The Gun Debate

Gun control is an ongoing debate in our nation with both congress and the people on opposite sides of the spectrum. Some wonder if implementing gun control would reduce crime and protect citizens or is it merely an infringement of our second amendment rights to bear arms.  Guns can be used as a tool to defend and protect or as a weapon of destruction, to threaten and inflict harm or as a tool to kill. Although many people believe gun control will limit crimes, others argue that implementing gun control would have no effect on safety and crime because if someone wanted to obtain guns they would find ways to do so.  Supporters for gun control believe that more regulation and restrictions are needed. They believe that gun violence is plaguing our urban areas and we need to take action to ensure the safety of our children in these areas, while those against gun control view gun regulations as an infringement of their second amendment rights to bear arms. They believe everyone has a right to defend themselves, their family and their property; they view gun control as a way for government to control its people, and open new doorways for gun laws. Some might argue that the real problem is the amount of guns that are available in the country, especially since the “United States has more gun ownership than any other nation on Earth”, making us the most heavily armed nation in the world. It’s time to change the laws that make it possible for our innocent children to die by making it more difficult for our guns to end up in the hands of those who should not have access to them.

Support for gun control is at an all time low, of the millions of people in our nation only “twenty six percent of Americans support a total ban in the United States”. Advocates of gun ownership believe guns are a deterrent to crime. They claim that the more people who own guns the more crimes that can or will be prevented. They view gun ownership as a way to prevent violence in our nation; they believe that the more people with handguns the less likely people would be to commit crimes. Gun supporter believe people should have a right to defend themselves, their family and property against all perceived threats and that it’s not the gun themselves that kill people it’s the person carrying the gun, because if someone wanted to kill another person they will do so regardless of if they have a gun or something else.  They argue that if we ban gun ownership then only criminals would own guns putting innocent or good people at a disadvantage but who decides who among us is good or bad. Gun in the hands of anyone have the capacity to unnecessarily escalate any situation whether there is an actual crime or a perceived crime. True criminals will still find ways to gain access to weapons leaving non criminals at a disadvantage, but we’re forgetting criminals don’t abide by the law anyway, but that does not mean that we should stop making laws just because they won’t be followed by some.

Conservatives believe citizens have the right to protect themselves and their property and as a result many states have enacted the Stand Your Ground Laws giving residents “the right to shoot in defense of their life, if they believe that their life is in danger”. This law grants person’s immunity from persecution if they kill another in self defense because they felt that their life was threatened, even if the person could have retreated to safety and called for help under this law s/he could be exonerated from prosecution. This law was adopted so people can protect themselves, their property and their families from any harm that can befall them from criminals, and proponents of the law argue citizens should be able to defend their homes and person from intruders, rather than having to flee or wait for the police who may be too late. Those against this law argue that it would be very difficult to prove if the person was acting in self defense or dispensing vigilante justice ex: Trayvon Martin. Stand your ground laws promote more violence and put us at more risk of trigger happy gun owners.

The ease with which one can obtain guns toady
 is troubling and since background checks on guns are not mandatory to all sellers, anyone wishing to buy a gun and avoid checks can do so at gun shows, street corners, the internet, or through private dealers with no questions asked. Even our children have access to guns today, especially those who live in low income areas where gang activity is prevalent has access to guns. Those who are bullied or abused may feel that having a gun is the only way they can protect themselves, because of the security it offers, these teens are now finding ways to obtain guns illegally, they can now buy them off the street or internet for cheap, they can steal them from family or friends, and in areas with no gun laws they can pay someone to buy one for them. This calls for a system that can record and keep track of these gums through sales and registrations. We may not be able to prevent all death, but we can do something to prevent our citizens from dying unnecessarily, these checks will prevent those convicted of felonies, abusers (drug and domestic), and those suffering from serious mental illnesses from obtaining weapons which can go a long way in ensuring people feel safe in their communities.

In light of the Sandy Hook killings, President Obama and other proponents of gun control are now calling for stricter gun ownership laws. They argue that the more guns that are made available to the public the more chance there is for violence. Obama is calling for stricter legislation aimed at banning assault weapons, and high capacity ammunition and armor piercing bullets from the public, as well as an increase officer presence in our streets, new school emergency pans, first responder training, etc. these new legislations are aimed at improving our mental health system and access, as well as school safety so that our children don’t become the new targets of this increasing cycle of gun violence. As of March 2013, mere months after the Sandy Hook shootings “2268 Americans have been killed with guns, including 158 children and teens” (slate.com).  We owe it to our children to do everything we can to prevent gun violence by ensuring our gun owners are law abiding, responsible people.

Anti gun supporters believe gun control would reduce the amount of accidental deaths in the US. They believe even when guns are kept at home they still have the capacity to inflict harm. Statistics taken from the National Institute of Justice and surviorsclub.org tells us that in 2008, there were “680 accidental shooting deaths, 15,500 accidental shooting injuries’ and Huffingtonpost.com tells us that there are “53 suicides per day using a gun”, these are staggering numbers. If we continue to make more guns easily accessible to the public, the mere presence of guns in the home and how accessible it is increases the likelihood of someone committing suicide or accidentally shooting themselves.

We need to implement tougher laws for gun control. We need to do a better job when it comes to screening people for gun permits, especially since it’s so easy for people to gain access to guns nowadays. Huffingtonpost.com tells us that: “There are

45,000 applications for background checks on gun purchases per day”, but even if these men and women don’t pass this check they can still obtain guns at gun shows, the internet, ask family members to buy it for them, etc.  I understand that people have a right to protect themselves, but as a nation we have a duty to make sure that these guns are not going into the hands or household of people with a history of mental diseases, or criminal backgrounds. Not only do we need to perform criminal background check but to find a way to test for any psychological tendencies a person may have, even if it’s not detectable on the outside, to prevent them from hurting the innocent and themselves. We need to create laws banning military grade type automatic guns or at least put restrictions on who can own these types of weapons. . These guns do not belong in our communities. Stricter legislation also has to be put in place for gun sellers and manufacturers to make sure they’re actually following procedure and keeping track f the people they sell guns to, so we can ensure that they are following the law and not cutting corners. When it comes to gun control we as a nation need to come together to stand up and demand change and not wait for more of our children to die before we decide to act.