America's criminal violence. Baring of arms as
a constitutional right—arguably representing a cardinal safeguard against any form of tyranny
has created a monster that has morphed into a public epidemic (Cook & Ludwig, 2015). Firearms
aid some homicides that elated it to a public concern imprinted on the public consciousness of
America. Instead of creating a sense of security, firearms have instead escalated homicides,
highway and bank robberies, terrorism tendencies, criminal violence, and domestic violence –
leading to a high mortality rates, injuries and destruction of property.
Impact of Firearms on the USA
Escalated Firearm Homicides
The presence of firearms has mostly accounted for, and also escalated the problem of
gun-related homicides in the USA. Guns account for a considerably substantial portion of deaths
that range from suicides, homicides and outright murders –across the globe. These high numbers
of firearm homicides particularly in the American societies are primarily attributed to the vast
stock of weapons, with a substantial portion in the private hands of citizens. This has mainly
affected the communities, through igniting the likeliness of people contemplating the idea of
suicide, or worse yet a murder. The presence of firearms makes these acts of suicide and murder
more effective by their very lethal nature –as was captured "handguns accounted from the
